ai-coding-workflow-labs/ross-mike-workflows/my-plan.md

Light Novel Reading Website - PRD

Overview

A community-driven online platform for reading light novels. Registered users can read, track progress, comment, and rate novels. Guests can browse but must register to read. Admin manages all content uploads.

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Feature 1: User Authentication & Accounts

• Email/password registration and login
• User profile page showing reading history, reviews, and followed novels
• Password reset via email
• Test: User can register, log in, log out, and reset password successfully

Feature 2: Novel & Chapter Management (Admin)

• Admin dashboard to upload novels (title, cover image, description, genre tags, status: ongoing/completed)
• Upload chapters with title, content (rich text or markdown), and chapter number
• Edit/delete novels and chapters
• Mark novels as featured for homepage curation
• Test: Admin can publish a novel with 3 chapters; chapters appear in correct order on the site

Feature 3: Reading Experience

• Clean chapter reader with customizable settings:
  • Font size (small / medium / large)
  • Background color (white / sepia / dark)
  • Reading width (narrow / wide)
• Previous/next chapter navigation
• Reading settings persist across sessions (saved to user account)
• Test: User can change font size and background; settings are retained after logout and re-login

Feature 4: Reading History & Progress Tracking

• Full reading history log: each chapter read is recorded with timestamp
• "Continue reading" shortcut on novel page - jumps to last read chapter
• History page showing all novels read, sorted by most recent
• Test: Reading chapter 5 of a novel then returning shows "Continue from Chapter 5"; history log shows correct timestamp

Feature 5: Search & Discovery

• Search by novel title or author
• Filter by genre tags (fantasy, romance, action, isekai, etc.), status (ongoing/completed), rating
• Homepage layout:
  • Featured/curated section (admin-selected)
  • Trending section (most read in last 7 days)
  • Recently updated section (latest chapter uploads)
• Test: Filtering by "completed + fantasy" returns only completed fantasy novels; homepage sections update within 24 hours of activity

Feature 6: Ratings & Reviews

• Logged-in users can give a novel a 1-5 star rating
• Optionally write a text review alongside the rating (one review per user per novel)
• Other users can upvote reviews as helpful
• Reviews sorted by: most helpful / most recent
• Average star rating displayed on novel card and detail page
• Test: Submitting a review reflects immediately on the novel page; upvoting a review increments count

Feature 7: Chapter Comments

• Logged-in users can comment on individual chapters
• Nested replies (one level deep)
• Comments sorted by newest first
• Basic moderation: admin can delete any comment
• Test: Posting a comment appears immediately; reply to a comment threads correctly under the parent

Feature 8: On-Site Notifications

• Notification bell in navbar for logged-in users
• Notifications triggered when: a followed novel has a new chapter uploaded
• Mark all as read / mark individual as read
• Notification feed page for full history
• Test: Following a novel and admin uploading a new chapter triggers a notification within 5 minutes

Feature 9: Guest Access & Browse Mode

• Guests can view homepage, novel pages, and chapter lists
• Guests cannot open chapter reader - clicking "Read" prompts a login/register modal
• Novel descriptions, ratings, and reviews are visible to guests
• Test: Guest clicking "Read Chapter 1" sees a modal; after registering, they are redirected to the chapter

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UI Decisions

• Community hub style: ratings, reviews, and comments are prominent alongside the reader
• Dark mode available as a reading setting (not site-wide default)
• Novel cards show: cover image, title, genre tags, status badge, average star rating, latest chapter
• Reader page is distraction-free - hide navbar while reading, show on scroll up
• Mobile responsive: reading experience optimized for phone screens

Technical Decisions

• Frontend: Next.js (App Router) - SSR for SEO on novel/chapter pages
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Auth: NextAuth.js with email/password provider
• Image storage: Cloudinary or S3 for novel cover images
• Ads: Google AdSense - sidebar and between-chapter placements (non-intrusive in reader)
• Trending algorithm: Chapter read count in last 7 days, recalculated every hour via cron job
• Admin panel: Custom /admin routes protected by role-based auth (admin role in users table)

Out of Scope for v1

• User-submitted novels or translations
• Email notifications (on-site only for now)
• Personalized recommendations (trending + curated is sufficient for v1)
• Mobile app