1 minute read

TL;DR: The site stopped being “just pages” today. Registration is real, payment is scaffolded, and the funnel now has forward motion.

Project page: Settled Field Platform.

Context

Up until now, everything looked good — but it wasn’t real yet.

Milestone 1 gave me:

  • a clean landing page
  • a summit page that builds trust
  • a registration page that looked like the next step

But it was still a surface.

Today was about turning that surface into behavior:

  • capturing intent
  • holding it
  • moving the user forward

Without overbuilding the backend.

What changed

Two major things happened.

1. Registration became real

The form now:

  • enforces required fields
  • validates input server-side
  • normalizes data (email)
  • stores a short-lived draft (HTTP-only cookie)

That last part matters.

Instead of jumping straight into a database, I used a draft model:

  • temporary
  • server-owned
  • just enough to bridge into payment

This keeps the system light while still making it real.

2. Payment became a defined path

Stripe isn’t live yet — and that’s intentional.

What is live:

  • a server-side checkout entry point
  • environment-driven Stripe config shape
  • a controlled “stub mode” when keys aren’t present

Flow now looks like:

Register → Payment-ready → Checkout seam → Stub (for now)

No fake success.
No dead ends.
No pretending.

Just forward motion.

What I learned

1. Don’t solve the final system too early

It’s tempting to jump straight into:

  • database models
  • payment records
  • webhook handling

But that would’ve slowed everything down.

Instead:

  • form → server action
  • draft → cookie
  • checkout → scaffold

Each step supports the next, without locking anything in.

2. Design consistency matters more than features

The biggest improvement today wasn’t technical.

It was removing the “app UI” feel from /register.

Once I aligned it with the same:

  • spacing
  • typography
  • section structure

…it stopped feeling like a form and started feeling like a step in a journey.

That’s the difference between:

  • a page
  • and a conversion system

3. Forward motion is everything

Every step now answers:

“What happens next?”

  • submit → you’re ready for payment
  • continue → you enter checkout (or stub)
  • no confusion, no guessing

Even without Stripe live, the system moves.

Next

Two paths, depending on timing:

If Stripe keys arrive:

  • wire real Checkout
  • complete payment loop
  • introduce confirmation state

If not:

  • build Confirmation page (Issue 2-4)
  • complete the visible funnel
  • keep momentum

Today was the shift.

This isn’t a website anymore.

It’s a system.

Updated: