How we created the new NIC.UA website

We have been dreaming about this for a long timenew websiteWith a nice, clean interface and an improved backend—and now the dream has come true! Together with the teamStfalcon.comWe've simplified website navigation, improved domain search, and added many new order management features. Read more about the new NIC.UA website in this article.

Updated interface

The most noticeable change on the site is the new design:

Simple navigation.The new website has three main sections with services:Domains"," "Cloud," and "Security." Clicking on each of these displays the main options in the top menu. We've placed additional information in the "More" section, making each service accessible in just two clicks. We've placed the language and currency switches in the footer, as they're only needed the first time the user visits the site.

Attractive appearance.We chose a light color scheme. The corporate light green color appears in the logo and buttons. We'll talk about the logo separately: we got rid of the mouse-shaped circle and left only the "NIC.UA" text—the logo is simpler and more understandable. Compared to the old version of the website, the new oneNIC.UAmore light and space, it's minimalist - in the good sense of the word :)

User-friendly interface.Designers Alexander Zaitsev and Alexander Kolodko took user experience into consideration and simplified the website experience. The interface is uncluttered, with only the most important information visible. A good domain registration and hosting website should be predictable. Therefore, the layout of buttons, sections, and menus is logical and intuitive. If errors occur, we strive to provide specific explanations of what happened and how to fix it.

Convenient personal account.Before creating the new personal account, we conducted a survey among NIC.UA clients and took their recommendations into account. For example, we added an archive, which automatically hides inactive orders. The updated summary page now includes notifications and details on unpaid orders. Quick search and bulk order renewals are now available, which is important for those with dozens or hundreds of orders in a single account. New orders are now easily created in the sections thanks to dedicated buttons (e.g., "Register a domain»).

Useful features

On the new NIC.UA website, we've implemented the following features:

• Smart domain search.Thanks to transliteration, synonym selection, and translations that we use during searches, you will find the right domain for your business faster.

• Transfer a list of domains in one click.You can now create group orders and transfer a list of domains at once. To do this, select the "Transfer a list of domains".
• View domain contacts.Previously, to find out the contact information specified in the domain, you had to contact support; now they are listed in your personal account.

• Configuring child name serversThis feature will appeal to advanced users who manage hosts. Child nameservers are linked directly to your primary domain. For example, ns1.yourdomain.com, ns2.yourdomain.com. You can add and configure them in the new interface.

• Archiving unnecessary orders and contacts.All outdated orders are automatically archived. You can also hide unwanted contacts.

• Registering an account for a legal entity.Previously, an account could be registered to a company representative. Now we're clarifying the organization's name to ensure that the account owner is a legal entity.

Backend wisdom

Caution! Technical information :)

Our old website's system was built on a monolithic server. We set ourselves the task of separating the system into a frontend and a backend.

The project consisted of three parts: backend billing, which was handled by NIC.UA developers, and a backend systemSymfony2and the frontend, which was developed by Stfalcon.com. Symfony2 was chosen because the team had experience working with large projects on this platform.

The main tasks that backend developers needed to solve were:

1. Create a new website, NIC.UA, that will operate via an API with a billing backend.
2. Implement horizontal scaling and continuous integration.
3. Change the domain search principle.
4. Create a customizable admin panel for managing website content.

Let's talk about some of the changes in more detail.

1. The developers implemented the logic for working with the API and set up continuous integration usingGitLabNow the necessary changes can be made easier and faster.
2. The programmers implemented horizontal scaling for the project. The NIC.UA website now runs on three servers, one of which distributes the load across the other two, though the number of servers can vary. If one server fails, all work will be performed on the other server, ensuring fault tolerance for the entire system.

3. New domain search features:

• Transliteration (for example, searching for "futbolki" will also return domains with the word "futbolki").
• Search for synonyms (searching for "car" will also return domains with the word "automobile").
• Translations (searching for "books" will also return domains with the word "books").
• Domain filters (you can select popular, international, Ukrainian or regional domains).

To speed up searches and reduce the number of registry queries, we use smart query caching.

4. Our flexible admin panel with templates has made working with the site much more convenient. We can now customize blocks that will appear on all pages of the site, create landing pages, and customize settings for each page individually.

Secure billing and data protection

Our billing system is implemented on the platformJava 1.8She uses databases.PostgreSQL And MongoDBThe system maintains a transaction history: at any time, we can view the history of all requests and transaction outcomes, which is essential for the proper operation of the entire service.

Billing is served by five servers (name serversWe don't include them in this number. They run databases and order processing subsystems with domain registries, hosting servers, name servers, and the cloud. We built the billing system so that it optimally interacts with the web interface via API. Thanks to this, we can create a new, similar website based on the same system—for example, for the US and European markets. Yes, we don't plan to stop there :)With NIC.UA, your data is safe.Data exchange between system components is encrypted. All servers are located in high-security data centers in various countries. A firewall protects the servers from unwanted traffic.

Customer support has access to customer data through a separate interface. We cannot change anything in customer orders (for example, domain settings). Manual operations, such as changing customer data, financial transactions, and other transactions, are always performed by two employees, confirming each transaction with a digital signature.

We're proud of our work and believe we've created the best domain registration and hosting site in Eastern Europe. Please share your feedback on the new website.in a special form. We We listen to our customers' wishes and continue to develop the site further.