From MVP to national reading platform

Encouraging children to read regularly is not simply about providing books.

Teachers need practical tools that make reading challenges easy to run, pupils need experiences that feel rewarding and engaging, and organisations need meaningful data to understand what is working.

Track My Read had already demonstrated strong potential through an initial MVP. However, as adoption increased, limitations in both the user experience and technical architecture became increasingly apparent.

Teachers wanted a simpler way to manage reading challenges. Pupils needed a more engaging experience. Read for Good needed better reporting and greater flexibility to support future development.

Rather than relying on assumptions, we based the redesign on direct feedback from the people using the platform every day.

Working closely with Read for Good, we analysed existing user feedback and conducted additional research with teachers to better understand the challenges they faced.

Several clear themes emerged.

Teachers wanted faster setup processes, simpler administration, and easier ways to share access with pupils. Students needed a more rewarding experience that encouraged them to keep reading and participating.

Using these insights, we developed interactive prototypes and conducted user testing before moving into development.

One of the biggest barriers identified was access.

The previous platform relied on pupils entering long URLs to join reading challenges, creating unnecessary friction and reducing participation.

We redesigned this experience entirely.

The new platform introduced school-specific portals and a simple emoji-based login system that made it significantly easier for children to access their challenges. Teachers could distribute login details through multiple channels, including printed materials, classroom displays, and email.

Teachers play a critical role in encouraging reading, so reducing their workload became a key design objective.

We introduced a guided challenge creation wizard that simplified setup and reduced the learning curve for new users. Registration and login processes were streamlined, while school administration tools were expanded to support multiple users and more sophisticated account management.

The platform also introduced improved reward systems, achievement levels, and progress tracking, helping teachers motivate pupils while reducing the amount of manual administration required.

As the platform evolved, it became clear that the original architecture was limiting future development.

The MVP had been built using Firebase to maximise speed and minimise costs. While this approach was appropriate for an early-stage product, it restricted the team's ability to introduce more advanced functionality and reporting capabilities.

For the rebuild, we replaced Firebase's Firestore database with a custom API built using ExpressJS and PostgreSQL. This gave us full control over the data model and enabled significantly more powerful filtering, reporting, and administrative functionality.

Firebase Authentication was also replaced with standard Google authentication, creating a simpler and more flexible architecture capable of supporting future product development.

The redesigned platform successfully improved the experience for teachers, pupils, and administrators alike.

By simplifying access, streamlining administration, and creating a more engaging experience for children, the platform helped Read for Good expand the impact of its reading programmes.

At the time of writing, more than six million minutes of reading had been logged by over 14,000 young people across the UK and internationally.