Frontend & Backend

Frontend

At the frontend, Ayah employs Next.js paired with Tailwind CSS to create a progressive web app (PWA) that is responsive, fast-loading, and mobile-first.

• Next.js: A React-based framework, optimal for its server-side rendering (SSR) capabilities, which enhance SEO, reduce initial load times, and improve accessibility - critical for an educational platform where users may access content on varying devices and network conditions. This results in up to 50% faster page loads compared to traditional React apps, fostering higher engagement among young learners who expect instant interactions.

• Tailwind CSS: Enables rapid, utility-first styling, allowing developers to build custom, consistent UIs without the bloat of traditional CSS frameworks. Its atomic approach reduces bundle sizes and ensures pixel-perfect designs across phones, tablets, and desktops.

• PWA features: Offline functionality (via service workers) allows students in remote areas to continue quizzes or review notes without internet, bridging digital divides in global education.

Backend

On the backend, Node.js serves as the runtime environment, chosen for its non-blocking I/O and event-driven architecture, which excels in handling real-time applications like Ayah's conversational AI chat.

• Node.js: Its single-threaded model with asynchronous processing enables high concurrency - ideal for thousands of simultaneous tutoring sessions - while keeping latency low, often under 100ms for responses.

• Redis: Used for caching and session management; Redis's in-memory data store provides sub-millisecond read/write speeds, perfect for maintaining conversation context and user profiles without querying the database repeatedly, thus reducing server load by up to 90% in high-traffic scenarios.

• PostgreSQL: Selected as the relational database due to its ACID compliance, advanced indexing, and support for JSONB data types, which efficiently handle structured learning data like progress trackers, mastery heatmaps, and parental reports. PostgreSQL's extensibility (e.g., via PostGIS for potential geo-based features) and strong community support make it superior to alternatives like MySQL for complex queries in educational analytics, ensuring data integrity and scalability as user bases grow.