Contact person: Business Client

Phone:Show

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Location: Abbotsford, Canada

Budget: Recommended by industry experts

Time to start: As soon as possible

Project description:
"Project: Authenticated Image Upload System (Map-Based Website)
Current State

Live website with Leaflet map and clustering

Images displayed per city

Folder structure exists:
uploads/Country/Province/City/

Frontend UI already built and working

No frontend redesign required

Goal

Allow users to upload images grouped by Country → Province/State → City, with secure storage, admin moderation, and automatic map integration.
Images are anonymous by default but become associated with a user profile once the user registers.

Core Requirements
1. User Registration & Login

Manual registration (email + password)

Google OAuth login option

One-time email verification (manual registration only)

Persistent login for returning users (sessions + optional “remember me”)

Secure password hashing (bcrypt/argon2)

2. Anonymous → Registered Upload Linking

Images uploaded before full registration do not display uploader information publicly

Each upload is internally tracked (session-based or temporary user identifier)

If the uploader later fully registers:

Previously uploaded images are linked to their account

Those images appear in the user’s personal image library

No public uploader info is shown unless the image is linked to a registered user

3. Upload Page (Protected)

Only logged-in & verified users can upload (anonymous uploads optional if simpler for MVP)

Upload form includes:

Country dropdown

Province/State dropdown (filtered by country)

City dropdown (no free-text input)

If city does not exist:

Automatically create it or

Submit for admin approval (developer to advise)

Support multiple image uploads

4. Image Upload & Security

Backend upload endpoint (e.g. POST /api/upload)

Validate:

Image type (JPG / PNG / WEBP)

Max file size (e.g. 20MB)

Rename files on upload (UUID)

Prevent malicious uploads, path traversal, executable files

Basic rate limiting / abuse prevention

5. Storage & Data

Images stored in:
uploads/Country/Province/City/

Database records include:

image_id

optional user_id (nullable until user registers)

country / province / city

filename / path

upload timestamp

moderation status (pending / approved / rejected)

6. Moderation (Admin)

All uploads default to pending

Admin-only page to:

View uploads

Approve or reject images

Only approved images appear publicly

7. Map & Profile Integration

Map pins load dynamically from database (no hardcoded pins)

City popups show thumbnails

If an image is linked to a registered user:

The uploader’s username appears in the bottom-right of the image view

Username is clickable and links to the user’s profile

User profile page displays:

Username

Their full image library

Technical Preferences

Backend: PHP preferred (open to Node.js / Python)

Database: MySQL / MariaDB

Clean, secure, well-documented code

MVP-focused (simple > over-engineered)

Deliverables

Manual + Google registration/login

Persistent login for returning users

Secure image upload system

Anonymous-to-registered image linking

Admin moderation page

Database schema + setup

Backend APIs for uploads, locations, profiles

Deployment instructions" (client-provided description)