I Created a Website in Core PHP + Gemini for Design, Just to Test Things

I recently built a small website:

It’s a local marketplace for old artifacts. Users can create profiles, list items, and browse what others have posted. The site isn’t meant to be a big or polished product — it’s a small, functional project I used to test a few ideas.

The main goal was to experiment with database migrations in a Core PHP setup, while still building something real enough to expose problems naturally.

What the Project Is

At a basic level, the site supports:

User registration and login
Profile management
Listing artifacts for sale
Browsing a marketplace
A simulated payment flow
Admin-controlled migrations

Everything is intentionally kept simple, but complete enough to behave like a real application.

Landing Page

The landing page gives a quick idea of what the platform is about. I focused on keeping it clean and usable rather than spending time on heavy visual polish.

Authentication Flow

Users can register and log in to manage their own listings. This part exists mainly to support the rest of the system and create realistic user flows.

Marketplace View

The marketplace page shows all listed artifacts. This page helped create real data usage and forced schema changes as the project evolved.

Item Selection & Mobile UX

One area I paid a bit more attention to was item selection on mobile.

The selection interaction uses a smooth animation, and it feels especially good on mobile devices.

It’s a small detail, but it noticeably improves the browsing experience.

Payment System (Simulated)

There is a payment flow in the project, but it’s fully simulated.

No real transactions happen.

It exists purely to:

Model real-world flows
Test order-related tables
Trigger migrations and schema changes

Database & Migrations

The main reason this project exists is to test migrations in Core PHP.

Instead of manually changing the database:

Migrations are tracked
Changes are applied incrementally
Schema updates are repeatable

I didn’t use CLI migrations because my hosting doesn’t support CLI access 😅

So migrations are handled through an admin-only route, protected by authentication. It’s simple, works on shared hosting, and solves the problem I had.

Database Structure Planning

Before implementing migrations, I mapped out the database structure visually to keep things understandable as the project grew.

This helped with:

Understanding relationships
Keeping tables minimal
Planning migrations more clearly

Using Gemini for Design

I used Gemini for most of the design and layout work in this project.

The design isn’t heavily refined — mainly because I didn’t want to spend too much time polishing visuals for an experimental project — but the structure, layout, and flow are solid.

At this point, Gemini is a serious design tool for me, not just something I try occasionally. For projects like this, I now reach for it instead of Figma.

It helps me:

Reach usable layouts quickly
Iterate without getting stuck
Focus more on building than designing

For my workflow, it easily 10× the speed, especially when momentum matters more than perfect visuals.

What I Learned

Some simple takeaways:

Core PHP can stay manageable with discipline
Migrations don’t need a framework
Real projects expose issues faster than demos
Constraints (like shared hosting) shape design decisions
AI tools can realistically replace traditional design tools in many cases

Final Thoughts

This isn’t a startup or a polished product.

It’s just a small project where I tested ideas, worked within constraints, and learned along the way.

Sharing it in case it’s useful to someone else working with Core PHP, shared hosting, or limited tooling.

That’s it — on to the next experiment.