The challenge
A previous development agency left Exoplace with an incomplete NFT marketplace stuck in development hell. The founding team had already invested significant time and capital, but what they received back was broken architecture, unoptimized smart contracts bleeding gas fees, and a user experience nowhere near consumer-ready. 3 specific problems were killing the project. First, prohibitive gas fees baked into the smart contracts on Ethereum meant creators would pay exorbitant fees just to mint their work, creating a massive barrier to entry that would stifle platform supply before launch. Second, unoptimized media delivery through IPFS meant high-resolution artwork took forever to load, degrading the browsing experience and destroying retention at scale. Third, the interface felt like a database, not a gallery, making wallet connections and transactions intimidating for non-crypto users and impossible to validate their advertising monetization model with a mainstream audience.
Solution
We rebuilt the entire foundation on Polygon, deployed custom ERC721 smart contracts in Solidity, and integrated Gumlet and Uploadcare for dynamic image compression. This stack removed gas fees entirely for creators, cut load times to under 3 seconds, and let us build a consumer-grade Next.js frontend with seamless Web3.js integration so wallet connections felt as smooth as traditional checkout. Every decision was ruthlessly prioritized for speed, performance, and a beta-ready user experience.
We integrated Gumlet and Uploadcare for dynamic image compression so high-resolution artwork loaded fast regardless of file size or network conditions. Every asset was processed and served optimally without touching the original quality creators uploaded.
Week 1 we assessed the codebase, locked the data model, and deployed test smart contracts on Polygon testnet. Week 2 we rebuilt the frontend and wired up wallet integration while testing minting flows simultaneously. Week 3 we stress-tested the media pipeline with high-resolution assets to validate performance at scale. Week 4 we hit every edge case, deployed to mainnet, and prepared for beta launch.
The results
When Exoplace went live, creators stopped paying exorbitant gas fees. Media that previously took forever loaded in under 3 seconds. The platform launched to 5,000 beta users without performance degradation, validating their advertising monetization model in a live environment. A failed agency engagement was reversed with a production-ready marketplace shipped in 28 days.
After a rough experience with our last agency, I honestly wasn't sure we could get this back on track. CodeShip came in, cleaned up the mess, and shipped a real marketplace. Huge relief, and easily one of the best agency experiences I've had.
George Graham
CTO, Exoplace
