Softonic: desarrollo de ecosistema de plataformas con arquitectura hexagonal y transformación de modelo de negocio

The challenge

Softonic was at a turning point. Its business model, based primarily on advertising and third-party content, limited its ability to evolve into a sustainable, scalable ecosystem with control over the quality of distributed software.

Among the main challenges were:

Excessive dependence on advertising, without the possibility of offering premium services or direct monetization to developers.
Lack of control over content, The data was obtained from external sources and affected the consistency and reliability of the catalog.
Low differentiation from the competition, The company's other platforms offered more management, metrics and analytical tools to creators.
Low developer loyalty, without a direct channel to manage their relationship with the platform.
Loss of user confidence, There is no direct control over the quality, versions or practices of the creators.

Softonic needed to transform its operating model, improve the developer experience and strengthen the relationship with its users, guaranteeing security, control and scalability.

Softonic is a software download platform that distributes, categorizes and evaluates software for Windows, Android and Mac worldwide.

The solution

Secture designed a integrated platform ecosystem to move Softonic from a mere distributor to a collaborative environment between the brand, developers and users.

The objective was clear: create a system that would allow complete application lifecycle management, offering transparency, control and new monetization opportunities.

Softonic Publishing Center

A platform created for developers to autonomously manage their products and relationship with Softonic.

From here you can:

Claim or create your applications within the catalog.
Upload versions, edit files and manage machine translations with AI.
Submit versions for review and publish them directly.
Access to monetization tools and paid campaigns.
See detailed performance and download metrics.
Respond to user reviews.

Softonic Center Admin

An internal dashboard that centralizes the Softonic team's operational management:

Validation and version control of versions submitted by developers.
Management of organizations, claims and advertising campaigns.
App lifecycle tracking, review and release status.

Softonic thus acquired a unified view of the catalog and developers' activity, improving internal efficiency and the quality of its offerings.

Este proyecto se enmarca en nuestros servicios de software development y diseño de producto digital.

The development

Secture se centró en construir una arquitectura robusta, escalable y segura, donde la interoperabilidad y la experiencia de usuario fueran el eje principal.

Secture desarrolló de ambas plataformas se basó en una arquitectura hexagonal, aplicada tanto en frontend como en backend para mantener una estructura modular, coherente y fácilmente extensible.

Secture empleó una base tecnológica moderna compuesta por Next.js en el frontend y NestJS en el backend, con PostgreSQL como base de datos principal y un sistema centralizado de autenticación y gestión de usuarios.

This foundation allowed for consistent team development and a smooth and stable experience across the Softonic ecosystem.

In the visual layer, SCSS conventions based on BEM were applied, which made it possible to maintain a consistent, scalable and easily reusable interface.

In addition to the development of Publishing Center and Center Admin, the capabilities of the ecosystem were expanded with new key functionalities focused on users and developers:

Unified authentication (SSO)

A centralized system based on Supabase which connects all Softonic products (Publishing Center, Admin, User Portal, etc.) under one login.

Allows access via Google, Discord, GitHub or email, ensuring a seamless experience across the entire ecosystem.
Advanced profile management

Users can edit personal information, language, avatar, linked networks or selectively delete their accounts.

This reinforces transparency and control over data, aligning with global privacy and security requirements.
Reviews & Ratings System

A module was developed that connects downloads, ratings and comments under a coherent flow:
- Only registered users can rate (1-5 stars) and write reviews.
- Developers can respond and edit their interactions.
- The system incorporates automatic moderation with AI (Gemini API), blocking inappropriate content before it is published.

Además, Secture implementó un download history and activity which centralizes all user interaction with applications: downloaded versions, dates, update notifications and quick access to reviews.

The result was a complete and self-sufficient ecosystem, capable of connecting all points of interaction between Softonic, developers and end users, raising the standard of quality, security and trust in the platform.

The team

Borja / Project Manager
Ricardo / Product Owner
Mica / Project Manager
Javi / Tech Lead
Paul / Backend Developer
Hector / Backend Developer
Marius / Backend Developer
Samuel / Backend Developer
Dani / Frontend Developer
Borja F. / Frontend Developer
Fran / Frontend Developer
Jose / Frontend Developer
Agueda / Product Designer

Technology used

React

NextJS

NestJS

Node

Supabase

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