Retailer Scraper System Refactoring: Enhanced Security and Performance

Refactored an existing retailer scraper system to improve security, maintainability, and performance. Introduced structured logging, secure database interactions, environment variable management, and comprehensive testing, ensuring seamless integration with WordPress plugins.

Internal Development Team

Retailer Scraper System Refactoring: Enhanced Security and Performance

Project Overview

Backend Development

PHP

PDO/MySQLi

Environment Variables

Structured Logging

WordPress

PHPUnit

SQL

Cron Jobs

GitHub

Challenges

•Existing system contained hardcoded sensitive credentials and direct SQL queries, posing significant security risks.
•Scripts lacked structured logging, making debugging and monitoring challenging.
•Performance bottlenecks due to unoptimized database interactions and missing indexes.
•Maintaining compatibility with existing WordPress plugins during refactoring.

Solutions

•Migrated sensitive database credentials to environment variables, significantly enhancing security.
•Converted all raw SQL queries into prepared statements using PDO/MySQLi, preventing SQL injection vulnerabilities.
•Added necessary indexes to database tables, greatly improving query performance and responsiveness.
•Implemented structured JSON logging across scripts for easier debugging and monitoring.
•Maintained backward compatibility with existing WordPress plugins by ensuring output formats and database schemas remained unchanged.
•Integrated unit tests using PHPUnit to ensure code reliability and robustness during the refactoring process.

Results

✓Achieved significant security enhancements by eliminating hardcoded credentials and securing database interactions.
✓Improved overall system performance and database efficiency through optimized queries and indexing.
✓Simplified maintenance and troubleshooting with structured logging and clear, modular code structure.
✓Ensured uninterrupted integration with existing WordPress plugins, preserving operational workflows.
✓Enhanced code reliability through the introduction of automated testing procedures.

Project Details

Client