Yore - Cultural Tourism & Archaeological Discovery Platform (In Progress)

The idea for Yore has been incubating in my mind since around 2014-15, born from a deep fascination with the archaeology of the Isle of Man and a personal need that I couldn't find any existing app to solve. As someone who regularly visits historical sites, I wanted a way to log my own discoveries and build up a personal archaeological knowledge base.

What started as "ArcheoApp" was my attempt to get back into development after a break. I created a very simple version but didn't get far. The concept kept evolving — in 2018, 2019, and 2021, I returned to the idea, eventually renaming it "Archly." That iteration included NFTs for each site logged by users, but I got daunted by the AR/LiDAR technical complexity and got pulled into other projects.

The idea never left me. In 2023, after getting to know two archaeologists in my town who both thought the concept was brilliant, I made a pact with myself: this time, I'm taking it to the finish line. I renamed the project "Yore" and shifted focus from complex AR features to building a solid, engaging platform that solves real problems for real users.

The Vision

Yore aims to be the definitive platform for cultural tourism and archaeological discovery. Think of it as a combination of Foursquare for historical sites, Pokemon GO for archaeology enthusiasts, and Wikipedia for crowd-sourced historical knowledge. The platform transforms everyday locations into gateways to historical discovery through gamification, social features, and rich educational content.

The name "Yore" captures the essence of the evolved project: connecting people with the rich historical layers of the world around them. It's about making archaeology and cultural heritage accessible to everyone, not just academics, while building a passionate community of historical explorers.

Market Opportunity

The platform operates at the convergence of four high-growth markets: cultural tourism ($778 billion, 4.5% CAGR), educational technology ($252 billion, 20.8% CAGR), mobile mapping services ($65 billion, 19% CAGR), and user-generated content platforms ($35 billion, 29.2% CAGR). Based on comprehensive market analysis, Yore has a projected valuation potential of $2.5M-$15M depending on execution and user acquisition success.

Cultural tourists represent a high-value demographic, staying 22% longer than average tourists and spending 38% more per day, with 79% willing to pay premium for authentic cultural experiences.

Technical Architecture

The platform is built as a modern full-stack application using a carefully selected technology stack that balances performance, scalability, and development efficiency:

Landing Page:

• Astro SSG - Very fast static website for promoting the project

Frontend Application:

• Next.js 16 with App Router for optimal SEO and performance
• TypeScript throughout for type safety and maintainability
• TailwindCSS for responsive, component-driven styling
• Progressive Web App features for mobile-first experience

Backend Infrastructure:

• Laravel 11 API backend with robust authentication
• PostgreSQL for main application data
• Redis for caching Google Places API responses and session management
• Laravel Sanctum for secure API authentication
• Google Places API integration for location discovery
• Wikipedia API integration for rich historical content

Deployment & DevOps:

• Dokploy for streamlined container orchestration and deployment
• Hetzner VPS cluster for cost-effective, scalable hosting running on 100% green energy
• GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline with Docker containerisation
• Traefik reverse proxy for SSL and routing management
• ARM64 optimisation for modern server efficiency - ARM architecture uses much less power than AMD or Intel, are cheaper to lease and reduce our carbon footprint

Key Features & Engagement Strategy

Discovery Mechanics:

• Location-based historical site discovery with "mystery places" that unlock within proximity
• Gamified exploration with progression systems, achievements, and collections
• Point-based rewards for discoveries, photo contributions, and knowledge sharing
• Social leaderboards and friend activity feeds

Community & Content:

• User-generated historical site submissions with community verification
• Photo sharing and historical accuracy crowd-sourcing
• Expert historian partnerships for authoritative content
• Educational content integration with interactive historical timelines

Monetization Strategy:

• Freemium subscription model with premium historical content
• Partnership revenue with museums, heritage sites, and cultural institutions
• Educational licensing for schools and universities
• Premium AR experiences and exclusive curator content

Development Progress

The project is currently in active development with significant milestones achieved:

• ✅ Market research and valuation analysis completed
• ✅ Core architecture designed and documented
• ✅ Laravel backend API development in progress
• ✅ User authentication system implemented
• ✅ Google Places API integration operational
• ✅ Next.js frontend responsive homepage completed
• ✅ PostgreSQL database schema designed
• 🔄 Mobile-responsive UI/UX development underway
• 🔄 Migration to self-hosted infrastructure in progress
• 🔄 SEO optimization and social sharing features
• ⏳ Beta testing platform targeted for Q1 2026
• ⏳ Dedicated VPS deployment planned

Infrastructure Philosophy

Yore is part of my broader strategic shift toward self-hosted, open-source infrastructure. The platform will run on dedicated VPS servers within my growing cluster, managed through Dokploy for efficient deployment and scaling. This approach dramatically reduces operational costs compared to traditional PaaS solutions, enabling sustainable growth and competitive service offerings.

The self-hosting strategy provides complete control over the hosting environment, allows for custom optimizations specific to location-based services, and aligns with my broader goal of offering cost-effective web services to clients by avoiding the markup costs of cloud platforms.

Technical Challenges & Innovation

Building a location-based social platform presents unique technical challenges that I'm addressing through innovative solutions:

Performance Optimization:

• Efficient caching strategies for Google Places API responses
• Database optimization for geospatial queries
• Progressive loading of historical content and images
• Offline functionality for field use

User Experience Design:

• Seamless onboarding for users unfamiliar with archaeological terminology
• Intuitive gamification that doesn't overwhelm educational content
• Social features that encourage knowledge sharing without misinformation
• Cross-platform responsive design optimized for mobile exploration

Scalability Considerations:

• API rate limiting and caching to manage third-party service costs
• Efficient image handling and storage for user-generated content
• Database architecture that supports rapid geographic searches
• Infrastructure that can scale with user growth while maintaining cost efficiency

Why This Matters

This project represents more than just another app — it's the culmination of a decade-long personal journey and a genuine solution to problems I've experienced firsthand as someone who explores historical sites. Cultural heritage preservation and education face significant challenges in reaching broader audiences, and Yore addresses this by making archaeological discovery accessible, social, and engaging for everyday users.

The validation from working archaeologists and the evolution from personal tool to social platform demonstrates how individual passion projects can scale into meaningful business opportunities. Yore has the potential to:

• Increase cultural tourism to lesser-known historical sites
• Create new revenue streams for heritage organizations
• Democratize archaeological knowledge and discovery
• Build stronger connections between communities and their historical heritage
• Provide archaeologists and enthusiasts with tools they actually want to use

This project also showcases my ability to iterate on ideas over time, learn from technical challenges, and ultimately deliver on long-term vision. The progression from ArcheoApp to Archly to Yore reflects both technical growth and market understanding — knowing when to simplify and focus on core user value rather than getting lost in cutting-edge features.

Next Steps

The immediate focus is completing the core application features and launching a closed beta with archaeology enthusiasts and cultural tourism organizations. Key upcoming milestones include:

• Finalizing the mobile-responsive user interface
• Implementing advanced search and filtering capabilities
• Launching partnership discussions with heritage organizations
• Deploying the staging environment on self-hosted infrastructure
• Conducting user testing with target demographics

Project Timeline: Beta launch Q1 2026, public release Q2 2026
Staging URL: dig.yore.earth (in development)
Contact: hello@frst.uk for collaboration opportunities

Yore represents the intersection of my passion for history, technical expertise in modern web development, and strategic understanding of niche market opportunities. It's a project where cultural preservation meets cutting-edge technology.