LifeWave Global Multi-Country Platform Launch

The Challenge

LifeWave needed to launch a comprehensive international e-commerce platform that would serve their social marketing network across 74+ countries in just 90 working days. This wasn’t just one website—it was an entire ecosystem of 88 individual, multilingual websites that needed to work cohesively while respecting local languages, currencies, regulations, and cultural considerations.

The complexity was staggering:

• Multiple languages and localization requirements
• Complex tech stack requiring orchestration across five major platforms
• Tight deadline with no room for delays
• Need for consistent design and user experience across all 88 sites
• Accessibility compliance requirements
• Social marketing features unique to direct sales business model

This project required not just design expertise, but leadership, technical coordination, and the ability to manage a complex cross-functional team under intense time pressure.

Technical Ecosystem

The platform was built on a sophisticated tech stack:

Backend & Infrastructure

• .NET Core: Primary application framework
• Exigo PaaS: Direct sales and commission management platform
• Sanity CMS: Headless CMS for content management

User Experience & Support

• Gladly: Customer service and support platform
• AccessiBe: Accessibility compliance and remediation

Each of these systems needed to work together seamlessly while supporting 74+ countries, multiple languages, various currencies, and diverse regulatory requirements.

Team Leadership & Coordination

As project lead, I directed a talented cross-functional team whose responsibilities included:

Content Management

• Data Entry Specialists: Managing product information, localization data, and content across 88 sites
• Language Localization Team: Ensuring accurate translations and cultural appropriateness

Design & Assets

• Design Input Specialists: Providing design feedback and ensuring brand consistency
• Asset Management Team: Organizing and distributing visual assets across all properties

Quality & Delivery

• Project Task Management: Coordinating workstreams and tracking deliverables
• Bug Tracking Team: Identifying and documenting issues for resolution
• User Testing Specialists: Validating experiences across languages and countries

Leading this diverse team required:

• Clear communication of goals and priorities
• Effective task delegation and dependency management
• Regular check-ins and progress tracking
• Problem-solving and unblocking team members
• Maintaining team morale under deadline pressure

Design Strategy

Creating a Scalable System

With 88 websites to launch, efficiency was critical. I established:

Unified Design System

• Core component library that worked across all sites
• Flexible theming system for localization needs
• Consistent patterns for e-commerce flows
• Reusable templates that could be customized per country

Sanity CMS Architecture

• Structured content models that supported multilingual content
• Efficient workflow for content entry and localization
• Preview and staging environments for quality assurance
• Asset management strategy for global image libraries

Solving for Localization

Each country needed more than just translated text:

Language Support

• Right-to-left (RTL) language support
• Character set and font considerations
• Text expansion accommodations (some languages require 30-40% more space)

Cultural Adaptation

• Imagery appropriate for each market
• Color choices respecting cultural meanings
• Layout adjustments for reading patterns
• Currency and date format localization

Regulatory Compliance

• Country-specific legal requirements
• Data privacy regulations (GDPR, etc.)
• Accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA via AccessiBe)
• Direct sales compliance requirements

E-Commerce & Social Marketing Features

The platform needed to support LifeWave’s social marketing business model:

Distributor Features

• Personalized distributor replicated websites
• Enrollment and onboarding flows
• Back-office access and reporting
• Commission tracking and management

Customer Experience

• Product catalogs with multi-language support
• Shopping cart and checkout flows
• Multiple payment methods per country
• Order tracking and history

Customer Support Integration

• Gladly integration for support ticketing
• Multi-language customer service
• Distributor-customer relationship management

The 90-Day Sprint

Delivering 88 websites in 90 working days required meticulous planning and execution:

Phase 1: Foundation (Days 1-20)

• Finalized design system and component library
• Established Sanity CMS content architecture
• Created templates and patterns for replication
• Set up development and staging environments
• Established quality assurance processes

Phase 2: Production (Days 21-70)

• Built and deployed core platform functionality
• Content entry and asset management across all sites
• Language localization and cultural adaptation
• Integration testing across all platform components
• Continuous bug tracking and resolution

Phase 3: Launch Preparation (Days 71-90)

• Comprehensive testing across all 88 sites
• Final localization reviews and corrections
• Performance optimization and monitoring setup
• Stakeholder reviews and approvals
• Phased rollout strategy execution

Meeting the Deadline

Through effective leadership, clear processes, and team dedication, we met the 90-day deadline and successfully launched all 88 websites on schedule.

Contributing to Sanity CMS

Throughout the project, I identified opportunities to improve Sanity CMS itself:

Platform Improvements As we pushed the boundaries of Sanity with 88 multilingual sites, I:

• Identified workflow inefficiencies in multi-site content management
• Provided feedback on localization features
• Suggested improvements to asset management
• Documented best practices for large-scale deployments
• Collaborated with Sanity team on optimization strategies

Recognition & Impact The Sanity team was so impressed with my contributions and expertise that they offered me a position as a preferred Sanity consultant. This recognition validated that I didn’t just use their platform—I helped make it better.

This outcome demonstrates an important principle: when you deeply engage with your tools and contribute back to the ecosystem, you create value beyond your immediate project.

Key Challenges & Solutions

Challenge: Content Management at Scale

Managing content across 88 sites with multiple languages could easily become chaotic.

Solution:

• Established clear content hierarchies and inheritance patterns
• Created efficient workflows for localization teams
• Built preview and staging processes for quality assurance
• Implemented bulk operations for common tasks

Challenge: Maintaining Consistency

Ensuring brand and experience consistency across 88 sites without bottlenecking.

Solution:

• Robust design system with clear guidelines
• Component library that enforced consistency
• Regular design reviews at key milestones
• Empowered team members to make decisions within established parameters

Challenge: Technical Integration Complexity

Five major platforms that all needed to work together flawlessly.

Solution:

• Clear API contracts and integration documentation
• Comprehensive testing strategy
• Close collaboration with platform vendors
• Contingency plans for integration issues

Challenge: Deadline Pressure

90 days with no flexibility for 88 websites.

Solution:

• Realistic project planning with buffer time
• Prioritization of critical path items
• Daily standups to catch issues early
• Empowered team to escalate blockers immediately
• Maintained team morale through transparent communication

Results & Impact

On-Time Delivery

• 88 websites launched within 90-day deadline
• 74+ countries served simultaneously
• Zero major launch issues that required rollback

Platform Excellence

• Sanity CMS improvements contributed back to the platform
• Preferred consultant offer from Sanity
• Scalable architecture ready for future country additions

Team Success

• Cross-functional team performed exceptionally under pressure
• Clear processes enabled efficient collaboration
• Skills development for team members across all functions

Business Impact

• Global reach established for LifeWave’s digital presence
• Consistent experience across all international markets
• Maintainable system that doesn’t require 88 separate teams
• Accessibility compliance protecting brand and users

Key Learnings

Leadership Under Pressure

Leading a team through a high-stakes, deadline-driven project taught me:

1. Clear Communication is Everything When managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders, over-communication is better than under-communication. Regular updates, transparent challenges, and clear expectations kept everyone aligned.

2. Empower Your Team Trust team members to make decisions within their domains. Bottlenecking every decision through leadership slows everything down. Establish clear guidelines, then let people work.

3. Plan for Problems On a project this scale, things will go wrong. Build buffer time, have contingency plans, and don’t panic when issues arise. The team takes their cue from leadership.

4. Celebrate Small Wins A 90-day sprint is grueling. Celebrating milestones keeps morale high and momentum strong.

Scale Requires Systems

1. Templates Over Custom Build reusable systems rather than custom solutions. Our design system and content templates were what made 88 sites possible in 90 days.

2. Automation is Your Friend Every manual process multiplied by 88 becomes a nightmare. Automate everything possible.

3. Documentation Saves Time Clear documentation reduces questions and errors. Time spent documenting early pays off exponentially at scale.

Contributing to Your Ecosystem

1. Engage Deeply With Your Tools Understanding the platforms you use at a deep level reveals opportunities for improvement.

2. Share Your Insights Providing feedback to platform vendors helps everyone. Sanity became a better product because we shared our learnings.

3. Build Relationships The Sanity consultant offer came from genuine collaboration, not self-promotion. Focus on creating value, and recognition follows.

Technical Specifications

Architecture

• Frontend: .NET Core with server-side rendering
• CMS: Sanity headless CMS with structured content
• E-Commerce: Exigo PaaS integration
• Support: Gladly customer service platform
• Accessibility: AccessiBe integration for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance

Scale

• 88 individual websites
• 74+ countries supported
• Multiple languages per site
• Responsive design across all devices
• Performance optimized for global audiences

Maintenance

• Centralized design system
• Shared component library
• Content inheritance patterns
• Efficient localization workflow
• Comprehensive documentation

Conclusion

The LifeWave project represents the intersection of design leadership, technical expertise, and project management at massive scale. Successfully launching 88 multilingual websites across 74+ countries in 90 days required:

• Strong leadership to guide a talented cross-functional team
• Systematic thinking to create scalable, maintainable solutions
• Technical depth to orchestrate complex platform integrations
• Design excellence to maintain quality and consistency at scale
• Collaborative spirit that contributed improvements to the tools themselves

Most importantly, this project demonstrated that ambition backed by solid planning, talented teams, and effective leadership can achieve seemingly impossible deadlines.

The recognition from Sanity CMS—offering me a position as a preferred consultant—validated that the impact extended beyond just the client. By engaging deeply with the tools, sharing insights, and pushing platforms to their limits, I helped improve the ecosystem for everyone.

This is design leadership at scale: delivering exceptional results for clients while contributing back to the broader community.