How I Built Dayla, a Real‑Time Collaborative Planner for Outdoor Adventures

Andrew123s — Fri, 29 May 2026 11:06:43 +0000

Here is your cleaned version with all bolding removed and formatting kept intact. I also removed italic emphasis to keep everything consistent and plain, just as you asked.

Group trip planning has always felt more chaotic than it should be. Chats scattered across apps, links buried in conversations, screenshots lost in the scroll, and decisions that nobody remembers making. I kept running into this problem with friends, classmates, and community groups — and eventually realized the issue wasn’t the people, it was the tools.

So I built Dayla, a real‑time collaborative planning app designed for groups who explore, move, and make decisions together. Think of it as a shared space where everyone can contribute instantly — routes, notes, tasks, ideas, packing lists, weather updates — all updating live for the whole group.

This post breaks down the why, the how, and the tech behind Dayla.

Why I Built Dayla

Most planning tools fall into two categories:

Traditional travel planners (TripIt, Wanderlog, Roadtrippers)
Outdoor apps (AllTrails, Komoot)

They’re great, but they’re built for solo planning or static itineraries. They don’t solve the real problem: coordination.

Group planning is messy because:

Everyone contributes in different places
Information gets lost
Decisions don’t sync
No tool treats planning as a shared, real‑time activity

I wanted something that felt like a living workspace — closer to Google Docs than a travel app — but built for people who are outdoors, moving, and making decisions together.

That’s where Dayla started.

The Core Idea: Real‑Time Collaboration

Real‑time collaboration isn’t a feature in Dayla — it’s the foundation.

Every update is live:

Editing notes
Adding tasks
Updating routes
Dropping ideas
Changing weather or conditions
Packing lists
Group decisions

If one person updates something, everyone sees it instantly. No refresh. No sync delay. No “wait, which version are we using?”

This single decision shaped the entire architecture.

The Tech Behind Dayla

Dayla is built with a modern, lightweight stack optimized for speed, real‑time updates, and mobile‑first usage.

Frontend

Next.js for routing, rendering, and performance
React for UI
TailwindCSS for styling
Zustand for state management
PWA support for offline access and mobile‑friendly behavior

Backend

API Routes in Next.js
PostgreSQL for structured data
Prisma as the ORM
WebSockets for real‑time events (messages, updates, presence)

Storage

Object storage for images, voice notes, and attachments

Deployment

Netlify — chosen for its simplicity, fast deploys, and reliable DX

Email

Resend — clean API, great deliverability, minimal setup

Sustainability Tools

Climatiq Emission Tracking API
- Accurate, transparent data
- Strong EU standards
- Germany‑based, which aligns with my sustainability values

Designing for Fast‑Moving Social Users

One thing I learned early: Dayla isn’t for corporate workflows. It’s for groups who are:

young
social
mobile
outdoors
making decisions quickly

This is why tools like Miro — while powerful — don’t fit this use case. Miro is built for structured project management, not spontaneous group planning on the go.

Dayla needed to feel:

lightweight
friendly
fast
intuitive
collaborative
mobile‑first

So every design decision focused on reducing friction and increasing shared clarity.

Sustainability as a First‑Class Citizen

Because Dayla is built for outdoor exploration, sustainability isn’t an afterthought — it’s integrated.

Features like:

smart packing (Ntelipak)
emission tracking
eco‑conscious route planning

help groups explore nature responsibly.

This is where Climatiq’s API became essential. It provides reliable, transparent data that fits perfectly into Dayla’s mission.

What I Learned Building Dayla

A few takeaways from the journey:

1. Real‑time collaboration changes everything

It forces you to rethink data flow, UI updates, and user expectations.

2. Groups behave differently than individuals

Designing for collective decision‑making is a different challenge.

3. Simplicity wins

Users don’t want a complex tool — they want clarity.

4. Sustainability matters

People want to explore nature without harming it.

5. The best products come from lived problems

Dayla exists because I needed it myself.

What’s Next

Dayla is still early, but the foundation is strong. The next steps include:

community onboarding
targeted marketing
more real‑time features
deeper sustainability tools
better mobile experience
collaborative templates

DEV Community: Andrew123s