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Public Wishlist

Public wishlist functionality allows BookWish users to share their book wishlists with others via shareable URLs. This enables social book sharing, gift giving, and community engagement.

Purpose​

The public wishlist feature serves multiple use cases:

  • Gift Registry: Share wishlists with friends/family for birthdays, holidays
  • Social Sharing: Showcase book preferences on social media
  • Book Recommendations: Share curated book lists with reading communities
  • Store Integration: Allow users to discover books from store websites and add to wishlist
  • Cross-Platform: Access wishlists from both Flutter app and web

Implementation Approach​

Option 1: Subdomain (Current Approach)​

Public wishlists could be hosted at wishlist.bookwish.io or integrated into the main app domain with public routes.

Option 2: Store Website Integration​

The add-to-wishlist functionality is currently implemented in the stores website (bookwish.shop):

  • Users can add books from store websites to their BookWish wishlist
  • Authenticated users see wishlist picker
  • Unauthenticated users get redirected to login

Current Implementation​

Add to Wishlist Flow​

From store websites, users can add books to their wishlist:

// components/add-to-wishlist-button.tsx
export function AddToWishlistButton({ bookId, bookTitle }: Props) {
  const { isAuthenticated } = useAuth();

  if (!isAuthenticated) {
    return (
      <a href={`${BOOKWISH_APP_URL}/login?redirect=${currentURL}`}>
        Sign in to add to BookWish
      </a>
    );
  }

  return (
    <button onClick={() => setShowWishlistPicker(true)}>
      Add to BookWish
    </button>
  );
}

Wishlist Picker​

Client-side component that lets users:

  • Select which wishlist to add book to
  • View all their wishlists
  • Create new wishlist
  • See confirmation on success

Auth Integration​

The stores website checks for BookWish authentication:

  • Token stored in localStorage or cookies
  • Fetches user wishlists from backend API
  • Validates token with /users/me endpoint

Data Model​

Wishlist​

interface Wishlist {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  isPrivate: boolean;
  itemCount: number;
  userId: string;
  createdAt: Date;
  updatedAt: Date;
}

Wishlist Item​

interface WishlistItem {
  id: string;
  wishlistId: string;
  bookId: string;
  book: Book;
  addedAt: Date;
  notes?: string;
  priority?: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high';
}

Privacy Controls​

Private vs Public Wishlists​

  • Private: Only visible to the owner
  • Public: Shareable via URL, discoverable by others

Users can toggle privacy per wishlist from the app.

Sharing Mechanism​

URL Structure​

Public wishlists would be accessible via:

  • bookwish.io/wishlist/{wishlistId} (integrated in main app)
  • wishlist.bookwish.io/{username}/{wishlistSlug} (dedicated subdomain)
  • bookwish.io/{username}/wishlist/{wishlistSlug} (user profile route)

Metadata & SEO​

Public wishlists should include:

  • Open Graph tags for social media previews
  • Dynamic metadata with wishlist name and book count
  • Structured data for search engines

Display Features​

Public Wishlist Page​

A public wishlist page should display:

  • Wishlist name and description
  • Owner's name/username (if not anonymous)
  • Book grid with covers
  • Book titles, authors, prices
  • "Add to My Wishlist" button for logged-in users
  • "Buy" links to stores that have the book in stock
  • Share buttons for social media

Book Cards​

Each book in public wishlist shows:

  • Cover image
  • Title and authors
  • Owner's notes (if shared)
  • Priority indicator (if enabled)
  • Availability at nearby stores
  • Price range from available stores

Integration Points​

Flutter App​

The main BookWish Flutter app manages:

  • Creating/editing wishlists
  • Setting privacy preferences
  • Adding/removing books
  • Generating shareable links
  • Managing wishlist settings

Store Websites​

Store websites (bookwish.shop) enable:

  • Adding books from store inventory to user wishlists
  • Cross-domain authentication
  • Wishlist picker integration

Backend API​

Backend provides:

  • /wishlists - List user wishlists
  • /wishlists/{id} - Get wishlist details
  • /wishlists/{id}/items - Manage wishlist items
  • /wishlists/{id}/share - Generate share links
  • /wishlists/public/{id} - Public wishlist view

Future Enhancements​

Social Features​

  • Follow other users' wishlists
  • Like/comment on wishlist items
  • Collaborative wishlists
  • Gift marking (purchased by someone else)

Smart Features​

  • Price tracking alerts
  • Availability notifications
  • Related book suggestions
  • Reading list generation from wishlist

Analytics​

  • Track wishlist views
  • Popular books on wishlists
  • Store demand insights from wishlist data

Gift Registry​

  • Mark items as purchased
  • Hide purchased items
  • Thank you notes
  • Ship-to address integration

Technical Considerations​

Performance​

  • Cache public wishlists with revalidation
  • Lazy load book covers
  • Paginate for large wishlists (100+ books)
  • Edge caching for popular wishlists

Security​

  • Validate privacy settings before showing
  • Rate limit public wishlist access
  • Prevent scraping/abuse
  • CORS configuration for embeds

Accessibility​

  • Keyboard navigation
  • Screen reader support
  • Alt text for book covers
  • ARIA labels for interactive elements

Current Status​

As of the current implementation:

  • Wishlist management exists in Flutter app
  • Add-to-wishlist available on store websites
  • Backend API supports wishlist CRUD operations
  • Public sharing routes are not yet implemented
  • Dedicated public wishlist pages are planned for future development

The infrastructure is in place for wishlists, but the public sharing/viewing experience needs to be built as a Next.js route or standalone website.