Land. Scan.
You’re online.
BackpackLink is affordable, instant eSIM data for backpackers, students and digital nomads — researched, designed, and built solo, from the first wireframe to the App Store listing.
Roaming still punishes the way people actually travel.
- Airport SIM kiosks and plastic SIM swapping between every border
- Daily roaming fees ($10–15) that quietly outprice the trip itself
- Plans sized for a 3-day business trip, not a 3-month loop through a region
- The travelers moving the most — backpackers, students, nomads — are priced like occasional flyers
Travelers don’t want a phone plan. They want data that works the moment they land — without the markup.
Built for people who move, not just visit.
- ×Roaming shock the moment you land at a new border
- ×A physical SIM to track down, buy, and swap in every country
- ×Plans sized for a business trip, not a six-month loop
- ✓No roaming shock — pricing is visible before you ever pay
- ✓No SIM swapping — one QR code, activated on arrival
- ✓No complicated plans — coverage across 214+ countries
One person, every layer of the product.
Product vision & positioning
Defined who BackpackLink is for and what it refuses to be — another roaming plan.
End-to-end UI/UX
Flows, wireframes, and a full interface system, built for one-handed use on the move.
Full-stack development
Shipped the product end to end — destination search through checkout and delivery.
Pricing & launch
Researched carrier rates and traveler budgets to price every plan.
“I designed it, built it, and shipped it. There was no one else to hand it off to — every decision, and every bug, was mine.”
What actually matters to a traveler with a backpack.
Surprise bills are the real enemy
Roaming shock — not price alone — is what travelers remember, and what they warn other travelers about.
Coverage should start on arrival
The expectation is simple: data activates the moment a phone finds a local network, not before.
Price sensitivity runs high
Backpackers and students plan around a fixed daily budget — a plan has to fit the trip, not the other way around.
Clarity is the trust signal
A visible network list and an upfront price, shown before checkout, do more work than any badge or guarantee.
Seven screens, one uninterrupted trip.
From the first search to the account that manages every eSIM — every screen shown here is the live product.
From a blank page to a shippable product.
Flows & IA
Mapped the shortest path from “where am I going” to “I’m online.”
Wireframes
Low-fidelity screens to pressure-test the checkout and search flow.
High-fidelity UI
Applied the visual language — teal, cream, coral — across every screen.
Design system
Componentized cards, chips, and buttons for a consistent, buildable UI.
Build & ship
Wired the real thing: search, plans, checkout, delivery, accounts.
A working product, not just a prototype.
BackpackLink shipped as a complete, working product — search, transparent plan details, checkout, instant delivery, and account management — designed and engineered end to end by one person, with no team to hand work off to.
What building it solo actually taught me.
Pricing transparency isn’t a feature — it’s the pitch
It deserved to be designed first, not bolted on before checkout. Showing the network list and price upfront became the product’s clearest trust signal.
Building alone forces ruthless prioritization
With no team to absorb scope, every screen had to earn its place before it got built.
Trust lives in the details
A visible carrier and network list did more work than any guarantee badge could have.
Deepen the community layer
Travelers trust other travelers more than any coverage map — that layer is still early.
Built by one person, for people who move light.
BackpackLink is a solo-built product — every screen shown here is live, working software. Reach out to talk through the process, the product, or what’s next.