biblical-guide.com/FEATURES_BACKLOG.md

Bible Reader - Features Backlog

This document tracks planned features and enhancements for the Bible Reader module based on 2025 state-of-the-art reading standards.

✅ Phase 1 - Core Reading Experience (COMPLETED)

Typography & Customization ✅

• Enhanced typography controls (letter/word/paragraph spacing)
• Max line length control (50-100ch)
• Font family selection (serif/sans-serif)
• Theme support (light/dark/sepia)
• Reading mode (distraction-free)

Highlighting & Annotations ✅

• Multi-color highlighting system (7 colors)
• Inline annotations for highlights
• Database persistence (Prisma)
• Full CRUD API endpoints
• Theme-aware highlight colors

Mobile Experience ✅

• Swipe left/right for chapter navigation
• Tap zones for quick navigation (25% left/right)
• Smooth page transitions (fade + scale)
• Touch-optimized gestures
• Settings toggles for mobile features

Accessibility (WCAG AAA) ✅

• Enhanced contrast ratios (7:1+ for all themes)
• 2px visible focus indicators
• ARIA live regions for screen readers
• Skip navigation link
• Full keyboard navigation
• 200% zoom support without content loss

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📋 Phase 2 - Advanced Reading Features

Priority: HIGH

1. Text-to-Speech (TTS)

User Value: Accessibility, multitasking, learning styles Complexity: Medium Implementation:

• Integrate Web Speech API
• Voice selection (male/female, languages)
• Speed control (0.5x - 2.0x)
• Pitch control
• Auto-advance to next chapter
• Highlight current verse being read
• Pause/resume/stop controls
• Background playback support
• Verse-level navigation (skip to verse)
• Persistent player bar (sticky)

Technical Notes:

• Use window.speechSynthesis API
• Store TTS preferences in localStorage
• Handle browser compatibility (fallback for unsupported browsers)
• Consider premium voices via third-party APIs (Amazon Polly, Google Cloud TTS)

2. Parallel Bible View

User Value: Study, comparison, translation verification Complexity: Medium Implementation:

• Side-by-side layout (2-3 versions)
• Synchronized scrolling
• Version selector per pane
• Responsive layout (stack on mobile)
• Verse alignment highlighting
• Diff view for text differences
• Quick swap versions
• Column width adjustment
• Independent highlighting per version
• Export comparison view

Technical Notes:

• Use CSS Grid for flexible layout
• Implement scroll synchronization with IntersectionObserver
• Store selected versions in URL params
• Consider performance with multiple API calls

3. Cross-References Panel

User Value: Context, deeper understanding, study Complexity: Medium Implementation:

• Fetch cross-references from database/API
• Display in collapsible sidebar
• Show preview on hover
• Click to navigate to reference
• Group by category (parallel passages, quotations, themes)
• Visual indicators in text (superscript letters)
• Filter by reference type
• Add custom cross-references
• Bidirectional linking
• Search cross-references

Technical Notes:

• Requires cross-reference data in database
• Use OpenBible.info cross-reference data or similar
• Implement lazy loading for performance
• Add caching for frequently accessed references

4. Export Functionality

User Value: Sharing, printing, offline study Complexity: Medium-High Implementation:

• Export to PDF (with highlights/notes)
• Export to DOCX (Microsoft Word)
• Export to Markdown
• Export to plain text
• Include/exclude highlights option
• Include/exclude notes option
• Custom cover page
• Table of contents
• Verse number formatting options
• Print-optimized layout

Technical Notes:

• Use jsPDF or pdfmake for PDF generation
• Use docxtemplater for DOCX
• Server-side generation for better quality
• Consider file size limits
• Add download progress indicator

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Priority: MEDIUM

5. Reading Plans with Progress Tracking

User Value: Discipline, goal achievement, spiritual growth Complexity: High Implementation:

• Pre-defined reading plans (Bible in 1 year, 90 days, etc.)
• Custom reading plan builder
• Daily reading reminders
• Progress tracking (days completed, streak)
• Calendar view of plan
• Catch-up mode (reschedule missed days)
• Plan sharing/importing
• Reading plan templates
• Notifications for daily readings
• Statistics and insights

Technical Notes:

• Database schema for reading plans
• Cron job for daily notifications
• Integration with calendar apps (iCal export)
• Push notifications via service worker

6. Rich Text Study Notes

User Value: In-depth study, organization, knowledge retention Complexity: Medium Implementation:

• Rich text editor (WYSIWYG)
• Formatting options (bold, italic, lists, headers)
• Image embedding
• Link insertion
• Code snippets (for Hebrew/Greek)
• Markdown support
• Note templates
• Folder organization
• Search within notes
• Export notes separately

Technical Notes:

• Use TipTap or Quill editor
• Store notes in database (JSON format)
• Implement full-text search
• Add image upload to cloud storage

7. Tags & Categories System

User Value: Organization, discovery, thematic study Complexity: Medium Implementation:

• Create custom tags
• Tag highlights and notes
• Tag autocomplete
• Tag-based filtering
• Tag cloud visualization
• Predefined tag library (themes, topics)
• Nested tags/categories
• Tag merging and renaming
• Tag usage statistics
• Share tags with community

Technical Notes:

• Many-to-many relationship in database
• Implement tag search with fuzzy matching
• Add tag color coding
• Consider hierarchical tags (parent/child)

8. Speed Reading Mode

User Value: Time efficiency, comprehension training Complexity: Medium Implementation:

• RSVP (Rapid Serial Visual Presentation) mode
• Adjustable WPM (200-1000)
• Focus point indicator
• Chunking (display 1-3 words at a time)
• Pause on punctuation
• Comprehension checkpoints
• Eye training exercises
• Speed reading tutorials
• Progress tracking (WPM improvement)
• Customizable display area

Technical Notes:

• Use setInterval for word display timing
• Implement optimal fixation point (slightly left of center)
• Add keyboard shortcuts for control
• Store reading speed in user preferences

9. Focus Mode Enhancements

User Value: Concentration, reduced distraction Complexity: Low-Medium Implementation:

• Dimming/masking of surrounding text
• Guided reading line (follows scroll)
• Spotlight mode (highlight current paragraph)
• Blur surrounding content
• Reading ruler overlay
• Focus intensity adjustment
• Auto-scroll with adjustable speed
• Bionic reading format (bold first letters)
• Sentence-by-sentence mode
• Breathing reminders during reading

Technical Notes:

• Use CSS filters and opacity
• Implement scroll-linked animations
• Add smooth auto-scroll with requestAnimationFrame
• Consider accessibility implications

10. Custom Fonts & Dyslexia Support

User Value: Readability, accessibility, personal preference Complexity: Medium Implementation:

• Google Fonts integration
• Upload custom fonts
• Dyslexia-friendly fonts (OpenDyslexic, Lexend)
• Font preview
• Font size presets (small, medium, large, extra-large)
• Font weight adjustment
• Letter spacing presets for dyslexia
• Color filter overlays (yellow, blue, green)
• High contrast mode
• Font pairing recommendations

Technical Notes:

• Use @font-face for custom fonts
• Add font loading optimization
• Store font preferences in user profile
• Implement font subsetting for performance

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📋 Phase 3 - Smart Features & Analytics

Priority: FUTURE

11. AI-Powered Smart Suggestions

User Value: Discovery, deeper study, personalized experience Complexity: High Implementation:

• Related verses based on current reading
• Thematic verse discovery
• Semantic search (not just keyword)
• AI-generated study questions
• Automatic verse categorization
• Personalized reading recommendations
• Smart highlighting suggestions
• Context-aware cross-references
• Reading pattern analysis
• AI study companion chatbot

Technical Notes:

• Integrate OpenAI API or local LLM (Ollama)
• Use vector embeddings for semantic search
• Implement RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation)
• Cache AI responses for performance
• Consider API costs and rate limits

12. Reading Analytics Dashboard

User Value: Insights, motivation, goal tracking Complexity: High Implementation:

• Reading heatmap (most-read passages)
• Time tracking per book/chapter
• Reading streak visualization
• Words read counter
• Comprehension metrics (re-read rate, highlight density)
• Reading speed over time
• Favorite books/chapters
• Reading goals (daily, weekly, monthly)
• Progress towards Bible completion
• Shareable achievements/badges

Technical Notes:

• Store reading events in time-series database
• Use Chart.js or Recharts for visualizations
• Implement background tracking (respectful of privacy)
• Add data export (GDPR compliance)

13. Social & Collaboration Features

User Value: Community, accountability, shared learning Complexity: High Implementation:

• Share highlights with friends
• Public/private notes toggle
• Verse discussions (comments)
• Group study sessions
• Shared reading plans
• Follow friends' reading activity
• Reading groups/communities
• Social sharing (Twitter, Facebook)
• Collaborative notes (Google Docs style)
• Leaderboards (reading streaks, completion)

Technical Notes:

• Implement permissions system (public/private/friends)
• Real-time collaboration with WebSockets
• Privacy controls and moderation
• Social media API integration
• Consider COPPA compliance for younger users

14. Enhanced Offline Experience

User Value: Reliability, data savings, offline access Complexity: Medium-High Implementation:

• Selective chapter download
• Smart pre-fetching based on reading history
• Background sync of highlights/notes
• Conflict resolution for offline edits
• Delta sync (only changed data)
• Offline search indexing
• Download progress indicator
• Storage management (clear cache)
• Offline-first architecture
• Service worker optimization

Technical Notes:

• Expand PWA capabilities
• Use IndexedDB for local storage
• Implement sync queue for offline changes
• Add background sync API
• Optimize for low storage devices

15. Advanced Search & Discovery

User Value: Research, quick access, deep study Complexity: Medium-High Implementation:

• Full-text search across all versions
• Advanced filters (book, testament, keywords)
• Search within highlights/notes
• Regular expression search
• Proximity search (words near each other)
• Wildcard and fuzzy search
• Search history
• Saved searches
• Search suggestions/autocomplete
• Visual search results (context preview)

Technical Notes:

• Implement full-text search in database (PostgreSQL)
• Use Elasticsearch for advanced search
• Add search result ranking algorithm
• Cache frequent searches

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🎯 Implementation Priority Matrix

Feature	User Impact	Complexity	Priority	Estimated Time
Text-to-Speech	High	Medium	🔴 High	2-3 weeks
Parallel Bible View	High	Medium	🔴 High	2 weeks
Cross-References Panel	High	Medium	🔴 High	2 weeks
Export Functionality	High	Medium-High	🔴 High	2-3 weeks
Reading Plans	Medium	High	🟡 Medium	3-4 weeks
Rich Text Notes	Medium	Medium	🟡 Medium	2 weeks
Tags & Categories	Medium	Medium	🟡 Medium	1-2 weeks
Speed Reading Mode	Medium	Medium	🟡 Medium	2 weeks
Focus Mode Enhanced	Low-Medium	Low-Medium	🟡 Medium	1 week
Custom Fonts	Low-Medium	Medium	🟡 Medium	1 week
AI Suggestions	Medium-High	High	🔵 Future	4-6 weeks
Analytics Dashboard	Medium	High	🔵 Future	3-4 weeks
Social Features	Medium	High	🔵 Future	4-6 weeks
Enhanced Offline	Low-Medium	Medium-High	🔵 Future	2-3 weeks
Advanced Search	Medium	Medium-High	🔵 Future	2-3 weeks

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📊 Technical Debt & Infrastructure

Database Schema Updates Needed

• Cross-references table
• Reading plans table
• Study notes table (rich text)
• Tags table (many-to-many with highlights)
• Reading events table (analytics)
• User preferences expansion

API Endpoints to Create

• /api/cross-references - Fetch cross-references
• /api/reading-plans - CRUD for reading plans
• /api/notes - Rich text study notes
• /api/tags - Tag management
• /api/export - Generate exports (PDF, DOCX, etc.)
• /api/tts/voices - Available TTS voices
• /api/analytics/reading-events - Track reading activity
• /api/search/advanced - Advanced search

Third-Party Services to Integrate

• Web Speech API (built-in)
• Amazon Polly / Google Cloud TTS (premium voices)
• OpenBible.info API (cross-references)
• jsPDF / pdfmake (PDF generation)
• OpenAI API (AI features)
• Elasticsearch (advanced search)
• SendGrid/Mailgun (reading plan reminders)

Performance Optimizations

• Implement virtual scrolling for long chapters
• Add code splitting for features
• Optimize bundle size (tree shaking)
• Add server-side caching (Redis)
• Implement CDN for static assets
• Database query optimization (indexes)
• Image optimization for exports

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🔗 Resources & References

Design Inspiration

• Kindle (Amazon) - Reading experience, highlighting
• Apple Books - Annotations, themes
• Readwise Reader - Highlighting, export
• Instapaper - Reading mode, fonts
• Medium - Typography, focus mode

Technical Standards

• WCAG 2.1 Level AAA - Accessibility
• PWA Best Practices - Offline experience
• Material Design 3 - UI components
• Web Speech API - Text-to-speech
• Service Worker API - Background sync

Data Sources

• OpenBible.info - Cross-references
• Blue Letter Bible API - Study resources
• BibleGateway - Verse references
• ESV API - Bible text
• YouVersion API - Reading plans

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📝 Notes

• All new features should maintain WCAG AAA accessibility
• Mobile-first approach for all implementations
• Consider performance impact on low-end devices
• Ensure all features work offline where applicable
• Add comprehensive tests for new features
• Update documentation as features are added

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Last Updated: 2025-10-10 Current Phase: Phase 1 Complete ✅ Next Milestone: Phase 2A - High Priority Features