How to Build a Basic Web Application with Express Next JS - Web development has become an essential skill for many businesses and individuals. Creating a web application from scratch may seem daunting, but with the right tools, it can be a simple and rewarding process. In this article, we will explore how to build a basic web application using Express and Next JS.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. What is Express and Next JS?
3. Prerequisites
4. Setting Up the Project
5. Creating the Server with Express
6. Implementing Next JS
7. Creating a Basic User Interface
8. Deploying the Application
9. Conclusion
10. FAQs

Introduction

A web application is a software application that runs on a web server and is accessed through a web browser. Express is a popular Node.js web application framework, and Next JS is a framework built on top of React that provides server-side rendering, automatic code splitting, and other useful features. In this article, we will combine these two frameworks to create a basic web application.

What is Express and Next JS?

Express is a minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework that provides a set of features for web and mobile applications. It is designed to make it easy to build web applications and APIs. Next JS is a React framework that provides a set of tools and features to create server-rendered React applications. It is designed to provide a seamless development experience with many helpful features, such as automatic code splitting, static optimization, and server-side rendering.

Prerequisites

Before we start building our web application, we need to make sure we have the following prerequisites installed on our system:

• Node.js (version 12 or above)
• NPM (Node Package Manager)

Setting Up the Project

To set up the project, we need to follow the steps below:

1. Create a new directory for the project.
2. Open the terminal and navigate to the newly created directory.
3. Run the command "npm init" to initialize the project with a package.json file.
4. Install the required dependencies by running the following command: "npm install express next react react-dom".

Creating the Server with Express

To create the server, we need to follow the steps below:

1. Create a new file called "server.js".
2. Import the required dependencies: "express" and "next".
3. Create an instance of the express application by calling the "express" function.
4. Define a route that responds with the text "Hello World".
5. Start the server by calling the "listen" method on the express instance.

Implementing Next JS

To implement Next JS, we need to follow the steps below:

1. Create a new file called "index.js".
2. Import the required dependencies: "react" and "react-dom".
3. Define a React component that renders some text.
4. Export the component as the default export of the module.
5. Create a new file called "pages/index.js".
6. Import the "React" module and the component defined in the previous step.
7. Export the component as the default export of the module.
8. Update the "server.js" file to use the "next" middleware and handle all requests using the Next.js app.

Creating a Basic User Interface

To create a basic user interface, we need to follow the steps below:

1. Update the "index.js" file to render some HTML instead of text.
2. Update the "server.js" file to serve static files and handle all requests using the Next.js app.
3. Create a new file called "pages/about.js".
4. Add some content to the "about.js" file.
5. Update the "index.js" file to link
6. Update the "index.js" file to link to the "about" page using the Next.js Link component.

Deploying the Application

Once we have built our web application, we need to deploy it to a web server to make it available to users. There are many ways to deploy a web application, but one of the easiest ways is to use a platform like Heroku or Netlify.

To deploy our application to Heroku, we need to follow these steps:

1. Create a new account on Heroku.
2. Install the Heroku CLI on our local machine.
3. Create a new Heroku app using the Heroku CLI.
4. Push our code to the Heroku app using Git.
5. Start the Heroku app using the Heroku CLI.

Once our application is deployed, we can access it by visiting the URL of our Heroku app.

Conclusion

In conclusion, building a basic web application with Express and Next JS is a simple and rewarding process. With these two frameworks, we can create a robust and efficient web application that is easy to deploy and maintain. By following the steps outlined in this article, we can get started building our web application in no time.

FAQs

1. What is a web application? A web application is a software application that runs on a web server and is accessed through a web browser.
2. What is Express? Express is a minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework that provides a set of features for web and mobile applications.
3. What is Next JS? Next JS is a React framework that provides a set of tools and features to create server-rendered React applications.
4. How do I deploy my web application? There are many ways to deploy a web application, but one of the easiest ways is to use a platform like Heroku or Netlify.
5. Can I use other frameworks instead of Express and Next JS? Yes, there are many other frameworks available for building web applications, such as Flask, Django, Ruby on Rails, and Laravel. However, Express and Next JS are popular choices for building web applications with Node.js and React.