How To Build Your Own SaaS App: A Link Shortener Platform | NodeJS, MongoDB, ExpressJS

Have you ever wondered what goes into building a robust, production-ready backend application? This article gives you a sneak peek into the architecture of Shortly API, a feature-rich URL shortening service. We built this project to demonstrate best practices in modern backend development, using a powerful combination of Node.js, Express, MongoDB and TypeScript.

This project goes beyond just a simple URL shortener. We’ve focused on implementing essential features you'll find in real-world applications:

• Comprehensive Authentication & Authorization: The API includes a full authentication system for user registration and login, powered by JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for secure access. It also features a robust authorization middleware to manage different user roles.
• Secure Password Management: User passwords are not stored in plaintext. They are salted and hashed using bcrypt for enhanced security.
• Email Notifications: The application integrates with Nodemailer to handle critical functions like sending password reset links to users.
• Advanced Link Management: Users can create custom short links, manage their links (update or delete), and view a list of all their short URLs with visit counts. The API also handles redirects to the original destination URL.
• Middleware-Driven Security: Key middleware like helmet secures HTTP headers, express-rate-limit prevents abuse, and custom validation middleware ensures data integrity on all endpoints.
• Efficient Database Operations: The API connects to a MongoDB database using Mongoose to manage user and link data. Database connections are handled gracefully, and queries are optimized using methods like .lean() to improve performance.

If you are looking to build a scalable and secure backend, this project is the perfect starting point. The code is well-structured, easy to understand, and follows the principles of clean architecture.

Stay tuned for the full tutorial, where we will dive into each component and guide you through building this project from the ground up!

Essential link
Source code: https://www.patreon.com/posts/exclusive-source-139095423?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
Source code 2: https://buymeacoffee.com/codewithsadee/e/458261