Getting Started with Express.js: Building Your First Web App

If you’re looking to build a web application using Node.js, Express.js is a great framework to get started with. It’s lightweight, fast, and easy to use, making it a popular choice for web developers. In this article, we’ll walk through the steps of building your first web app with Express.js.

Installing Express.js

The first step is to install Express.js. You can do this using npm, the package manager for Node.js. Open up your terminal and run the following command:

npm install express

Creating Your First Web App

Once you have Express.js installed, you can start building your web app. Create a new file, for example, app.js, and require the express module:

const express = require('express');
    const app = express();

Next, you can define a route for your web app. For example, a simple “Hello World” route:

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
    res.send('Hello, World!');
    });

Finally, you need to start the server and listen on a port. Add the following code to your app.js file:

app.listen(3000, () => {
    console.log('Server is running on port 3000');
    });

Running Your Web App

Save your app.js file and then run it using Node.js:

node app.js

Open up your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000. You should see your “Hello, World!” message displayed on the page.

Conclusion

Building your first web app with Express.js is a simple and straightforward process. With its powerful features and easy-to-use syntax, Express.js is a great choice for web development. As you continue to work with Express.js, you’ll learn more about its capabilities and how to build more complex web applications.