Basic Express Website Development using Node JS

Node.js is a powerful JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. It allows developers to build fast and scalable network applications. One of the most popular frameworks for building web applications with Node.js is Express.

Setting up Node.js and Express

To get started with building a basic Express website, you’ll need to have Node.js installed on your machine. Once Node.js is installed, you can use the Node Package Manager (NPM) to install Express by running the following command in your terminal:

npm install express

This will install the Express framework and its dependencies in your project directory. You can then create a new file, for example index.js, and require Express in your file by adding the following code:

const express = require('express');

You can then create an Express application by calling the express() function and start a server by listening on a specific port:


const app = express();
const port = 3000;

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


Creating Routes

Express allows you to define routes for handling different URL paths and HTTP methods. You can create routes by using the app.get(), app.post(), app.put(), app.delete(), and other methods provided by the Express application object. Here’s an example of how you can create a simple route that responds with “Hello, World!” for the root path:


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


Handling Static Files

You can serve static files such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files using Express by using the express.static() middleware. You can specify the directory where your static files are located and Express will serve them at the specified route. Here’s an example of how you can serve static files from a directory called “public” in your project:


app.use(express.static('public'));


Conclusion

Building a basic Express website is a great way to get started with Node.js development. With the power of Node.js and the simplicity of Express, you can quickly build fast and scalable web applications. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a simple Express website and start learning more about Node.js development.