Complete Guide for building basic E-Commerce Backend API

Written by: developervsandhu

Technology and Gadgets

Complete Guide for building basic E-Commerce Backend API

Here's a comprehensive API roadmap for building your e-commerce platform, starting from initial setup to deployment and scaling. The roadmap is divided into phases, focusing on incremental progress.

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Phase 1: Setup and Planning

1. Define Requirements

   • List essential features (e.g., user management, product handling, order processing).
   • Identify roles (Admin, Customer).

2. Set Up the Development Environment

   • Install Node.js and npm.
   • Set up a new Express.js project: npm init → Install dependencies (express, dotenv, etc.).
   • Configure Prisma for database interactions: npx prisma init.

3. Database Design

   • Define tables (Users, Products, Categories, Orders, etc.).
   • Create your Prisma schema based on requirements.

4. Basic Project Structure

   • Set up a directory structure:

     ├── controllers/
     ├── routes/
     ├── middlewares/
     ├── models/
     ├── utils/
     ├── prisma/
     ├── app.js
     └── server.js ```
     

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Phase 2: Core API Development

1. User Management

• Features:
  • User registration (POST /api/users/register)
  • User login (POST /api/users/login)
  • JWT-based authentication (middleware for protected routes)
• Tasks:
  • Create User table in Prisma schema.
  • Implement bcrypt for password hashing.
  • Implement JWT for authentication.
  • Write routes and controllers.

2. Product Management

• Features:
  • Add products (POST /api/products – Admin only)
  • Get all products (GET /api/products)
  • Get product details (GET /api/products/:id)
  • Edit products (PUT /api/products/:id – Admin only)
  • Delete products (DELETE /api/products/:id – Admin only)
• Tasks:
  • Create Product and Category tables in Prisma schema.
  • Seed the database with initial categories and products.
  • Write routes and controllers.

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Phase 3: Shopping Experience

1. Shopping Cart

• Features:
  • Add to cart (POST /api/cart)
  • Get cart items (GET /api/cart)
  • Update cart item quantity (PUT /api/cart/:itemId)
  • Remove cart item (DELETE /api/cart/:itemId)
• Tasks:
  • Create Cart table in Prisma schema.
  • Write cart management routes and controllers.

2. Wishlist (Optional)

• Features:
  • Add to wishlist (POST /api/wishlist)
  • Get wishlist items (GET /api/wishlist)
• Tasks:
  • Create Wishlist table in Prisma schema.
  • Write wishlist management routes and controllers.

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Phase 4: Order Management

1. Checkout

• Features:
  • Place an order (POST /api/orders)
  • View order history (GET /api/orders)
• Tasks:
  • Create Order and OrderItems tables in Prisma schema.
  • Integrate cart validation and calculate totals during checkout.

2. Payment Integration

• Features:
  • Payment processing (e.g., with Stripe or PayPal).
  • Update order status upon successful payment.
• Tasks:
  • Integrate the payment gateway.
  • Create webhook handlers for payment events.

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Phase 5: Admin Features

1. Admin Dashboard

• Features:
  • View user list (GET /api/admin/users)
  • View and manage products (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE /api/admin/products)
  • View all orders (GET /api/admin/orders)
• Tasks:
  • Use middleware to secure admin-only routes.

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Phase 6: Additional Features

1. Reviews and Ratings
   • Allow users to leave reviews for products.
   • Average rating calculation for each product.
2. Notifications
   • Send email notifications for order confirmation.
   • Notify users of order status changes.
3. Activity Logs
   • Track user actions like login, purchase, etc.

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Phase 7: Testing

1. Unit Testing
   • Use tools like Jest to test controllers and services.
2. Integration Testing
   • Test routes and middleware using tools like Supertest.
3. API Documentation
   • Use Swagger to document API endpoints.

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Phase 8: Deployment

1. Set Up Hosting
   • Use platforms like AWS, DigitalOcean, or Vercel.
2. Environment Configuration
   • Use .env for secrets (e.g., database credentials, JWT secret).
3. Database Hosting
   • Host your PostgreSQL database on services like RDS or Supabase.
4. CI/CD Pipeline
   • Automate deployment with GitHub Actions or similar tools.

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Phase 9: Scaling and Optimization

1. Caching
   • Use Redis to cache frequently accessed data like products.
2. Monitoring
   • Set up tools like PM2, New Relic, or Sentry for performance and error monitoring.
3. Load Balancing
   • Use Nginx or AWS Elastic Load Balancer to handle high traffic.

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This roadmap will guide you from the initial setup to a scalable, production-ready e-commerce API.