Building a URL Shortener with Express & Node.js

Building a backend project: A URL Shortener with Express & Node.js After weeks of learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript fundamentals through The Odin Project, I decided to test my skills with a real-world application: a URL shortener. What's Working: ✅ Express server with RESTful API routes ✅ Dynamic routing using route parameters (/:shortUrl) ✅ Backend logic to generate and store short URLs ✅ Request handling with req.params for URL redirection Technical Stack: Node.js | Express.js | JavaScript The Learning Process: I learned Express dynamic routing concepts in the morning, and spent the afternoon translating that understanding into working code. The gap between understanding a concept and implementing it taught me more about debugging and problem-solving than any tutorial could. What's Next: Connect to a database (MongoDB/PostgreSQL) Build the frontend interface Deploy the full application Key Takeaway: The difference between learning to code and being job-ready isn't just syntax knowledge it's the ability to build functional applications from scratch, debug when things break, and figure out solutions independently. For anyone else on a self-taught journey: building real projects (even imperfect ones) beats tutorial consumption every time. Would love to connect with other developers or anyone working in web development. Open to feedback, advice, or opportunities to learn from experienced engineers. #WebDevelopment #backendDevelopment #100DaysOfCode #SelfTaughtDeveloper #JavaScript #NodeJS

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