SHORTIFY - url shortener

Deployed Application

You can access the live application here: https://shortify-n5pm.onrender.com/

Source Code

The source code is hosted on GitHub. You can find the repository here: https://github.com/haichaukhuu/shortify-url-shortener

Setup Instructions

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm
• MongoDB

Backend Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/haichaukhuu/shortify-url-shortener
   cd project-root/api
   

Project folder tree

/root
│
├── /shortify         # React frontend app
│   ├── /src
│   ├── /public
│   └── package.json
│
├── /api         # Backend code (Node.js/Express)
│   ├── /routes
│   ├── /models
│   ├── /controllers
│   └── package.json
│
├── README.md       
└── .gitignore      

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Create a .env file in the /api directory with the following variables:

   MONGODB_URI=<mongodb_connection_string>
   PORT=<port_number>

4. Start the backend server:

   node index.js
   

Frontend Setup

1. Navigate to the frontend directory:

   cd ../shortify
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Run the frontend application locally:

   npm run dev

Technology Choices

• Frontend: React with Material UI for building a responsive user interface.
• Backend: Node.js and Express for handling server-side logic.
• Database: MongoDB for storing the original and shortened URLs.

Completed Features

• Users can shorten long URLs.
• Users can create custom short codes (optional).
• Generated shortened URLs can be copied to the clipboard
• User-friendly interface designed with Material UI.

Known Issues and Limitations

• The application currently does not handle user authentication.
• There is no password protection or expiry date for URLs.

Future Improvements

• Implement user authentication to allow users to manage their shortened URLs.
• Add analytics to track the number of clicks on shortened links.
• Improve error handling for various scenarios (e.g., invalid URLs).