College Social Media Web Application with React, Vite, Node.js, and Express

I'll help you build this college social media application using React with Vite for the frontend and Node.js with Express for the backend. Let's start by setting up the project structure and implementing the core functionality.

Project Setup

Let's create a full-stack application with a client (React/Vite) and server (Node.js/Express) structure:

Project Structure and Implementation Details

This college social media application is built with a full-stack MERN architecture:

Frontend (React with Vite)

• Authentication: Complete login/register system with JWT token storage
• User Roles: Support for both student and faculty roles
• Content Creation: Users can create text posts and polls, with image upload support
• Notifications: Real-time notifications with priority for faculty content
• Responsive Design: Mobile-friendly UI with clean styling

Backend (Node.js with Express)

• RESTful API: Structured routes for authentication, posts, polls, and notifications
• MongoDB Models: Schemas for users, posts, polls, and notifications
• File Uploads: Support for profile pictures and post images
• JWT Authentication: Secure API endpoints with middleware
• Notification System: Automatic notification creation for new content

Key Features Implemented

1. Role-Based Content: Faculty posts and polls are highlighted and prioritized
2. Poll System: Users can create polls and vote once per poll
3. Image Uploads: Support for profile pictures and post images
4. Responsive UI: Clean, modern interface that works on all devices

How to Run the Application

1. Set up the backend:

   cd server cp .env.example .env # Edit with your MongoDB connection string npm install npm start

2. Set up the frontend:

   cd client npm install npm run dev

3. Access the application:

   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend API: http://localhost:5000

The application allows users to register as either students or faculty, create posts and polls, and interact with content from other users. Faculty content is highlighted and prioritized in the feed and notifications.

Please make sure to add the following environment variables to your project:

Great! Now that you've added the required environment variables to your Vercel project, you're all set to deploy and use your College Social Media Web Application.

Next Steps for Your Application

1. Deploying Your Application

For deployment, you have a few options:

• Vercel: Perfect for the React frontend. Connect your GitHub repository and Vercel will automatically deploy your client folder.
• MongoDB Atlas: For your database, if you're not already using it. It provides a free tier that's perfect for development and small applications.
• Render or Heroku: Good options for deploying your Node.js backend.

2. Testing Your Application

Before going live, I recommend testing these key functionalities:

1. User Registration & Login: Test both student and faculty registration flows
2. Content Creation: Create posts with and without images, create polls with multiple options
3. Voting System: Verify that users can only vote once per poll
4. Notification System: Confirm that faculty posts appear at the top of the feed
5. Mobile Responsiveness: Test the application on different device sizes

3. Potential Enhancements

Once your basic application is running, you might consider these improvements:

1. Real-time Updates: Implement Socket.io for instant notifications and updates
2. Search Functionality: Allow users to search for posts, polls, or other users
3. Comments System: Expand the post interaction with threaded comments
4. Rich Text Editor: For more expressive post content
5. Analytics Dashboard: For faculty to track engagement with their posts
6. Course/Group System: Allow users to create or join specific course groups

4. Code Organization Tips

As your application grows, consider:

• Implementing a state management solution like Redux for more complex state
• Creating custom hooks for repeated logic
• Setting up unit and integration tests
• Implementing proper error logging and monitoring

5. Security Considerations

For a production application, ensure you've addressed:

• Rate limiting to prevent abuse
• CSRF protection
• Input validation on both client and server
• Secure file upload handling
• Regular dependency updates

Running Locally

To run your application locally:

Your frontend will be available at http://localhost:3000 and the backend API at http://localhost:5000.

Would you like me to explain any specific part of the implementation in more detail, or do you need help with any particular feature?