Best Tools For Building Your First MERN Application

In this article, I will share with you my list of the top tools to use when building your first web application using the MERN stack

What is the MERN stack

The MERN stack refers to MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, and Node.js – four tools used to build full-fledged web applications.

The main benefit of this stack is that it uses only one programming language, JavaScript, throughout the entire development process. This simplifies development, as developers don't need to switch between multiple languages.

Tool You Need for Your App

Having the right tools for all your apps can make a huge difference in their performance. With these tools, you can ensure that your apps are running smoothly and efficiently. These tools are:

npm or yarn which are tools to use to install the different packages of your web application
Node.js
Some code editor like Visual Studio Code

Tools to Use for Frontend Stack

When building a frontend stack, there are a number of tools to choose from. These tools can help you create a smooth, efficient user experience.

If you are building a single page application, you can use Create-react-app to generate your frontend code. If you are building a static website, you can try Gatsby
For state management, you can use Redux
To perform unit testing and end to end testing on your code, you can use Jest and cypress
Vercel, Netlify or some similar hosting platform to deploy your frontend code

Tools to Use for Backend Stack

ExpressJS to create your backend endpoints
Jest to test your backend code
An instance of MongoDB on your server
Mongoose to connect to your MongoDB instance from your backend code
Some hosting service like Firebase or Heroku to deploy your backend code