Postly - MERN-Based Social Media Platform

Overview

Postly is a full-stack social media platform built with the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js). Designed to deliver a seamless and interactive user experience, Postly enables users to create, share, and engage with content efficiently. This project serves as a practical exploration of modern web development, focusing on scalable architecture and user-centric features.

Key Features

🔒 User Authentication

• Secure registration, login, and logout functionality.
• JWT-based authentication for enhanced data security.

📝 Tweeting System

• Create tweets with text and image support.
• Delete personal tweets with user-specific permissions.
• Real-time timeline updates for a dynamic experience.

💬 Engagement & Interaction

• Like and bookmark tweets for personalized content curation.
• Commenting system to foster discussions.
• Restricted tweet deletion to post owners only.

👥 Following System

• Follow and unfollow other users to customize your network.
• View followed users' tweets in a personalized timeline.

🖼️ Profile Management

• Edit profile details to personalize your presence.
• Explore other users' profiles and their tweet history.

🚀 Additional Features

• Personalized timeline based on followed users.
• Responsive and intuitive UI for smooth navigation.
• Optimized for performance and scalability.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js
• Database: MongoDB
• Authentication: JSON Web Tokens (JWT)
• Deployment: Render

Deployment

Postly is deployed on Render for reliable performance and accessibility.

Live Project Link: [Insert Deployment Link Here]

Screenshots

Installation

To run Postly locally, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/postly.git
   cd postly
   

2. Install dependencies:

   # Backend dependencies
   - cd backend
   - npm install
   
   # Frontend dependencies
   - cd ../frontend
   - npm install
   

3. Set up environment variables: Create a .env file in the server directory with the following:

    - MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
    - JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret_key
   

4. Run the application:

   # Start the backend server
   - cd server
   - npm run dev
   
   # Start the frontend development server
   - cd ../client
   - npm start
   

5. Access Postly at http://localhost:3000.

Purpose

Postly was developed to gain hands-on experience in:

• Full-stack development with the MERN stack.
• Implementing secure user authentication.
• Designing scalable and interactive web applications.
• Tackling real-world development challenges.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To contribute:

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/your-feature).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m "Add your feature").
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/your-feature).
5. Open a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.