Creating a login page in Node.js can be a powerful way to authenticate users and secure your web application. In this article, I will guide you through the steps to create your own login page using Node.js and Express.js. I will also share some personal tips and insights to help you along the way.
Setting up the Project
Before we begin, make sure you have Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed on your machine. Once that’s done, let’s create a new directory for our project:
$ mkdir login-page-node
Now, navigate to the project directory:
$ cd login-page-node
Next, let’s initialize a new Node.js project:
$ npm init
This will create a package.json file which will track our project dependencies.
Installing Dependencies
To build our login page, we’ll be using Express.js, a popular web framework for Node.js. Let’s install it along with a few other dependencies:
$ npm install express bcrypt body-parser
Express.js will handle the routing and request handling, bcrypt will help us securely hash and compare passwords, and body-parser will parse incoming request bodies.
Creating the Routes
Now that our project is set up and dependencies are installed, let’s create the routes for our login page. In your project directory, create a new file called app.js and add the following code:
const express = require('express');
const bcrypt = require('bcrypt');
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
const app = express();
app.use(bodyParser.urlencoded({ extended: true }));
app.get('/', (req, res) => {
res.send('
Welcome to the Login Page
');
});
app.get('/login', (req, res) => {
res.send('
Login Here
');
});
app.post('/login', (req, res) => {
// TODO: Implement login logic
});
app.listen(3000, () => {
console.log('Server is running on port 3000');
});
In this code, we’ve imported the necessary modules and set up our Express.js app. We’ve defined three routes: / for the homepage, /login for the login page, and /login (using HTTP POST method) to handle the login form submission.
Building the Login Form
To create the login form, we’ll be using HTML and CSS. Here’s an example of how the login form HTML could look:
<form action="/login" method="POST">
<label for="email">Email:</label>
<input type="email" id="email" name="email" required><br>
<label for="password">Password:</label>
<input type="password" id="password" name="password" required><br>
<button type="submit">Login</button>
</form>
Feel free to style the form using CSS to match your design preferences.
Handling Login Logic
Now that we have the login form, let’s implement the logic to handle the form submission. In the /login POST route, we’ll check if the provided email and password match a user’s credentials. Here’s an example:
app.post('/login', (req, res) => {
const { email, password } = req.body;
// TODO: Fetch user from database based on email
// TODO: Compare provided password with hashed password stored in the database
});
Remember to securely hash and compare the passwords using bcrypt to ensure the safety of your users’ data.
Conclusion
Creating a login page in Node.js is a fundamental aspect of many web applications. By following the steps outlined in this article, you’ll be able to build a secure and functional login page using Node.js and Express.js. Remember to always prioritize the security of your users’ information and keep yourself up-to-date with the best practices in the field.
Thank you for reading!