MERN Stack E‑commerce

A full-stack e‑commerce web application built with the MERN stack—MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js. It supports user authentication, product browsing, cart functionality, and admin controls with JWT and Bcrypt security.

🌐 Features

User («Customer»)

• Registration & Login with secure password hashing (bcrypt) and JWT-based authentication.
• Browse Products: View product listings fetched from a MongoDB database.
• Cart Functionality: Add, update, and remove products in the cart.
• Order Management: Create orders, view past orders.

Admin

• Admin Login: Role-based access to admin features.
• Product Management: Create, read, update, and delete products through secure REST APIs.
• Order Management: View and update order statuses.

Backend

• Secure REST APIs using Express.js and MongoDB with Mongoose.
• JWT Authentication & Authorization middleware to protect routes.
• Server-side Bcrypt to hash and verify passwords.
• Error Handling & input validation to ensure stable behavior.

🚀 Tech Stack

• Frontend: React.js, Redux (or Context API), React Router.
• Backend: Node.js, Express.js.
• Database: MongoDB with Mongoose ORM.
• Security: JSON Web Token (JWT) + Bcrypt hashing.
• Dev Tools: Axios for API calls, Postman for API testing.

⚙️ Setup & Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16+)
• MongoDB (Cloud or Local)

Installation steps

# Clone the project
git clone https://github.com/harleenkaur2003/mern-stack-ecommerce.git
cd mern-stack-ecommerce

# Backend setup
cd server
npm install
# Create .env file:
# MONGO_URI=your_mongo_uri
# JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
npm run dev

# Frontend setup
cd ../client
npm install
# Create .env file:
# REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api
npm start

🛡 Security & Performance

• Passwords are hashed using Bcrypt before storage.
• JWT tokens provide secure session management.
• Role-based access control ensures only admins can manage products/orders.

🛠 Roadmap & Future Enhancements

• Payment integration (Stripe, Razorpay, or PayPal)
• Dockerization for containerized deployment
• AWS deployment (ECS, EC2 or Lambda, RDS)
• Email notifications for orders and status updates
• Additional user features like password reset, wishlist
• Unit & integration tests to improve reliability

🎯 Usage

1. Register a user or log in as admin.
2. Browse products & add items to cart.
3. Place an order and track its status.
4. (Future) Admins can access dashboard to manage the site.

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