Day 19 – Deployment of MERN Apps on AWS, Heroku & Vercel

Introduction

Deployment is the final yet critical step in MERN Stack development. Building a feature-rich application is incomplete without making it accessible to users online. Deployment transforms your local development into a live, production-ready application.

CuriosityTech.in emphasizes hands-on deployment strategies, guiding learners to deploy MERN apps on AWS, Heroku, and Vercel, while addressing scalability, performance, and best practices.

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Why Deployment Matters

1. Accessibility: Users can interact with your application globally.
   
2. Scalability: Production environments handle multiple concurrent users.
   
3. Professionalism: Deploying demonstrates full-stack competence.
   
4. Continuous Learning: Understanding deployment bridges development and operations.
   

Diagram – Deployment Flow for MERN Stack:

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Step 1: Preparing Your MERN Application for Deployment

1. Build React Frontend:
   

cd client

npm run build

• Generates optimized production-ready static files in build/ folder.
  

2. Environment Variables:
   

• Separate development and production .env files.
  
• Ensure backend API URLs are set correctly in React (REACT_APP_API_URL).
  

3. Static File Serving in Express:
   

const path = require(‘path’);

app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, ‘client/build’)));

app.get(‘*’, (req, res) => {

  res.sendFile(path.resolve(__dirname, ‘client’, ‘build’, ‘index.html’));

});

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Step 2: Deploying on Heroku

1. Install Heroku CLI:
   

npm install -g heroku

2. Login and Initialize:
   

heroku login

heroku create my-mern-app

3. Push Code to Heroku:
   

git add .

git commit -m “Deploy MERN app”

git push heroku main

4. Configure Environment Variables:
   

heroku config:set MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string

5. Open Application:
   

heroku open

Benefits: Easy setup, automatic build, free tier for testing.

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Step 3: Deploying on Vercel (Frontend Only or Fullstack)

1. Install Vercel CLI:
   

npm i -g vercel

2. Login & Deploy:
   

vercel

• For frontend-only apps, Vercel automatically builds and deploys React.
  
• Backend APIs can be deployed using serverless functions with Vercel or connected to an external Node.js backend (Heroku/AWS).
  

Tip: Use vercel.json to define routes, environment variables, and functions.

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Step 4: Deploying Backend on AWS (EC2 or Elastic Beanstalk)

1. EC2 Deployment:
   
   • Launch EC2 instance
     
   • SSH into server, install Node.js, Git, and PM2
     
   • Clone repo, install dependencies, and start app with PM2
     
2. Elastic Beanstalk:
   
   • Upload backend project
     
   • AWS automatically provisions server and load balancer
     
   • Ideal for scalable applications
     
3. MongoDB Atlas for Cloud Database:
   
   • Connect backend to Atlas cluster for managed database services
     

Diagram – AWS MERN Deployment:

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Step 5: Best Practices for Deployment

Step 6: Becoming an Expert in MERN Deployment

1. Understand different cloud platforms: AWS, Heroku, Vercel, Netlify.
   
2. Optimize frontend and backend for production: Minification, caching, and compression.
   
3. Configure database connections securely: Use MongoDB Atlas or managed cloud DBs.
   
4. Implement CI/CD: Automate deployment for faster releases.
   
5. Monitor performance: Use logging, monitoring tools, and error tracking for production apps.
   

CuriosityTech.in provides step-by-step deployment workshops, teaching learners how to host MERN applications reliably, configure environments, and scale apps for real-world usage.

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Infographic Suggestion

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Conclusion

Deploying MERN applications to AWS, Heroku, or Vercel transforms development projects into live, production-ready products. Mastering deployment ensures global accessibility, scalability, and reliability. CuriosityTech.in offers practical deployment training to prepare developers for professional MERN Stack careers.

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