After 45 days of coding, testing, and optimizing, it’s finally time to go live! Deploying a project is always a mix of excitement and pressure. A smooth launch means the app is not only functional but also secure and fast.
In this post, I’ll cover the final steps I took to prepare the app for production, including final testing, frontend optimization, and deployment.
Final Testing and Fixes
Before launching, I ran a complete round of testing to catch any last-minute issues and ensure a smooth user experience. This involved:
Performance Testing – Made sure the app loads quickly, even under heavy traffic.
API Stability – Monitored API calls and responses to ensure they handle data correctly.
Security Checks – Double-checked token handling, CORS setup, and HTTPS to protect user data.
Edge Cases – Simulated unusual user behavior to see how the app responds to unexpected inputs.
Frontend Optimization
To make the app faster and more responsive, I applied several key optimizations:
Lazy Loading – Loaded images and components only when needed to reduce initial load time.
Code Splitting – Split the frontend code into smaller parts so the browser loads only what’s needed.
Minification – Minified JavaScript and CSS files to reduce their size and improve loading speed.
Next.js Features – Leveraged Next.js’s built-in performance features for fast rendering and improved SEO.
Optimized State Management – Used React’s useMemo and useCallback to prevent unnecessary re-renders.
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Deployment Process
For deployment, I used DigitalOcean because it’s cost-effective and easy to manage, especially for startups for the backend and Vercel for the frontend. Here’s how I set it up:
Backend Deployment – Deployed the API using PM2 to keep the server running and automatically restart on failure.
Frontend Deployment (Vercel) – Deployed the Next.js app on Vercel for fast, automated builds and easy scaling. Vercel’s built-in CDN also helps with faster load times.
NGINX Configuration – Set up NGINX as a reverse proxy to direct traffic to the correct service.
SSL with Let’s Encrypt – Enabled HTTPS to secure all communication between the server and users.
Environment Variables – Managed sensitive data like API keys and tokens securely using environment variables.
Post-Launch Monitoring
Once the app was live, I monitored performance and user activity using logging and analytics tools. This helped identify any early issues and ensure the app was stable under real-world conditions. I also monitored server load and response times to catch potential bottlenecks.
Challenges Faced
Launching a project is never without a challenge. Configuring NGINX correctly took some time, especially when setting up the reverse proxy and SSL. Fine-tuning frontend performance also required balancing lazy loading with user experience to avoid delays. But overcoming these issues made the final product more solid and reliable.
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What will be Next?
This isn’t the end — it’s just the beginning. Now that the app is live, the focus shifts to gathering user feedback, fixing any remaining issues, and rolling out new features. Scaling the app to handle more users and improving performance over time will be the next big goals.
Final Thoughts
Building a full-stack app from scratch in 45 days was a challenge, but it taught me a lot about structuring APIs, handling frontend optimization, improving security, and managing real-world deployment. The next step is maintaining and improving the app based on user feedback and real-world performance.
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