BlogSphere - Modern Blogging Platform

A full-stack blogging platform built with React, Node.js, and MongoDB, featuring user authentication, content management, payment integration, and real-time interactions.

🚀 Live Demo

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📋 Table of Contents

• Features
• Tech Stack
• Architecture
• Security Features
• Installation
• API Documentation
• Deployment
• Future Improvements

✨ Features

🔐 Authentication & Authorization

• JWT-based authentication with secure token management
• Google OAuth 2.0 integration for seamless social login
• Role-based access control (User, Author, Admin)
• Password reset functionality with email verification
• Session management with automatic token refresh

📝 Content Management

• Rich text editor with React Quill for enhanced content creation
• Image and video upload with ImageKit integration
• Post categorization and tagging system
• Draft saving and post scheduling
• Content moderation and reporting system
• SEO optimization with meta tags and structured data

💰 Monetization & Payments

• Chapa payment integration for donations and subscriptions
• Author wallet system with balance tracking
• Withdrawal functionality with minimum balance requirements
• Payment webhooks for real-time transaction updates
• Donation tracking and receipt generation

👥 User Experience

• Responsive design with Tailwind CSS and Material-UI
• Dark/Light theme support with automatic detection
• Real-time notifications using React Query
• Infinite scroll for post loading
• Search functionality with filters
• Comment system with moderation tools

🛡️ Admin Features

• Admin dashboard with analytics and user management
• Content moderation tools
• User role management
• Author request approval system
• Report management and resolution

🛠️ Tech Stack

Frontend

• React 18 with Vite for fast development
• React Router for client-side routing
• React Query (TanStack Query) for server state management
• Tailwind CSS for utility-first styling
• Material-UI for component library
• Framer Motion for animations
• React Quill for rich text editing
• ImageKit for media management

Backend

• Node.js with Express.js framework
• MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• JWT for authentication
• bcrypt for password hashing
• Nodemailer for email services
• Multer for file uploads
• CORS for cross-origin requests

Payment & External Services

• Chapa for payment processing
• Google OAuth 2.0 for social authentication
• ImageKit for image optimization and CDN

Development Tools

• ESLint for code linting
• Prettier for code formatting
• Nodemon for development server
• Vite for build tooling

🏗️ Architecture

Frontend Architecture

client/
├── src/
│   ├── components/     # Reusable UI components
│   ├── routes/         # Page components
│   ├── utils/          # Utility functions
│   ├── assets/         # Static assets
│   └── main.jsx        # Application entry point

Backend Architecture

backend/
├── controllers/        # Business logic
├── models/            # Database schemas
├── routes/            # API endpoints
├── middleware/        # Custom middleware
├── lib/              # Database connection
└── index.js          # Server entry point

🔒 Security Features

Authentication Security

• JWT tokens with configurable expiration
• Password hashing using bcrypt with salt rounds
• Token refresh mechanism for session management
• CORS configuration for secure cross-origin requests
• Input validation and sanitization

Data Protection

• Environment variables for sensitive configuration
• MongoDB injection prevention with Mongoose
• XSS protection through input sanitization
• CSRF protection with secure tokens
• Rate limiting on API endpoints

Payment Security

• Webhook signature verification for payment confirmations
• Transaction ID validation to prevent duplicate processing
• Secure payment flow with Chapa integration
• Audit logging for all financial transactions

Content Security

• File upload validation with type and size restrictions
• Image optimization and compression
• Content moderation tools for inappropriate content
• User reporting system for community safety

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• MongoDB (v5 or higher)
• npm or yarn package manager

Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Configure your environment variables
npm run dev

Frontend Setup

cd client
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Configure your environment variables
npm run dev

Environment Variables

Backend (.env)

PORT=3000
MONGODB_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:5173
CHAPA_SECRET_KEY=your_chapa_secret_key
CHAPA_WEBHOOK_SECRET=your_webhook_secret
EMAIL_USER=your_email
EMAIL_PASS=your_email_password

Frontend (.env)

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:3000
VITE_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
VITE_IK_PUBLIC_KEY=your_imagekit_public_key
VITE_IK_URL_ENDPOINT=your_imagekit_url_endpoint

📚 API Documentation

Authentication Endpoints

• POST /users/register - User registration
• POST /users/login - User login
• POST /users/google-login - Google OAuth login
• POST /users/send-link - Password reset email
• POST /users/reset-password - Password reset

Content Endpoints

• GET /posts - Get all posts with pagination
• POST /posts/create - Create new post
• GET /posts/:slug - Get single post
• PATCH /posts/:id - Update post
• DELETE /posts/:id - Delete post

Payment Endpoints

• POST /payment/donate - Initiate donation
• GET /payment/donations/:tx_ref - Get donation details
• POST /payment/withdraw/:id - Request withdrawal
• GET /payment/donations/wallet/:id - Get wallet balance

Comment Endpoints

• GET /comments/:postId - Get post comments
• POST /comments/:postId - Add comment
• DELETE /comments/:id - Delete comment

🚀 Deployment

Backend Deployment (Heroku/Netlify)

# Build the application
npm run build

# Set environment variables
heroku config:set NODE_ENV=production
heroku config:set MONGODB_URI=your_production_mongodb_uri

# Deploy
git push heroku main

Frontend Deployment (Vercel/Netlify)

# Build the application
npm run build

# Deploy to Vercel
vercel --prod

🔮 Future Improvements

Enhanced Features

• Real-time chat between users and authors
• Newsletter subscription system
• Advanced analytics dashboard for authors
• Multi-language support with i18n
• Progressive Web App (PWA) capabilities
• Mobile app development with React Native

Technical Improvements

• GraphQL API for more efficient data fetching
• Redis caching for improved performance
• Microservices architecture for scalability
• Docker containerization for easy deployment
• CI/CD pipeline with automated testing
• Performance monitoring with APM tools

Security Enhancements

• Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• OAuth integration with more providers
• Advanced rate limiting and DDoS protection
• Security headers and CSP implementation
• Regular security audits and penetration testing

Content Features

• Podcast integration for audio content
• Video streaming capabilities
• Collaborative editing for team posts
• Advanced search with Elasticsearch
• Content recommendation algorithm
• Social sharing optimization

Monetization Features

• Subscription tiers for premium content
• Affiliate marketing integration
• Sponsored content management
• Merchandise store integration
• Crypto payments support
• Revenue analytics dashboard

🤝 Contributing

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

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Author

Fuad Mohammed

• GitHub: @your-github-username
• LinkedIn: Your LinkedIn
• Email: fuadmohammed368@gmail.com

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Chapa for payment processing
• ImageKit for media management
• Google OAuth for authentication
• Tailwind CSS for styling
• Material-UI for components

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Built with ❤️ using modern web technologies