Unlocking the Power of Ecommerce: A Step-by-Step Guide
The Rise of Online Shopping
In 2018, the global ecommerce market reached a staggering $2.84 trillion, with giants like Walmart and Alibaba leading the charge. This surge in online shopping has opened up new opportunities for small businesses to establish their own ecommerce stores. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to build a fully functional ecommerce website using React for the frontend and 8base for the backend.
Prerequisites
Before we dive in, make sure you have a basic understanding of React and Node.js. You’ll also need Node and npm/yarn installed on your machine. Familiarity with GraphQL will be helpful, but don’t worry if you’re new to it – we’ll cover the basics.
What is React?
React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It allows us to create reusable components that manage their own state, making it easy to build complex UIs.
What is 8base?
8base is a GraphQL backend that enables developers to quickly deliver enterprise-level applications using full-stack JavaScript. It’s frontend framework-agnostic, giving you the freedom to choose your own frontend framework.
Getting Started with 8base
8base offers a range of features to help you build high-performance applications faster. Using the 8base Console, you can:
- Define data schemas and relationships
- Set permissions and authorization roles
- Organize projects into Workspaces
- Design queries using the API explorer (based on GraphQL)
- Manage files
To get started, create an account on 8base and follow these steps:
- Click on the Data Builder button to navigate to the Data menu.
- Click on “New Table” to start building your backend.
- Define your table schema, including fields and relationships.
- Create a table called “Products” with the following fields: name, description, price, and image.
Setting Up Your Backend
Next, add some sample data to your Products table. Then, copy the API endpoint URL and allow open access to Guests by default. This will enable unauthenticated users to access your API endpoint.
Building Your Frontend with React
To start using React, install it using Create React App (CRA). Then, create a new React project and include Bootstrap in your index.html file.
Creating Your Layout
Create the following components: Navbar, Products, Product, Footer, and Cart. Use Bootstrap classes to style your components.
Connecting to Your Backend with GraphQL
Install the necessary GraphQL packages, including apollo-boost. Then, update your index.js file to connect to your 8base backend using the API endpoint URL.
Displaying Your Products
Create a PRODUCTS_QUERY constant to fetch and display your products. Use the gql function to parse the plain string containing the GraphQL code.
Adding Cart Functionality
Update your Products.js and Navbar.js components to add cart functionality. Then, create a Cart.js component to display the cart modal.
The Final Result
Congratulations! You now have a basic ecommerce store that displays products and allows users to add items to their cart. This tutorial has shown you how to create a powerful ecommerce website without worrying about your backend infrastructure.
Take Your Ecommerce Store to the Next Level
Want to learn more about React and 8base? Check out our resources page for tutorials, guides, and more. Happy coding!