I recently built a full-stack e-commerce website with the MERN stack. This was a challenging but rewarding experience, and I learned a lot along the way. Here are 5 of the most important things I learned:

1. Planning is essential. Before I even started coding, I spent a lot of time planning the project. This included defining the requirements, designing the user interface, and choosing the right technologies. By taking the time to plan, I avoided a lot of headaches down the road.

   • I started by creating a project roadmap that outlined the major milestones and tasks. This helped me to stay on track and to make sure that I was not overlooking anything.

   • I also created a user persona to help me understand the needs of my target audience. This helped me to make decisions about the features and functionality of the website.

   • Finally, I chose the MERN stack because it is a popular and well-supported stack for building websites. It is also a lightweight stack, which is important for ensuring that the website is fast and responsive.

2. Communication is key. When building a project for a client, it's important to communicate regularly. This helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there are no surprises.

   • I made sure to keep my client updated on my progress throughout the development process. I also sent them regular screenshots and demos of the website so that they could see how it was coming along.

   • I also made sure to get their feedback regularly. This helped me to make sure that the website was meeting their needs and expectations.

3. Focus on performance and user experience. An e-commerce website should be fast and easy to use. This means using a lightweight tech stack and optimizing the code for performance. It also means paying attention to the user experience, such as the design of the website and the ease of navigation.

   • I used a variety of techniques to optimize the performance of the website. These included using a CDN, minifying and gzipping the code, and caching the results of frequently accessed queries.

   • I also paid attention to the user experience of the website. I made sure that the website was easy to navigate and that the design was visually appealing.

4. Don't be afraid to leverage AI. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a powerful tool for developers. It can be used to automate tasks, improve the user experience, and make better decisions.

5. Share your progress. Sharing your progress with others can help you stay motivated and learn from others. I posted daily updates on Twitter (X) as part of the #100DaysOfCode challenge. This helped me to stay accountable and to connect with other developers.

   • I also shared my code on GitHub so that others could learn from it. This helped me to give back to the community and to get feedback on my code.