Deploying an API with React

When you first start building full-stack apps, the backend and frontend often feel like two separate planets. But the moment you deploy them together, everything becomes real. Real problems, real configs, real CORS errors. I used to think getting my frontend live was the finish line. It’s not. Getting your frontend to talk to a secure, hosted API is the real finish line.

I’ve started being a lot more mindful about how my React apps talk to the backend. When I’m working locally, the app connects to my computer. But when I push it live, it needs to talk to the real API. To make that switch clean, I use a settings file that tells the app which one to use based on where it’s running. I also stopped hardcoding URLs, it causes too many headaches. I've kept all that connection logic in one place, which makes it way easier to update later.

I’d like to try using token-based authentication, and here’s why. I don’t want to leave my API wide open, but I also don’t need the overhead of setting up a full login system for a lightweight app. Tokens feel like a good middle ground. The idea is simple: once the user logs in, the app gets a token and attaches it to every request. What I like about this approach is that it keeps things stateless and clean. If a token expires, I can just prompt the user to log in again. It’s not perfect, and I know I’ll need to be careful about how the token is stored and refreshed, but it seems like a solid step toward building something more secure without overcomplicating things.