When I first got into web development around Yaba, one of the first things I wanted to build was a login and signup system from scratch. It sounds complicated, but once you break it down, it’s just a few steps. Here’s how I approached it.
1. Plan the System
I asked myself: what do I need? Users should be able to sign up with a username/email and password and log in later securely. That meant I needed a database to store credentials and a backend to handle authentication.
2. Set Up the Database
I created a simple table in MySQL (or MongoDB for NoSQL fans) with fields like id, username, email, and password. The password is never stored as plain text I hash it using bcrypt so even if the database leaks, it’s safe.
3. Build the Backend
I used Node.js with Express for my server:
* Create /signup route to receive new user data
* Hash the password and store it in the database
* Create /login route to check submitted credentials
* Compare the password hash and respond with success or failure.