30-Day Express.js Roadmap

Daily Express.js learning plan for beginners to master backend web development

Intensive daily plan with 3-4 hours (2 hours learning + 1-2 hours practice)

Week 1: Express.js Fundamentals

Day	Topics	Learn	Practice	Key Focus
Day 1	Express.js Introduction - Installation & Setup - Basic Server Creation - Hello World Application	2h	1h	app.listen()
Day 2	Basic Routing - HTTP Methods (GET, POST) - Route Paths - Route Handlers	2h	1h	app.get()
Day 3	Middleware Basics - Concept of Middleware - Application-level Middleware - Built-in Middleware	2h	2h	app.use()
Day 4	Templating Engines - EJS/Pug Setup - Dynamic Views - Layouts & Partials	2h	2h	res.render()
Day 5	Static Files & Forms - Serving Static Files - Handling Form Data - Body Parsing	2h	2h	express.static()
Day 6	Request & Response - Request Object - Response Methods - Status Codes	2h	1h	req.params
Day 7	Project Day - Basic Website - Multiple Routes - Static Content	1h	3h	Implementation

Week 2: Database Integration

Day	Topics	Learn	Practice	Key Focus
Day 8	MongoDB Basics - CRUD Operations - MongoDB Shell - Basic Queries	2h	1h	find()
Day 9	Mongoose ODM - Schemas & Models - Data Validation - Basic CRUD	2h	2h	Schema
Day 10	Connecting Express & MongoDB - Connection Setup - Environment Variables - Error Handling	2h	2h	mongoose.connect()
Day 11	CRUD Operations - Create Records - Read Operations - Update & Delete	2h	2h	Model Methods
Day 12	Advanced Queries - Filtering - Sorting - Pagination	2h	2h	Query Builders
Day 13	Relationships - One-to-Many - Many-to-Many - Population	2h	2h	ref
Day 14	Project Day - Blog Application - Full CRUD - Database Integration	1h	3h	Integration

Week 3: Authentication & APIs

Day	Topics	Learn	Practice	Key Focus
Day 15	Authentication Basics - Sessions - Cookies - Local Strategy	2h	2h	Passport.js
Day 16	JWT Authentication - Token Generation - Verification - Secure Routes	2h	2h	jsonwebtoken
Day 17	Password Security - Hashing - bcrypt - Salting	2h	1h	bcrypt
Day 18	REST API Concepts - Principles - Endpoints - Status Codes	2h	1h	REST
Day 19	Building REST API - CRUD Endpoints - Error Handling - Postman Testing	2h	2h	API Design
Day 20	API Documentation - Swagger/OpenAPI - API Blueprint - Postman Collections	2h	1h	Swagger
Day 21	Project Day - Secure API - JWT Auth - Documented Endpoints	1h	3h	Implementation

Week 4: Advanced Topics & Deployment

Day	Topics	Learn	Practice	Key Focus
Day 22	File Uploads - Multer Middleware - Storage Options - File Validation	2h	2h	multer
Day 23	WebSockets - Socket.io - Real-time Communication - Chat Application	2h	2h	socket.io
Day 24	Performance - Caching - Compression - Load Balancing	2h	1h	redis
Day 25	Environment Config - dotenv - Configuration Management - Security Best Practices	2h	1h	process.env
Day 26	Docker Basics - Containers - Dockerfile - Docker Compose	2h	2h	Dockerfile
Day 27	Deployment - PM2 Process Manager - Deployment to Heroku - Deployment to AWS	2h	2h	pm2
Day 28-30	Capstone Project - Full-stack Application - Authentication - Database - Deployment	2h	10h	Implementation