Creating a Subscription Application with Nodejs and MongoDB

Hey there,
This tutorial will guide you step-by-step through building a fully functional subscription-based platform. Along the way, you’ll learn about Express.js, a web application framework for Node.js.

What We’re Building.

We’ll create a subscription-based platform where customers need to subscribe to one of our plans to access exclusive content. Our plans will include options like weekly and monthly subscriptions.

Article Structure

This guide is divided into the following modules:

1. Overview of dependencies,project setup, and server setup
2. Authentication
3. Cron job setup

Main Dependencies

To follow along, make sure you have:

1. Node.js installed
2. MongoDB as the database
3. Moment.js for date manipulation
4. Node-cron for scheduling tasks
5. v-response for structured responses

Let’s dive in and get our hands dirty!

Server.js File

This is where we’ll set up our development server.

Upon successfully setting up the server, you should see the following logged in your console:

Creating the Plan Model

Let’s define our plan model file.

Creating the Plan Controller

Here, we’ll write the logic to manage our subscription plans.

Creating the Plan Routes

Next, we’ll set up the routes to handle plan-related endpoints.

Helper File for Payment and Subscription Dates

We need to create a helper file to process payments and calculate the user’s next payment date.

Creating the Signup Model

Now, let’s create the signup model to manage user registration and subscriptions.

Creating the Signup Controller

This is where we’ll handle user registration and payment processing. We’ll use Paystack as the payment gateway, but feel free to use any other provider of your choice.

Restricting Access to Subscribed Users

We’ll configure the login functionality to ensure that only subscribed users can access the platform.

Setting Up a Cron Job

Finally, we’ll use a cron job to deactivate user accounts once their subscriptions expire.

Additional Features

Here are a few more features you could consider adding:

• Auto-renewal of subscriptions
• Notifications to remind users of upcoming payments

If you’d like me to write a part two covering these features, let me know in the comments!

Source code