How to Deploy a Serverless Node.js Express App with ZEIT Now Vercel Cloud Platform Full Tutorial

ZEIT Now, now known as Vercel, is a cloud platform that allows you to deploy serverless applications with ease. It is a great option for deploying Node.js Express apps as it allows for easy scaling and management of resources. In this tutorial, we will go through the steps to deploy a serverless Node.js Express app with ZEIT Now.

Prerequisites

Node.js installed on your machine

A ZEIT Now account
Basic knowledge of Node.js and Express

Step 1: Create a Node.js Express App

First, let’s create a simple Node.js Express app. Create a new directory for the project and navigate into it:

npm init -y

npm i express

const express = require('express')
const app = express()

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  res.send('Hello World!')
})

const port = process.env.PORT || 3000

app.listen(port, () => {
  console.log(`Server running on port ${port}`)
})

const express = require('express')

const app = express()

app.get('/', (req, res) => {

res.send('Hello World!')

})

const port = process.env.PORT || 3000

app.listen(port, () => {

console.log(`Server running on port ${port}`)

})

This creates a basic Express app that listens on port 3000 and sends a “Hello World!” response when you navigate to the root route.

Step 2: Test the App Locally

To test the app locally, run the following command:

node index.js

Step 3: Deploy the App with ZEIT Now

Now that we have a working app, let’s deploy it with ZEIT Now.

First, install the ZEIT Now CLI:

npm i -g now

Next, log in to your ZEIT Now account using the CLI:

now login

Navigate to the root directory of your project and run the following command to deploy the app:

now

The now command will automatically detect that this is a Node.js app and create a serverless deployment. After a few moments, you should see a URL where your app has been deployed. Navigate to this URL in your browser to confirm that the app is running.

Step 4: Add Custom Domain

By default, your app will be deployed with a URL that looks like https://random-letters-and-numbers.now.sh. To add a custom domain, follow these steps:

Purchase a domain from a registrar such as Namecheap or GoDaddy.
Add a DNS record for your domain that points to alias.zeit.co. This will allow ZEIT Now to verify that you own the domain.

Run the following command to add the custom domain to your deployment:

now alias <deployment-url> <custom-domain>

Replace <deployment-url> with the URL of your deployment (e.g. https://my-express-app-abcdefg.now.sh) and <custom-domain> with your custom domain (e.g. mydomain.com).

After a few moments, your custom domain should be configured and you can access your app using your custom domain.