Create Basic Node.js HTTP Server Without Express

👨‍🏫 What You’ll Learn Today

What is an HTTP server?
Why learn it without Express?
How to create a basic server using Node.js
Handling routes like /, /about, and /contact
Sending HTML responses
Real-life example
FAQs to clear common doubts

💡 Why Learn HTTP Server Without Express?

Even though Express is widely used, it is built on top of Node.js’s native http module.
Understanding the basics helps you:

Learn how backend works under the hood
Build logic without any dependency
Prepare better for interviews

✅ Once you understand this, using Express becomes even easier!

📦 What is an HTTP Server?

An HTTP server listens for requests from the browser and sends back responses.

When you open http://localhost:3000, your browser sends a request. The server responds with a page or message.

🛠 Step-by-Step: Create a Basic HTTP Server

📁 1. Create a new folder

mkdir basic-http-server
cd basic-http-server

📄 2. Create a file: `server.js`

const http = require('http'); // Core module
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

const PORT = 3000;

// Create server
const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
  // Get the requested URL
  const url = req.url;

  if (url === "/") {
    res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "text/html" });
    res.write("<h2>Welcome to the Home Page</h2>");
    res.end();
  } else if (url === "/about") {
    res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "text/html" });
    res.write("<h2>This is the About Page</h2>");
    res.end();
  } else if (url === "/contact") {
    res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "text/html" });
    res.write("<h2>Contact us at: support@example.com</h2>");
    res.end();
  } else {
    res.writeHead(404, { "Content-Type": "text/html" });
    res.write("<h2>404 - Page Not Found</h2>");
    res.end();
  }
});

// Start the server
server.listen(PORT, () => {
  console.log(`✅ Server is running on http://localhost:${PORT}`);
});

▶ Run the server

node server.js

🌐 Open Browser:

http://localhost:3000/ → Home Page
http://localhost:3000/about → About Page
http://localhost:3000/contact → Contact Page
http://localhost:3000/xyz → 404 Page

🧠 Real-Life Example: Serving an HTML File

Let’s say you want to serve a real HTML file instead of inline HTML.

Step 1: Create `home.html`

<!-- home.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Node Server</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1>Hello from Node.js Server</h1>
    <p>This page is served using the HTTP module.</p>
  </body>
</html>

Step 2: Update `server.js`

if (url === "/") {
  const filePath = path.join(__dirname, 'home.html');
  fs.readFile(filePath, 'utf-8', (err, data) => {
    if (err) {
      res.writeHead(500, { "Content-Type": "text/html" });
      res.end("<h2>Server Error</h2>");
    } else {
      res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "text/html" });
      res.end(data);
    }
  });
}

✅ Now your browser will load a full HTML page served by your Node server!

📚 Students Learn:

Concept	Skill Developed
Core module: `http`	Learn to handle requests and responses manually
Routing logic	Understand how URLs map to responses
Serving HTML	First step toward full-stack development
Node.js file handling	Use `fs.readFile` to serve files
Real server setup	See actual output in browser without frontend code

❓ FAQs – Common Doubts

1) What’s the difference between Express and HTTP module?

Feature	Native `http`	Express.js
Speed to write	Slower, more manual	Fast, easy syntax
Routing	Manual (`if` checks)	Built-in `.get()` etc.
Performance	Raw power	Slightly heavier

Express is built on top of http and offers more features. But learning http first helps you build strong fundamentals.

2) Do we need to install any packages to use `http` module?

❌ No, it’s a built-in core module in Node.js. Just use:

const http = require('http');

3) Can we return CSS, JS, and image files too from HTTP server?

✅ Yes. But you’ll need to check the request URL, detect the file type, and set proper content-type like:

res.writeHead(200, { "Content-Type": "text/css" });

🧠 This can become complex — that’s why frameworks like Express are preferred.

4) Why is `fs.readFile` used in the server?

To read external files (like HTML) and serve them to the browser.
This is how backend servers send HTML to the frontend.

📝 Practice Tasks for Students

Create /about.html and /contact.html pages and serve them.
Handle the /services route.
Return 404 page with a custom HTML message.
Style your HTML with inline CSS or serve a CSS file (challenge).

✅ Summary

What You Built	What You Learned
A basic HTTP server	Sending browser responses using Node.js
Routing with `if` logic	Handling multiple URLs
Serve external HTML	Using `fs.readFile` and `path`
Real app on localhost	Output visible in browser & console

🎉 Now you’ve built your first complete backend server using pure Node.js!

Would you like to move on to Day 7: Intro to Express.js and setting up the first route in the same structured style next?

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Stay curious. Keep building. 🚀

🌐 Day 6: Creating a Basic HTTP Server using Node.js (Without Express)

Table of contents

👨‍🏫 What You’ll Learn Today

💡 Why Learn HTTP Server Without Express?

📦 What is an HTTP Server?

🛠 Step-by-Step: Create a Basic HTTP Server

📁 1. Create a new folder

📄 2. Create a file: `server.js`

▶ Run the server

🌐 Open Browser:

🧠 Real-Life Example: Serving an HTML File

Step 1: Create `home.html`

Step 2: Update `server.js`

📚 Students Learn:

❓ FAQs – Common Doubts

1) What’s the difference between Express and HTTP module?

2) Do we need to install any packages to use `http` module?

3) Can we return CSS, JS, and image files too from HTTP server?

4) Why is `fs.readFile` used in the server?

📝 Practice Tasks for Students

✅ Summary

🔔 Stay Connected

Subscribe to my newsletter

Payal Porwal

Payal Porwal

🌐 Day 6: Creating a Basic HTTP Server using Node.js (Without Express)

Table of contents

👨‍🏫 What You’ll Learn Today

💡 Why Learn HTTP Server Without Express?

📦 What is an HTTP Server?

🛠 Step-by-Step: Create a Basic HTTP Server

📁 1. Create a new folder

📄 2. Create a file: server.js

▶ Run the server

🌐 Open Browser:

🧠 Real-Life Example: Serving an HTML File

Step 1: Create home.html

Step 2: Update server.js

📚 Students Learn:

❓ FAQs – Common Doubts

1) What’s the difference between Express and HTTP module?

2) Do we need to install any packages to use http module?

3) Can we return CSS, JS, and image files too from HTTP server?

4) Why is fs.readFile used in the server?

📝 Practice Tasks for Students

✅ Summary

🔔 Stay Connected

Subscribe to my newsletter

Payal Porwal

Payal Porwal

📄 2. Create a file: `server.js`

Step 1: Create `home.html`

Step 2: Update `server.js`

2) Do we need to install any packages to use `http` module?

4) Why is `fs.readFile` used in the server?