8 October 2025, 09:26 PM
I’ve been thinking about building a chat application, but honestly, I’m not sure where to start. I have some experience working with the MERN stack and have built a few basic web apps using MongoDB, Express, React, and Node.js. However, building a real-time chat app seems a lot more complex than the usual CRUD applications I’ve done before.
I’m a bit confused about which tech stack is best suited for this kind of project. Is MongoDB good enough to handle real-time messaging, or should I look into other databases like PostgreSQL or Firebase? For the frontend, I’ve been using React for a while, but I keep hearing about Next.js being better for performance and scalability — so I’m wondering if it’s worth switching before I start.
There are so many moving parts when it comes to chat apps — like authentication, message storage, real-time updates, and maybe even features like typing indicators, delivery status, and media sharing. It’s a bit overwhelming trying to figure out where to begin and how to structure everything properly.
After doing some Googling, I came across a blog titled How to Build an Instant Messaging App that explains the process of creating a complete chat app solution. It gave me some inspiration and helped me understand the basics, but I still feel like I need some expert guidance or a roadmap to get started confidently.
If anyone has experience building chat applications or can share insights on choosing the right tools and architecture, I’d really appreciate your advice.
I’m a bit confused about which tech stack is best suited for this kind of project. Is MongoDB good enough to handle real-time messaging, or should I look into other databases like PostgreSQL or Firebase? For the frontend, I’ve been using React for a while, but I keep hearing about Next.js being better for performance and scalability — so I’m wondering if it’s worth switching before I start.
There are so many moving parts when it comes to chat apps — like authentication, message storage, real-time updates, and maybe even features like typing indicators, delivery status, and media sharing. It’s a bit overwhelming trying to figure out where to begin and how to structure everything properly.
After doing some Googling, I came across a blog titled How to Build an Instant Messaging App that explains the process of creating a complete chat app solution. It gave me some inspiration and helped me understand the basics, but I still feel like I need some expert guidance or a roadmap to get started confidently.
If anyone has experience building chat applications or can share insights on choosing the right tools and architecture, I’d really appreciate your advice.