DevLog 3-3
DevLog 3-3: APIs, Express, and Vercel Deployment
Section titled “DevLog 3-3: APIs, Express, and Vercel Deployment”Chapter 9 Reflection
Section titled “Chapter 9 Reflection”Working through Chapter 9 in Critical Web Design gave me a better sense of what happens behind the scenes when we use the web. The sheer volume of data that exists on the internet and changes with every request made me think more concretely about how applications could use that data. I also realized that using browser and developer tools more intentionally could reveal a lot more about what happens between requests.
Project Overview
Section titled “Project Overview”I forked the bad-password-api-starter project from the Critical Web Design repository (CWD 9.3) and built on it to connect a frontend to a remote API, add Express routes, and deploy everything on Vercel.
Key Accomplishments
Section titled “Key Accomplishments”Setup and Structure
Section titled “Setup and Structure”- Modified the project structure and installed the required dependencies
- Ran the project locally and verified the setup
- Connected the frontend to a remote API and integrated JSON data
Backend API with Express
Section titled “Backend API with Express”- Added static and dynamic API routes using Express
- Implemented endpoints for the bad-password API functionality
- Used Node.js and the Express patterns described in the Chapter 9.3 Node.js guide
Deployment on Vercel
Section titled “Deployment on Vercel”- Created a free Vercel account
- Deployed the project to Vercel and learned how to use the Vercel CLI
- Deployed without linking a Git repo so the site does not rebuild on every content push — following the 9.4 bad-password-api guide
Live deployment: https://alpnix-bad-password-5o6pdkzgy-alp-niksarlis-projects.vercel.app
Reading Response for Hacktivism and Cyberterrorism
Section titled “Reading Response for Hacktivism and Cyberterrorism”Article: Hacktivist deletes white supremacist websites live onstage during hacker conference (TechCrunch 2026)
Summary: Martha Root, a hacktivist, took down several white supremacist websites live on stage during a conference. The response to this act was mixed; some supported it while others, including the site operators, framed it as cyberterrorism.
Quote: “They publicly delete all my websites while the audience rejoices. This is cyberterrorism.”
Comment: I found this quote useful because it highlights the tension between different ways of describing the same act. From the other perspective, as a form of disruption of “bad” actors versus “terrorism,” and who gets to define those terms.
Discussion question: Is it okay to break the law to stop “bad” people online, or does that make the internet more dangerous for everyone?
Related work: The original article is no longer available. For related context, see WhiteLeaks by DDoSecrets.
Reflection: Actions that feel intuitively right can have unintended long-term effects. Designing policies and rules for online communities needs to take that into account and be done carefully.
What I Learned
Section titled “What I Learned”This devlog deepened my understanding of how to build and use backend APIs in web applications, including dynamic routing with Express. I also learned how to work with the Vercel CLI and deploy projects to Vercel without automatic Git-based builds when that workflow doesn’t fit the project.