Giving a Front-End Snippet a Place to Store Data (Flask + AWS)
Published 2025-10-22
The problem
A client needed a small piece of website code to save and recall data across visits. The catch: our team had no back end at all — no database, no place to store anything. We're mostly front-end developers, so whatever I built had to be lightweight, easy to understand, and cheap to run.
What I built
I set up a small server on AWS and built a simple back end with Flask (Python), backed by a MySQL database. The key was keeping it approachable — anyone on the team could understand it and reuse it on the next project.
It exposes three straightforward web addresses the front-end code can call:
- /add — save new data
- /list — view what's been stored
- /csv — download the data as a spreadsheet
Each one accepts filters, so the same setup adapts to different client needs without reconfiguring anything.
The result
The front-end snippet could finally store, retrieve, and export data through a few simple calls — no extra infrastructure or specialist knowledge required. It launched with zero reported issues. Natural next steps are a local testing setup and automated deployments for added safety.