Build a carousel postcard like Instagram with Reactjs, Material-UI, and Swiperjs

In this blog, you will learn how to build a carousel post card like instagram with Reactjs, Material-UI, and Swiperjs.

Live demo

You can demo the website from here

Video Tutorial

I have already made a video about it on my youtube channel. Check that out for more details.

Note:

The application is built with Material-UI V4. The current version is 5. But don't
worry. You can still use the code. You only need to change the import paths of
components. Everything else will be the same. Check their docs for more details.

Setup from scratch

Create a create-react-app

npx create-react-app <app>
cd <app>

Install packages

yarn add @material-ui/core @material-ui/icons swiper

Start from minimal setup

git clone [email protected]:thatanjan/insta-carousel-yt.git
cd insta-carousel-yt
git fetch
git checkout scratch

Create the container and title of the application

// App.js
import Grid from '@material-ui/core/Grid'
import Typography from '@material-ui/core/Typography'

import PostCard from './PostCard'

function App() {
    return (
        <div className='App'>
            <Grid container>
                <Grid
                    iem
                    xs={12}
                    style={{ height: '25vh', display: 'grid', placeItems: 'center' }}
                >
                    <Typography variant='h3'>Insta Carousel</Typography>
                </Grid>

                <Grid item container xs={12} justifyContent='center'>
                    <Grid item xs={3}>
                        <PostCard />{' '}
                    </Grid>
                </Grid>
            </Grid>
        </div>
    )
}

export default App

Explanation:

Created a title that will be centered.
Made a container containing the post card which will take 3grid space out of 12. If you don't about the Material UI grid you can the following video.

import React from 'react'
import { Swiper, SwiperSlide } from 'swiper/react'
import { makeStyles } from '@material-ui/core/styles'
import Card from '@material-ui/core/Card'
import CardHeader from '@material-ui/core/CardHeader'
import CardMedia from '@material-ui/core/CardMedia'
import CardContent from '@material-ui/core/CardContent'
import CardActions from '@material-ui/core/CardActions'
import Avatar from '@material-ui/core/Avatar'
import IconButton from '@material-ui/core/IconButton'
import Typography from '@material-ui/core/Typography'
import FavoriteIcon from '@material-ui/icons/Favorite'
import ShareIcon from '@material-ui/icons/Share'
import MoreVertIcon from '@material-ui/icons/MoreVert'
import CommentIcon from '@material-ui/icons/Comment'

import SwiperCore, {
    Keyboard,
    Scrollbar,
    Pagination,
    Navigation,
} from 'swiper/core'

import 'swiper/swiper.min.css'
import 'swiper/components/pagination/pagination.min.css'
import 'swiper/components/navigation/navigation.min.css'
import 'swiper/components/scrollbar/scrollbar.min.css'

import avatarImage from './media/postAvatar.jpg'
import ts_1 from './media/carousels/ts_1.jpg'
import ts_2 from './media/carousels/ts_2.jpg'
import ts_3 from './media/carousels/ts_3.jpg'
import ts_4 from './media/carousels/ts_4.jpg'
import ts_5 from './media/carousels/ts_5.jpg'

const useStyles = akeStyles({
    media: {
        height: 0,
        paddingTop: '100%',
    },
    swiperContainer: {
        paddingBottom: '3rem',
        '& .swiper-pagination-bullet': {
            background: 'blue',
        },
        '& .swiper-button-next:after': {
            fontSize: '2rem !important',
        },
        '& .swiper-button-prev:after': {
            fontSize: '2rem !important',
        },
    },
})

SwiperCore.use([Keyboard, Scrollbar, Pagination, Navigation])

const images = [ts_1, ts_2, ts_3, ts_4, ts_5]

const PostCard = () => {
    const { media, swiperContainer } = useStyles()
    return (
        <Card>
            <CardHeader
                avatar={<Avatar src={avatarImage} />}
                title='Just a Carousel'
                subheader={new Date().toDateString()}
                action={
                    <IconButton>
                        <MoreVertIcon />
                    </IconButton>
                }
            />

            <Swiper
                grabCursor
                keyboard={{ enabled: true }}
                pagination={{ clickable: true }}
                navigation
                loop
                className={swiperContainer}
            >
                {images.map((image, index) => (
                    <SwiperSlide key={index}>
                        <CardMedia className={media} image={image} />
                    </SwiperSlide>
                ))}
            </Swiper>

            <CardActions disableSpacing>
                <IconButton>
                    <FavoriteIcon />
                </IconButton>
                <IconButton>
                    <CommentIcon />
                </IconButton>
                <IconButton>
                    <ShareIcon />
                </IconButton>
            </CardActions>

            <CardContent>
                <Typography variant='body2' color='textSecondary' component='p'>
                    Adipisicing eaque temporibus elit incidunt obcaecati. Aut eum excepturi id
                    aut consequatur ex? Incidunt debitis at consequuntur accusamus rerum
                    Tempora veritatis maiores quam molestias aut placeat qui. Iure neque libero
                    voluptas aliquid!
                </Typography>
            </CardContent>
        </Card>
    )
}

export default PostCard

Explaination:

We have used card, cardHeader, and other components from Material UI.
CardMedia component will have our image. It has a little bit of custom style so that it stays responsive on every screen size and it will always maintain the aspect ratio.
We have imported Keyboard, Scrollbar, Pagination, Navigation modules from Swiperjs. To have navigation, navigation with keyboard and so on.
We added custom styles to the Swiper component to modify the icons of Swiper component.

And the project is ready. Please watch the video for more details.

Shameless Plug

I have made a video about how to re-create the SpaceX landing page with vanilla HTML, CSS and, JavaScript.

You will learn about:

Javascript intersection observer to add cool effects
DOM manipulation
Aligning elements with css positions.
How to make responsive websites.

This will be a great project to brush up your front end skills.

If you are interested you can check the video.

You can also demo the application form here

Please like and subscribe to Cules Coding. It motivates me to create more content like this.

That's it for this blog. I have tried to explain things simply. If you get stuck, you can ask me questions.

By the way, I am looking for a new opportunity in a company where I can provide great value with my skills. If you are a recruiter, looking for someone skilled in full stack web development and passionate about revolutionizing the world, feel free to contact me. Also, I am open to talking about any freelance project.

About me

Why do I do what I do?

The Internet has revolutionized our life. I want to make the internet more beautiful and useful.

What do I do?

I ended up being a full-stack software engineer.

What can I do?

I can develop complex full-stack web applications like social media applications or e-commerce sites. See more of my work from here

What have I done?

I have developed a social media application called Confession. The goal of this application is to help people overcome their imposter syndrome by sharing our failure stories.

Screenshot

I also love to share my knowledge. So, I run a youtube channel called Cules Coding where I teach people full-stack web development, data structure algorithms, and many more. So, Subscribe to Cules Coding so that you don't miss the cool stuff.

Want to work with me?

I am looking for a team where I can show my ambition and passion and produce great value for them.
Contact me through my email or any social media as @thatanjan. I would be happy to have a touch with you.