Infrastructure Cloud Server Setup for Web-based and Device-installed App

[Jamie-NYC]

Hello,
I’ve got a React app project in progress, and I’m starting to think about the web-based server environment I should use for hosting needs. I’m planning for two variations of the app: 1. web app, and 2. device installed.

I know for the device installed version I can use local storage, but I’m starting with the web app version, and would want both versions to have cloud based storage.

I’m currently considering AWS’s free server tiers as a starting point, but I’m going to have to install some sort of AD application…

And then, since my app will be generating files, I’ll need an API service for get and write / CRUD services.

Any advice or examples of setups for the following would be appreciated!

1. A free and reliable Account Directory Management Service – a server that will be the first access point for users to sign in and access their cloud-stored data, and this would definitely need password protection, and MFA would be ideal as well.

2. A simple API for CRUD services, I see Google Cloud offers some options here, and I’m also reviewing their new Gemini AI tool to create an API, but I really don’t want to make it more complicated than required, this API will only connect to an AD service and client-side data calls.

3. Also, a little trickery, I’m looking for a free “spreadsheet” app, this would be something I could let users access as a viewable UI to view data through an alternative view. I personally use Google Sheets, but I’ve seen it does not play nice with public and third party services and APIs, so for my app’s purposes I’m probably going to need a stand alone “spreadsheet UI”, which I could add to my cloud hosting services, or leverage a third party. The idea being, you can view it in a spreadsheet view, download it as a CSV, XLS, XLSX, PDF…

4. And, last, but not as pressing yet, as the first version of the app will be free, the second will not, so I’m looking for a seamless way to allow a user to access the app per what version they get privilege to use, this of course would tie into AD management, and likely would be an “if paid, get app A, or else, get app B”, but as I’m new to this I want to gain more insight into the process, also specifically understanding how that would work for a device installed version.

Oh, and 4.1, I’ll eventually need beta testers, any there good places to announce a request like that?

Right now, as I build the app I’m using a local JSON storage for the API service, but as stated above, I’ll have to move that to a cloud service once I deploy the app for real internet access. I’m interested in any examples, tutorials or advice that could guide me through this.

Thanks!