Can't reach API on BlueHost (works on localhost)

Question

New here :)

So I'm working on a React app and this is literally the last thing that I'm supposed to do but I can't for the life of me find a solution. We've hosted the app on BlueHost and there's a small API for sending emails but the request never reaches the server (despite working on localhost). I've set fetch to a relative path, included a modified .htaccess file (also found on stack overflow) and fetch always gives me a 200 status, but the request never reaches the server. Here's the relevant front/backend code

let handleSeekerSubmit = async(e) => {
    e.preventDefault();

    const data = new FormData();
        
    data.append('firstName', seekerFname);
    data.append('lastName', seekerLname);
    data.append('email', seekerEmail);
    data.append('phone', seekerPhone);
    data.append('position', seekerPosit)
    data.append('cv', seekerCvFile);
    
    try {
        let res = await fetch('/seeker_mail', {
            method: 'POST',
            body: data,
        });
        if(res.status === 200) {
            setSeekerFname("");
            setSeekerLname("");
            setSeekerEmail("");
            setSeekerPhone("");
            setSeekerPosit("");
            setSeekerCvFile([]);
            fileInput.current.value = "";
            console.log(res);
        }
        console.log(res);
    } catch(err) {
        console.log(err);
    }
    
}

And the backend code:

    app.post('/seeker_mail', cors(), upload.single('cv'), (req, res, next) => {
    let {firstName, lastName, email, phone, position, cv } = req.body;
    console.log(req.body);
    console.log(req);
        const transport = nodemailer.createTransport({ 
            host: // hostname,
            name: // name,
            port: 465,
            auth: {
                user: process.env.MAIL_USER,
                pass: process.env.MAIL_PASS
            },
        })

        transport.sendMail({
            from: email,
            to: process.env.MAIL_TO,
            subject: `${firstName} ${lastName}`,
            html: `<div className="email">
                <h1>${firstName} ${lastName}</h1>
                <p><b>MAIL:</b> ${email}</p>
                <p><b>PHONE:</b> ${phone}</p>
                <p><b>ROLE:</b> ${position}</p>        
            </div>`,
            attachments: [
                {
                    filename: req.file.originalname,
                    path: req.file.path
                    
                }
            ]
        });
        res.sendStatus(200);
});

app.listen(process.env.PORT || 4000, () => {
    console.log("Server is listening on port 4000");
})

Now I'm pretty sure it's something obvious that I'm not doing right but also I think it's because NodeJS does not come with Bluehost/cPanel and I have to install it manually somehow...

Anyway thanks for the help and sorry if I'm missing something very obvious or misunderstanding some basic concepts :)

Answer 1

Most likely it's due to not reaching the backend through port 4000.

https://www.bluehost.com/hosting/help/405

You will require a dedicated IP and request the port opened in order to make this work.