Best JavaScript Frameworks in 2024 for Quick Software Development

The popularity of Javascript frameworks for web development grows every day. It’s the best script language, which allows the creation of exciting interfaces and simplifies the development of web apps, being a perfect open source app development software and making the sites interactive and convenient to use.

For more than a quarter of a century, JavaScript has been the driving force behind the web.

So, what are JavaScript frameworks? These frameworks serve as the enabling structures that empower the language to perform at its best, often requiring minimal to no extensive configuration.

When distinguishing between JavaScript libraries vs. frameworks, consider this analogy: JavaScript libraries are like pieces of furniture that enhance both the style and functionality of an already completed house. In contrast, frameworks serve as a blueprint you utilize to construct the house from the ground up.

Given JavaScript's enduring popularity over the years and its significance in both front-end and back-end web development, you're likely to find yourself on the cusp of selecting a JavaScript framework in the near future.

The JavaScript libraries and frameworks are manifold and they are issued and updated daily, that’s why it’s difficult at times to go with the tides and understand which of the frameworks suits your project the best.

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Before you choose JavaScript frameworks for web development, you need to take multiple factors into consideration, the requirements of your project, for instance, or the strengths and weaknesses of the framework.

You can not start working on the project without a preliminary research to choose that very technology, which will meet your needs. To facilitate your choice, we created this guide, you can use it as a reference source while choosing the best matching framework.

Types of JavaScript Frameworks

Before delving into the intricacies of the best backend JavaScript frameworks and JavaScript front-end frameworks, let's establish what they encompass.

To grasp the essence of front-end frameworks, it's essential to first comprehend the front end itself. The front end of a website or application constitutes the client side, the facet that users directly engage with. This encompasses aspects like design, layout, user experience (UX), and interactive elements such as forms and buttons.

Front-end frameworks comprise pre-written code sets that furnish developers with a scalable and maintainable foundation for crafting user interfaces more efficiently. These frameworks encompass HTML, CSS, and JavaScript components that developers can recycle across various projects, thereby facilitating codebase consistency and organization.

In essence, these web development frameworks bring structure to the development process, streamlining the creation of consistent, well-organized code. Some of the tasks that front-end frameworks assist with include:

• Generating HTML and CSS code
• Crafting responsive designs optimized for diverse devices
• Ensuring a uniform look and feel across multiple platforms
• Automating repetitive chores such as modification, compression, and optimization
• Managing and updating code effectively

Nonetheless, unlike other front-end web technologies that primarily address visual presentation, like HTML and CSS, JavaScript was conceived as a full-fledged scripting language endowed with advanced capabilities. This evolution paved the way for technologies that could execute JavaScript code outside of web browsers, exemplified by Node.js. By disassociating JavaScript from the front-end presentation layer, developers gained the ability to employ JavaScript as a server-side scripting language. This innovation eliminated the need for a separate server-side technology like Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP).

Node.js stands as the preeminent back-end framework for implementing server-side JavaScript, and it's a cornerstone for major players in software development. Node.js effectively bridges the gap between server and client, fostering a seamless connection between the back and front ends, which is indispensable for creating dynamic web experiences. This framework proves particularly advantageous for web applications that still depend on browsers.

The Advantages of the JavaScipt Frameworks

To put it in simple words, Javascript framework is a number of features and functions written in Javascript language and ready for the usage by developers. These features simplify the interaction between the app and the server and speed up the manipulating of the web-page or app elements.

The main advantage of using a web application development framework is the fact that it provides immediate reaction to the user interacting with your site right at the moment.

The basic content of the traditional sites without frameworks is stored on the server and any new content, which is necessary to be upload requires page reload. When frameworks are used, only the necessary blocks of a website are reloaded.

Such an approach is used by social media sites, Facebook, for example. If you switch from the page «News» to «Messages», page reload does not happen, only several site sections change.

Below you can find some of the most advantageous benefits of the frameworks' usage:

• Cost. The cost of app development for websites decreases due to the JavaScript frameworks because they are free and have open source code.
• Development Speed. JavaScript frameworks have good documentation (features description with a kind of «recipe book») lots of forums and supporting communities. Some of the JavaScript-frameworks are supported by such well-known giant companies as Google or Facebook. Due to such a lot of information, the speed of development increases.
• Efficiency. The usage of the pre-created functions and templates allows to carry out the projects more effectively. The developers have to write less code, which results in delivering projects meeting higher standards and more quickly.

Most Used and Popular JavaScipt Frameworks

JavaScript frameworks have now become one of the most preferred web app development platforms for modern single-page apps (SPAs), social networks, e-commerce products, SaaS platforms, and other software solutions creation.

At present, the development of modern web products has become almost impossible without using the frameworks. There are certainly some companies, which still use classical JavaScript programming software, but the speed and the cost of development increase several times.

As a consequence of classical JS complexity, hundreds of the frameworks have appeared in the market, but the solid leadership in the software development market belongs to these three: Angular, React and Vue.

We’ll speak about them further on.

Angular

Angular — is a cross-platform framework, which keeps to the MVC architectural pattern and supports a weak link between the display, data, and logic of the components (integral parts of the apps). Angular shifts a certain part of server services to the client side and consequently the server workload decreases and the web application becomes lighter.

Due to TypeScript the project code becomes clear, convenient for developers’ understanding and contains fewer errors. Angular strong points are remarkable documentation and references, Google company support and a great set of development tools and components (Material UI, CLI, etc.)

One of the week points of Angular is the high learning curve for the projects because a javascript developer should, for instance, know TypeScript to start working with the framework. It consequently makes the project fulfillment more difficult, especially if the work is passed from one team to another.

Another drawback of the Angular framework is the frequent release on the new versions, In June 2019 angular latest version, the 8th one, was already released. This fact also means that it is difficult to support.

React.js

React — is a JavaScript library with open source code for user-interfaces development. For the first time, React was used in 2011 in the Facebook newsfeed, then in 2012 in Instagram.

React is still being developed and supported by Facebook and Instagram. It can be used not only for browser-based web-apps but also for mobile apps. The aim of the framework is to provide high speed, simplicity, and operability of the apps on various platforms.

However, React — is not a full-fledged framework, but a function library. To use it as a framework, other third-party libraries should be attached.

React strengths are speed, lightweightness, cross-platform format, and big community.

The weakness is the necessity to use third-party libraries for complete work, which complicates the development process. Another drawback of the library is that it does not follow the standards in HTML or CSS code creation as Angular and Vue.js do.

Preact

Relatively new JavaScript framework Preact stands as a lightweight, swift, and high-performance, offering an alternative to React. Remarkably compact at just 3kb in size (minified and gzipped), Preact delivers all the essential functionality of React, earning its place among the top JavaScript frameworks. Originating from the creative mind of Jason Miller, a Senior Developer Programs Engineer at Google, Preact can be viewed as a streamlined variation of React, omitting certain functionalities.

Built on the same fundamental principle as React - a component-based approach with a Virtual DOM - Preact remains fully compatible with React. It seamlessly incorporates React packages while maintaining its edge in speed, performance, and compactness. In scenarios where the extensive capabilities of React aren't required, many developers opt for React during development and seamlessly transition to Preact for production. Notably, major companies such as Tencent, Uber, and Lyft have embraced Preact in their development.

Vue.js

Vue — is a progressive most popular JavaScript framework for user interface creation. Vue was made fit for gradual implementation, unlike Angular or React.

It means that one can implement this framework gradually starting from certain pages, which makes the development much easier.

The Vue.js creator is Evan You and the framework is widely used in Chinese companies: for instance, Alibaba, Baidu, Xiaomi and others. Not so long ago the repository management system GitLab also switched to Vue.js.

Vue deals with presentation layer tasks (view) in the first turn, it simplifies the integration with other libraries and existing projects.

Vue coopted the best features of Angular and React — the speed and lightweightness and the possibility to support such technologies as TypeScript and JSX. However, along with this, the Vue frame remained true to the principles of HTML and CSS code writing. It facilitates quick web application development and makes the processes of project development and support easier.

Thus, for any developer, who knows the basics of the front-end technologies will not be a problem to develop or support the projects on Vue.

At present, a small community can be called a weak point of the framework as no big corporations support it. Nevertheless, the popularity of the framework grows every year.

What is the Best JavaScript Framework for Your Project?

Every project is unique in its own way and detailed analysis and evaluation are necessary before the start.

However, there are certain key aspects, which help to choose a particular technology for development:

Speed and simplicity of the project development and support

The speed of development depends on the technologies, already used in your projects. In case Typescript or JSX have already been applied then you need Angular or React correspondingly.

But in case you start the project from scratch, it’s better to choose Vue.js due to its compliance with standards.

Trends

All three frameworks are popular and will keep the leadership in the modern development market in the nearest years. It will not be a mistake to choose any of them. However, Vue is vigorously gaining popularity, followed by React. Below you can find the chart of the frameworks’ popularity on Github according to the number of likes in the past several years:

Mobility and scalability

Supposing you have chosen one framework, but then made up your mind to switch it to another one. Vue.js is your best choice in this case because re-writing the projects on Angular or React will mean that the developers will most likely need to switch TypeScript or JSX code to classical JavaScript and HTML correspondingly.

One more important aspect to consider is the frequency of Frameworks update. Angular has serious updates issued every 6 months, React — less frequently, approximately once a year. Vue is more stable in this sense and has serious updates once in several years.

Final Word from Stfalcon

Taking all the above-mentioned factors into consideration, our company prefers to use Vue.js for speedy and qualitative development. In such a case your apps will be quick in work, simple to support and most friendly to the implementation of the new features further on. If you are interested in creating a top-notch product, contact us, and our dedicated team will be glad to help you.