Top 10 Django Alternatives

This article will explore ten of the best Django alternatives. The list includes Ruby on Rails, Flask, Laravel, Asp.Net, Koa, etc.  

As per Python developers’ surveys, Django has remained one of the top Python frameworks consistently since its launch.

The high-level Python Web Framework promotes rapid development by allowing developers to focus on the new and unique part of their project without the need to reinvent the wheel.

Instead of implementing the same solutions over and over, it allows you to focus on writing the code and model your domain and code classes.

However popular Django may be right now, it is not the perfect fit for each and every project out there. It can be slow, restrictive, and monolithic, especially for smaller projects like a simple single-page web app.

In this post, we take a look at the pros and cons of using Django to determine the types of projects it is ideally suited for.

If you are wondering about using Django for your next web deployment, this should serve as an inspiration for how to decide on the ideal framework for your requirements.

What is Django?

Launched in 2005, Django is a high-level free and open-source web framework based on Python that follows the model-template-views architectural pattern.

It emphasizes reusability and pluggability of components, enabling rapid development of complex, database-driven websites with less code and low coupling.

Django also provides an optional administrative interface that is generated dynamically and configured via admin models. Some of the most popular websites developed using Django include Instagram, Mozilla, Nextdoor, Disqus, etc.

One of the primary reasons developers love using Django is the fact that it is a “batteries included” framework, i.e., it provides almost everything that developers might need to do something “out of the box”.

Django can be used to develop nearly every kind of project, from complex websites to social media to content management systems, and can be expanded for using other components, if required.

Keep reading to discover some Python frameworks like Django and other web application frameworks.

Advantages of Django

• Scalable

Django uses what is called the loosely coupled component-based “shared nothing” architecture.

What this essentially means is that each part of the architecture is independent of the others and can be replaced if required, and more hardware can be added at any point to improve the functionality.

This scalability is one of the key reasons why it is used for some of the busiest sites on the internet.

• Security

There is a very small possibility of security loopholes in Django courtesy of its design philosophy; the framework has been designed to “do the right things” automatically.

It helps developers avoid common security mistakes like putting session information in cookies, storing passwords instead of the password hash, etc.

Django enables protection against common threats like SQL injection, cross-site request forgery, clickjacking, and scripting by default.

• Rapid Development

Django’s model-template-views architecture implemented with the loosely coupled components allows developers to work on multiple components simultaneously and then integrate them later.

It has benchmarks to check the internal development speed and can provide optimization for web applications when required.

Startups and SMEs can use the framework to develop their products quickly and get more time to market them.

Disadvantages of Django

• Monolithic Framework

Despite being one of the most complete frameworks on the market, the Django framework is monolithic, i.e., it only has a meagre number of dependencies, meaning developers will have to write more code for their projects.

It has a certain way of defining and performing tasks, files, and pre-defined variables that are mandatory to use. Django development focuses on providing developers with code-oriented programming instead of learning Python packages and tools.

• Learning Curve

Despite being a clear and simple framework, Django is a difficult framework to learn. For starters, it is written in Python, meaning it comes with a lot of features and configurations that developers take time to understand.

It also has a different syntax, thereby providing a steeper learning curve for developers switching from other languages. Django is almost two decades old and evolves very slowly yet remains one of the hardest frameworks to master.

• Lack of conventions

One of the primary criticisms against Django is the absence of conventions.

Unlike its contemporary Ruby on Rails, Django lacks the set of principles to guide other developers, making it difficult for developers to adopt Django after they have worked with frameworks built on convention over configuration.

Configuring on the go can lead to issues like mismatched components resulting in slower development speeds.

Top 10 Django Alternatives

Keep reading to discover some of the best alternatives to Django.

Ruby on Rails

Considered the Ruby contemporary to Django, Rails is a full-stack framework written in Ruby that follows a model-view-controller architecture compared to the MTV pattern of Django.

Rails emphasizes the use of other well-known software development paradigms and patterns, and the use of web standards like JSON and XML for data transfer and HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for UI.

Some of the most popular websites using RoR include Dribbble, Bloomberg, Airbnb, Shopify, Github, etc.

Laravel

Launched in 2011, Laravel is often considered the PHP contemporary to Django for Python and Rails for Ruby.

It is a PHP framework based on Symphony that also follows the model-view-controller architectural pattern. One of the primary reasons behind the popularity of Laravel is its affinity towards “syntactic sugar”; developers love the clean and elegant syntax, the modular packaging system, and the dedicated dependency manager.

In addition, Laravel also provides several other utilities to make it easier for developers to deploy and maintain apps.

Flask

Flask has emerged as one of the top competitors to Django in recent years. It’s another framework based on Python.

First launched in 2010, Flask is now used by some of the top corporations around the world like Lyft, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Trivago, Reddit, etc. Flask is referred to as a microframework, i.e., it does not have a database abstraction layer and lacks form validation.

However, it features several features that aid its popularity, which include a built-in development server, a fast debugger, integrated support for unit testing, RESTful request dispatching, and Jinja2 templating.

Asp.Net

Based on the .NET technology, Asp.Net is a web app framework developed and maintained by Microsoft that enables developers to create apps, services and web pages.

It extends the .NET framework with libraries and tools required by developers to build modern web apps based on any language supported by any operating system, i.e., Windows, macOS, Linux, etc.

Express.JS

Written in JavaScript, Express.JS is one of the most popular web development frameworks overall.

It provides developers with a plethora of features that are targeted toward improving the speed and comfort of developing a web server.

Express.JS can be (and has been) used to create everything from JSON APIs and server-side micro applications and microservices.

Spring Boot

Spring Boot is an open-source Java web framework that creates a fully production-ready and configurable environment using its prebuilt code, allowing developers to create standalone apps that run on their own without relying on external web servers.

It does so by embedding a web server like Netty or Tomcat into the app during the initialization process.

CakePHP

CakePHP is a free and open-source web framework written in PHP and distributed under the MIT license that follows the model-view-controller architectural pattern like Rails.

It also follows the convention over configuration paradigm and brings multiple features for developers, like built-in validation, PHP templating, app scaffolding, etc.

Unlike Laravel, CakePHP requires a license to operate and works on a document-oriented database model.

Koa

Developed by the same team behind Express.JS, Koa is a relatively new and open-source web framework that aims to become a smaller yet more robust and expressive foundation for web apps and APIs.

Koa is based on ES6 and uses the ES6 generators to provide developers with a set of tools to facilitate web development. It leverages async functions and a built-in catchall to improve error handling, prevent crashes, and manipulate callbacks. 

Bottle

Similar to Flask, Bottle is another microframework that is targeted toward working seamlessly with small-scale websites.

Bottle is a simple, fast, and lightweight web-based framework distributed as a single file module. It has support for various databases and URL parameters; it is highly flexible and allows you to integrate third-party templating engines like Jinja2, Mako, etc.

Web2py

As the name indicates, Web2py is a web-based framework with no dependencies outside the Python standard library.

It requires no installation prerequisites, allowing developers to build, modify, deploy, and manage apps from anywhere simply using a web browser. It has a fully featured IDE and deploys a powerful error logging and ticketing system with security measures against most malicious attacks.

Conclusion

There is no denying the fact that Django is one of the best web frameworks for developing scalable complex web deployments.

However, it has its shortcomings too, and as a developer, you will need to understand the requirements of the project before making the decision about which framework will work best for your project.

If you are still unsure about this, contact the experts at a leading app hosting company for further assistance. Moreover, they can also help you develop suitable web solutions if you have other projects in the pipeline.

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