Top 10 Web Development Frameworks

This article will explore ten of the best web development frameworks. The list includes React, ExpressJS, Ruby on Rails, Django, Laravel, Spring, etc.

Websites have become a necessary part of any company’s online presence. Since the existence of the internet, we have seen extraordinary growth in the number of online websites.

A recent survey of Statista claims that, the internet has 1.88 billion websites. This number was less than 500 million in 2010.

It means the number of online websites is increasing day by day, and competition is getting tough. So, it is also crucial for businesses and developers to use credible web development frameworks to build enduring web projects.

Hereof, this guide presents one of the best web development frameworks with their features. Moreover, we will also discuss the core uses of these web frameworks.

Keep reading to learn the most popular web development frameworks.

What is Web Development?

All tasks that consist of building and administering a website for a private network or internet refer to web development.

Web designing, frontend and backend coding, content generation, web engineering and network security configuration are significant operations that are involved in web development.

Web development could be about creating a single page static website or a dynamic web application to deal with data in actual time.

Newsletter content pages, forms, documentation and landing pages are examples of static sites.

On the contrary, e-commerce, social media, blogs and to-do sites present dynamic websites.

What is a Framework?

A ready-to-use toolset that provides components to resolve development snags and issues with rapid speed and high functionality is known as a framework.

In programming, a framework usually consists of code libraries, APIs, reference documents, compiler and other support tools.

In simple words, a framework works like a template to provide possible technological and conceptual infrastructural support to a program.

Such frameworks also avoid bugs and errors in the software development process.

React, Django, Express JS, Ruby on Rails and Laravel are commonly used web development frameworks.

Why Uses a Framework?

Here are the core reasons to use a framework:

Saves Time

One of the significant advantages of using a framework is its time efficiency. Indeed, web development frameworks enable the coders to save the energy and time they invest in different functions.

Likewise, web programmers don’t need to worry about authentication logic, error handling, session management, or data sanitization.

Moreover, frameworks also deal with functionalities like routing and templating. So, developers can save the time they use to modify dozens or hundreds of web application pages, their navigations menus, logo, header, and footer.

In short, with web development frameworks, coders don’t need to create a project from scratch, and it definitely improves project productivity.

This article will cover some rapid web development frameworks and keep reading to know more.

Highly Scalable & Customizable

Frameworks are not only easy to use but also have the ability to handle more users when your web app grows.

Hereof, Django is considered one of the top scalable frameworks because of its robust development of APIs. Express JS, Ruby on Rails and Spring are also some extendable frameworks to use.

By the same token, it is very smooth to customize your frameworks. Indeed, with the help of themes, add-ons, widgets, URL mapping, plugins and authorization procedures, developers can also customize their web app anytime.

Secure

Application security is the most crucial thing for businesses and development teams, and you will find frameworks very secure in this regard.

To make your web app invulnerable and more secure, you can depend on the security properties of web development frameworks.

These features could be email verification, authentication and personalized permissions. Moreover, secure source code is another great advantage of using frameworks in terms of app safety.

Easy Maintenance

It is not only convenient to build and deploy web applications by using frameworks, but maintenance is also seamless.

Frameworks enable the coders to utilize and arrange functionalities according to their ease. A regular coding approach also keeps the maintenance of frameworks very simple.

Therefore, developers don’t face difficulties while updating an app when they build it with web app development frameworks.

Top 10 Web Dev Frameworks

Here are the best web development frameworks:

1. React

React is one of the beyond comparison development frameworks that was released in 2013. This open-source JavaScript framework works to build client-side user interfaces.

According to the annual survey report of Stack Overflow 2021, React is the most used web framework with a rating of 40.14%.

Similarly, the robust backing of Facebook also makes this front end framework a popular choice for developers when it comes to building web applications.

Hereof, React has 187k stars and 38.3k forks on GitHub, demonstrating its popularity among developers.

This JavaScript UI building tool owns 101.9k followers on StackShare. Although 10k+ companies stated on StackShare about using React but its leading clients are Facebook, Uber, Amazon, Instagram, Reddit and Twitter.

Features

Declarative — It is seamless to build interactive user interfaces with React. Its declarative view also permits the developers to extend, review and update data modifications anytime. Moreover, this property of React ensures rapid debugging and script predictions.

Component-Based Structure — React has the ability to create planted components that can even administer their own condition. This framework also converts them into perplexing user interfaces. The major React components are Simple and Stateful components. With a combo of these two components, you can easily build an application.

One-Way Data Binding — With a one-way data binding flow of React, it becomes easy for developers to flow information in a single direction. Due to this React property, coders also don’t need additional requirements.

Learn Once, Write Anywhere — If you want to build components without writing the script again and again, then you must consider using React. With this web framework, you just create new products and features without redrafting the code.

Community Support — Businesses can get great community support when they use this web framework. Yes, you can ask all of your React queries on Stack Overflow, Reddit, Hashnode and Dev’s React Community. A variety of helpful resources are also available on GitHub when it comes to React.

Keep reading to discover more popular web frameworks.

2. Express JS

Express.js that is also known as Express, is an open-source framework for server-side development. This JavaScript framework was initially launched in 2010.

This web framework is typically used to build web apps quickly, and hereof, it works very well for Node.js.

A recent survey of Statista about the most used web frameworks ranks it in the 3rd position with 23.82% votes. With 56.7k stars and 9.6k forks, Express.js is also very popular among the GitHub community.

Furthermore, StackShare displays Express JS among microframeworks, and around 1781 companies claimed to use this tool here.

The leading companies that are benefitting from Express are Trustpilot, Accenture, ReadMe.io and Stack.

Features

Robust Development — If you are looking for quick web app development with Node.js, then you must consider Express JS. It provides ready-to-use features and saves time that developers invest in writing code again and again.

Routing & Templating — Routing and templating is the leading reason to use programming frameworks for web app development. Express.js doesn’t disappoint its users in this regard and confers highly advanced and active routing infrastructure. With this routing mechanism, you can easily retain the webpage with URLs. By the same token, developers can quickly create dynamic web pages with the help of available templates. 

Easy to Learn — Most of the coders have good knowledge of JavaScript, so they don’t need to learn a new language to benefit from Express. Yes, it is an easy-to-use web development framework for enterprises and startup teams.

Smooth Debugging — This web development framework can only mention the exact part of the web app that is needed to fix. So, with Express, you can smoothly debug the substantial portion of an app.

APIs — Developers can approach client demands and databases with middleware. Although middleware aids in performing several other tasks as well but it is also convenient to create APIs with this middleware functionality of Express and HTTP utility methods.

3. Django

Django is another open-source web development framework that was initially launched in 2005.

This free and Python-based framework acts upon the model–template–views (MTV) design pattern to build quality web applications.

Developers and businesses usually depend on the Django framework to build highly secure and good performing applications.

Luckily, it works for both server-side and frontend development of web applications.If we discuss its advantages for server-side development, it is considered a famous backend framework.

In a recent survey of Statistics & Data, Django acquired the 2nd position among the most popular backend frameworks of 2022.

It got 61.614 votes in this survey. Moreover, with 27k forks and 63.6k stars, Django also owns a big community on GitHub.

The big tech giants that trust Django are Instagram, Delivery Hero, DoorDash and Pinterest.

Features

Highly Scalable — Django is a very extendible web framework that companies can use. One of the busiest and high traffic websites are depending on Django because of this feature. By the way, it is also a good option for small and medium-sized projects.

Very Secure — This web development framework is very safe for sensitive data websites because it avoids server-side loopholes. In this regard, it doesn’t only offer user authentication but also overcomes the probability of clickjacking, cross-site scripting and forgery.

Documentation — Django is famous among developers because of its outstanding documentation. It is seamless to find your required toolset from Django’s library by using the search feature.

SEO Optimized — It is hard to find a fully SEO optimized framework for websites, but Django provides complete support. It handles the websites with URLs that help index and rank quickly instead of IP addresses. So, URLs use simple phrases instead of numeric scripts to get better positions.

4. Ruby on Rails

Ruby on Rails is a reliable backend framework that follows model-view-controller (MVC) infrastructure to build quality web applications.

However, it is still a suitable choice as a full-stack framework. Yes, it can support both client-side and backend development activities.

In addition, Ruby on Rails which is also famous with the name Rails, was launched in 2007, and now, it has 50.6k stars and 20.3k forks on GitHub.

This web framework is conventionally used to create websites that use the Ruby language for scripting purposes. Rails is beneficial to utilize when it comes to building social networking websites, eCommerce stores, stock and SaaS platforms.

The prominent companies using the Rails framework are Shopify, Airbnb, Fiverr, StackShare, Coinbase and Microsoft.

Features

Scaffolding — It is a tool to create views, models and controllers for additional sources. Scaffolding also instructs the databases on how to operate. Moreover, developers can also automatically produce codes with this Rails property.

Testing Tools — It is the primary desire of every programmer to use simple testing tools to properly examine all functions of its application. Hereof, Rails provides a complete testing structure with the name of RSpec. It is elementary to learn and handle.

Localization — This web framework permits businesses to utilize pre-built code for big projects or applications.

Fast Development — RoR is known because of its rapid development feature. Mainly, its properties like automated testing, scaffolding and convention over configuration play a great role in fast app building. Withal, it doesn’t compromise the quality while making web apps with good speed.

5. Laravel

If you are looking for a PHP-based web framework for your project, then you should consider Laravel. It is a free MVC pattern framework that was launched in 2011.

Laravel has 69.4k stars and 22.5k forks on GitHub because of its elegant syntax and open-source approaches.

StackShare also keeps this framework in the full-stack category. Although Laravel owns 22k stacks and 17.9k followers on StackShare but the major companies that use Laravel are MasterCard, Kmong and TransferGo.

Features

Eloquent ORM — The main agenda of this Laravel feature is the provision of hassle-free database abstraction. With this characteristic, you can easily pair and utilize databases including MySQL, SQLite and Postgres.

Vapor — If you want a serverless deployment of your application, Vapor would be a great tool. It enables the users to deploy serverless applications with the backing of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Easy Authentication — Laravel provides two tools for secure authentication. The first one is Laravel Sanctum which is helpful for mobile applications and application programming interfaces (APIs). The second is the scaffolding that protects login sessions, improves authentication and much more.

6. Spring

Spring is another credible Java framework for applications that was released in 2002. This open-source programming framework confers complete backing to build Java applications and lies in the Java EE structure category.

The architecture of the Spring framework consists of three primary layers: view, business logic, and data approach layers.

These layers rely on each other to perform different development tasks. Similarly, if we talk about its community support, it has 47.3k stars and 33.4k forks on GitHub.

Zillow, Okta and Indeed are prominent companies that use Spring for different tech stacks.

Features

Lightweight Framework — POJO property of the Spring framework makes it a lightweight option for Java developers. The small size and lightweight functionality of Spring make it a smart choice for businesses and coders.

Portable — It is a very portable Java framework that coders can smoothly use for the backend development of EJB or web applications. Even they can also utilize it for frontend development for Swing or Java applications.

Data Access — This application framework empowers the developers to approach persistence data from databases with the help of APIs.

Secure Platform — Although it depends on many tools, but it’s programming team closely examines all vulnerabilities and conducts regular updates. Industry-standard protection is another great benefit of using the Spring framework.

7. Angular

Angular is also one of the best frameworks for web development that was initially launched in 2016 by Miško Hevery.

It is basically an open-source Typescript-oriented framework that is used to create single-page web applications. You can seamlessly build the frontend of these apps by using languages like Typescript and HTML with the help of the Angular framework.

The popularity of Angular is rapidly growing among the developers’ community, and its GitHub statistics are an example of it. Indeed, Angular has around 80.8k repository stars and 21.3k forks on GitHub.

Tech Stack, Onefootball and Evooq are renowned clients of Angular.

Features

Cross-Platform — Businesses can conveniently create and deploy web applications for all platforms using this framework. It is equally beneficial for building desktop, native and progressive web applications.

Highly Productive — Angular CLI, powerful templates and IDEs make this framework a very productive choice for all sizes of projects.

Less Code Framework — Angular plays a significant role in reducing development time. In this regard, its low-code functionality prevents teams from writing scripts for MVC layers separately.

Two-Way Data Binding — With the two-way data binding property of Angular, development teams don’t need to invest time in data synchronization. Yes, all model layer changes automatically appear in the view layer with this feature.

8. Vue JS

Vue.js is a highly versatile open-source JavaScript framework that is written in TypeScript. This progressive web app framework is typically used to create single-page apps and user interfaces for websites.

Like other JavaScript frameworks, it is also very popular among the GitHub community and holds 195k stars and 32k forks there.

It is not only famous on GitHub, but its followers on platforms like StackShare are also remarkable. Vue JS has 33k+ followers on StackShare. The major companies mentioned using Vue.js are Alibaba Travels, GitLab, Bitpanda and Statista.

Features

Small Size — Vue.js is considered a swift framework, and its small size plays a vital role in this regard. With a download Zip size of 18 KB, it is super-fast to set up its library. It is also a good sign for search engine rankings and the user interface of your web app.

Code Readability & Reusability — Novices can read and understand Vue.js code with great ease. Similarly, developers can benefit from this framework by reusing its script for the same elements repeatedly.

Flexible Integrations — This framework doesn’t restrict the businesses to only using JavaScript, but they can also use HTML and JSX templates. Teams can also integrate this web app framework with Angular, Laravel and React.

9. Ember JS

If you are building a single page web application and have plans to extend it in future, then the use of the Ember JS framework should be your priority. This is an open-source and free framework that was launched in 2011.

With more than 22k stars on GitHub, it is a prime choice of leading websites. The renowned websites that are benefiting from Ember.js for their tech stacks are Netflix, Apple Music, DigitalOcean, Square and Heroku.

Features

Testing Tools — Ember JS allots one of the most modern and fine app testing tools to its users. These testing tools could be easily operated in browsers.

Regular Updates — The programming team of Ember.js update its system after every six weeks. These regular upgrades show how much they are concerned about their community.

Good for Big Teams — It is a suitable web framework for a gigantic codebase. It means you can perfectly utilize Ember JS for large projects with big teams.

10. Asp.Net

The developers who want to build HTML, CSS, JavaScript and C# applications and looking for a free framework must go with ASP.NET.

This cross-platform framework provides complete support for Windows, macOS, and Linux applications.

Around 12k+ companies stated on StackShare about using ASP.NET, but the core clients of this framework are SpaceX, Slack, HBO and GoDaddy.

Features

Security — It is a highly secure framework because of .NET support. Built-in Windows authentication, unique identification and object validity make it a safe choice for businesses and developers.

Web Sockets — ASP.NET provides powerful backing for web sockets. Mainly, the 4.5 version of this web framework backs web socket stipulations.

Dependency Injection — This is another newly installed feature of ASP.NET. It makes code more reusable and readable and overcomes dependencies.

Conclusion

It does not matter if you will build an in house project or outsource web development services, this article helped you to identity the best web development frameworks. But it is your project’s requirement and the programming language you are using to build a website or web app that decides which framework will suit you the most.

Hereof, this article displayed one of the best web development frameworks with their core properties and other details. So, it will assist you in picking the proper web app framework for your project.

FAQ