JavaScript is the most used programming language in the world and JavaScript frameworks are one of the main reasons behind its popularity. According to the 2021 StackOverflow Developer Survey, JavaScript continues to be the most commonly used programming language for the 9th straight year with over 64.96% of respondents using it. Besides, a staggering 97.6% of all websites use JavaScript.
Therefore, knowing which are the best JavaScript frameworks to learn and use in 2021 is crucial as a developer. But among so many existing JavaScript frameworks one might get confused about which ones to use. So, in this article, we are going to talk in detail about the best JavaScript frameworks to learn to help you make informed decisions.
What are JavaScript Frameworks and Why Should We Use Them?
In simple terms, JavaScript frameworks refer to the collection of prewritten reusable JavaScript code libraries. These prewritten codes can carry out standard tasks and functionalities. Also, you can use these JavaScript application frameworks to manipulate code according to your convenience.
JavaScript frameworks save your time and allow you to create your applications in an efficient manner. The productivity also gets increased as frameworks provide you with various prewritten functions. These functions make sure that you don’t have to worry about building everything from the scratch.
We can use the analogy of building a house to highlight why frameworks are used in JavaScript. For example, if you need to create everything from the scratch including raw construction materials such as bricks, cement, etc, your task becomes complex and time-consuming.
On the other hand, if you use readymade bricks, cement, and other construction materials, building a house will take up a lot less time. The prewritten codes and functions in frameworks do exactly the same for your application development. Because of frameworks, you do not need to worry about things such as building everything from scratch, security issues, and so on.
The 6 Best JavaScript Frameworks to Learn in 2021
1. React
React was originally developed by a group of engineers at Facebook in 2013. React.js is by far the most popular web framework to exist. It is the most commonly used web framework according to the2021 Stack Overflow Developer Survey. Furthermore, it is also by a long margin the most used and prominent framework in GitHub in terms of repositories and packages.
However, one thing that needs to be mentioned is that React is originally a library, not a framework. Although developers widely regard it as a web framework. Even in popular websites such asGitHub, State of JavaScript, and Stackoverflow, React is regarded as a web framework.
The main aim behind creating React was to make creating interactive UI simple, fast and painless. React.js consists of components that are reusable, self-contained, and render specific types of output. Besides, you can use these components with other JavaScript libraries.
Moreover, this component-based framework introduced concepts such as Virtual functional, declarative programming, virtual DOM, immutable state, and so on. You need to design a simple view for each state in your React application and then React will render, update the desired component according to the changes you make. All in all, for designing applications with interactive UI, React is one of the best JavaScript frameworks, if not the best!
Features:
- Use of reusable components or entities in its code.
- Use of virtual DOM
- Boost in application performance due to selective rendering
- Use of lifecycle methods
- Supports JSX, which is a combination of JavaScript and HTML
- One-way data binding
Popular Companies That Use React.js:
- Netflix
2. Vue.js
The second entry in our best JavaScript frameworks is Vue.js. It is a fully-fledged progressive open-source JavaScript framework. Evan You created Vue.js when he was working at Google in 2014. It is a very prominent framework for building user interfaces. In terms of repositories in GitHub, it is the second most prominent framework.
Vue.js offers seamless two-way data binding and the use of components. In addition, you can use it to create a full application or smaller elements of the application. Developers can use either HTML or JSX templates provided by Vue.js.
Moreover, Vue provides features of virtual DOM like React. Based on various use cases, Vue.js can be used as a framework as well as a library. Finally, its architecture is based on MVVM-based (Model-View-View-Model) architecture.
Features:
- Seamless two-way data binding
- Support for browsers that are ES-5 compliant
- Incredibly fast Virtual DOM
- An approachable core library that focuses only on the view layer
- The size of the Vue framework is very small
- Functions for customizations that are very easy to use
- Doesn’t need a lot of optimization
Popular Companies That Use Vue.js:
- Louis Vuitton
- Trustpilot
- Behance
- Google Career Platform
3. AngularJS
Released in 2010, AngularJS is an open-source framework for front-end web development. It was created to help JavaScript integrate with HTML, CSS, and so on. In 2016, Google built a completely new framework as an alternative to AngularJS based on TypeScript, a JavaScript superset. This new advanced and more dynamic framework was named Angular.
Angular follows model-view-controller aka MVC and model–view–viewmodel (MVVM) architectural patterns. It is a complete end-to-end framework that you can build an Enterprise-grade web application with. Moreover, with Angular, you can manipulate DOM attributes, access and control UI components’ behavior.
At present, Angular is lagging behind other frameworks such as React, Vue.js, and so on in terms of popularity. However, Angular still remains one of the best JavaScript frameworks that you can rely on to build an enterprise-grade application.
Features:
- Seamless two-way data binding
- Powerful JavaScript Plugins
- Built-in module system
- Offers beautiful premium themes
- Highly customizable
- Karma for unit tests
- Angular CLI
- High speed and performance
- High-performance animations with little code
Popular Companies That Use Vue.js:
- Forbes
- Samsung
- Delta
- Upwork
4. Ember.js
Ember.js was named Sproutcore 2.0 during its release in 2011. You can build robust cross-platform web applications with rich UIs by using Ember.js. Ember comes with tools that enable developers to integrate new and old versions of an application.
Along with web applications, it is also possible to build mobile and desktop applications with Ember.js. Furthermore, you get a separate data layer, an inbuilt testing environment, templates, and loads of other functions in Ember.js.
Ember.js renders DOM elements by an engine named Glimmer. With the Ember CLI, it is possible to perform tests in the browser, quick rebuild, auto-reloading of components, and so on. All these conveniences have resulted in a steady rise in demand for Ember.js as one of the best JavaScript frameworks.
Features:
- Highly scalable
- The dynamic Ember CLI
- In-built environment for development
- Two-way data binding
- Data-access library named Ember Data
Popular Companies That Use Vue.js:
- Apple
- Microsoft
- Twitch
- Playstation Now
5. Express.js
Among the JavaScript back-end frameworks, Express.js is the most used. It is an open-source framework for Node.js. This fast, simplistic, and minimalist framework is used in building maintaining web servers, building node-based web applications and APIs.
Express.js supports MVC (model-view-controllers) architectures and renders HTML pages dynamically. Besides. it has a sturdy mechanism for routing dynamic URLs. Moreover, this framework has compatibility with other databases such as MySQL, MongoDB, etc. With its numerous add-ons and better security, Express.js makes web development very convenient.
Features:
- Scalable and fast
- Lightweight
- Dynamic rendering of HTML pages
- Easy debugging
- Allows to receive HTML responses
Popular Companies That Use Vue.js:
- Uber
- IBM
- PayPal
- Fox Sports
6. Next.js
The last entry in this best JavaScript frameworks list is Next.js. Based on React, it is a very popular front-end web development framework because of its server-side renderability. Next.js was released in 2016 and allows you to build static websites.
To begin with, you can develop server-side applications and Jamstack with this framework. Moreover, it also supports web technologies such as CS and styled JSX. Besides, it is written in TypeScript and it can import modules of JavaScript and React components dynamically.
Next.js also provides you with great functionalities such as SEO backing, automatic routing, and code-splitting, etc. You can export a completely static site from the application using the Static Export feature in Next.js. Furthermore, in the latest version of Next.js, you get functionalities like Incremental static regeneration, redirect support, and so on.
Features:
- Automatic optimization of images
- Comes with built-in sub-domain and domain routing
- Automatic language detection
- Hot code reloading
- Server-side rendering ability
- Dynamic Components
- Pre-rendering of a page at request time or build time
- API routes and automatic code-splitting
Popular Companies That Use Vue.js:
- GitHub
- Netflix
- Docker
Final Summary on the Best JavaScript Frameworks
To conclude, JavaScript frameworks expedite the process of web development. Because of the innumerous functionalities of the best JavaScript frameworks, they are almost essential. So, using the right JavaScript framework for your development process can do wonders for you.
However, each of the top frameworks has its own pros and cons. In this article, we have tried to outline the unique features and functionalities each framework provides. We hope that it will aid you in making a decision based on your needs and requirements.