When starting a new web application project, choosing the preferred web frontend framework can often be a long and serious point of discussion. In this article, we hope to provide developers with a guide to selecting a suitable web frontend framework for different types of projects.
JavaScript or TypeScript
When we talk about frontend web development in the year 2023 and for probably the next few years, we’re basically talking about a framework for either JavaScript or TypeScript. The two programming languages are fairly similar, with TypeScript being a superset of JavaScript. This means that all valid JavaScript code is also valid TypeScript code. They share the same fundamental syntax, which includes variables, loops, conditionals, functions, and objects.
Arguably all frontend developers would know how to program in JavaScript. TypeScript is not as popular, but as it is fairly similar to JavaScript, most JS programmers can adopt TypeScript given enough time and willingness to learn.
Framework Popularity and Community Support
The next factor to consider is how popular the framework is and how active the support is around it. The popularity of a framework dictates how easy it is to recruit developers for your project, research and get answers in developer forums, find plugins and extensions for it, and how often it gets updated and upgraded. While there are easily dozens or more TypeScript and JavaScript frameworks around, most web developers would agree that the ones that are currently most popular and most actively supported are React, Angular, and Vue.js. All three are free and open-source frameworks used by a large number of applications and websites with active development and support communities. Hence, let’s focus our further analysis on these three frameworks.
What is React?
React was initially released in 2013 and is created and maintained by Meta (formerly Facebook). React is often used for creating single-page applications and mobile applications, but it can be applied to various types of web development.
What is Vue.js
Vue.js (often referred to as Vue) is an open-source JavaScript framework for building user interfaces released in 2014. It is designed to be a progressive framework, which means you can use as much or as little of it as you need, making it easy to integrate into existing projects or start new ones. Vue.js is often lauded for its simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use. Vue was created by Evan You, who also maintains it along with a core team of developers, unlike the other two frameworks discussed here, which are supported by large companies,
What is Angular?
Angular or Angular 2+ is a complete rewrite of AngularJS and was released in 2016. It is a comprehensive open-source framework for building dynamic, single-page web applications. Google and a group of developers are responsible for developing and maintaining it. Angular is distinct from React and Vue in that it provides a complete solution for building web applications, not just the view layer. It is also unique in its use of TypeScript as its programming language, as opposed to JavaScript for the other two.
Comparative Analysis of Angular, React, and Vue
| Aspect | Vue.js | React | Angular 2+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Release | 2014 | 2013 | 2016 |
| Popularity | Growing rapidly | Extremely popular | Widely adopted |
| Learning Curve | Easier, especially for beginners | Moderate; JSX knowledge required | Steeper learning curve |
| Architecture | Component-based | Component-based | Component-based, MVVM architecture |
| Data Binding | Two-way data binding | One-way data binding (Uni-directional) | Two-way data binding |
| Rendering | Virtual DOM | Virtual DOM | Real DOM |
| Template Syntax | HTML-based with directives | JSX (JavaScript XML) | HTML-based with Angular-specific syntax |
| State Management | Vuex (official state management) | Flux/Redux (external libraries) | RxJS and built-in state management |
| Size & Performance | Smaller bundle size, fast initial load | Smaller bundle size, fast initial load | Larger bundle size, slower initial load |
| Community & Ecosystem | Growing community, versatile ecosystem | Vast and active community; extensive ecosystem | Mature community, wide ecosystem |
| Integration with Other Libraries | Good integration with various libraries | Easily integrates with third-party libraries | Tight integration with Angular-specific libraries |
| Development Speed | Faster development due to simplicity | Fast development with a large developer community | Slower development due to complexity |
| Official CLI Tool | Vue CLI | Create React App | Angular CLI |
Selecting the right frontend framework
While we have narrowed it down to three frameworks you can choose from, the table above shows that there are still decision points needed to select which three would be the most applicable for your project.
Simple Projects = Vue
Vue is often an excellent choice for simple projects due to its minimal learning curve. It’s lightweight and easy to pick up, making it a great option for smaller applications or prototypes that will help you reach the market sooner. React is also a viable option and has the advantage of popularity, which makes it easier to recruit and get community support. Angular might be overkill for simple projects that won’t be expanding any time soon.
Medium-complexity Projects = React (Vue and Angular as a close second)
For moderately complex system development, all three would have their merits for utilization, with React probably being the slight leader in terms of ease of support, developer recruitment, and platform maturity. Vue can still be viable for its faster learning curve, growing popularity, and community support; while Angular is a good option especially if scaling up the system in the near future is likely.
High-complexity Projects = Angular
Angular’s extensive features and strong architectural patterns make it a robust choice for large-scale enterprise applications. While React and even Vue can and have been used for larger systems, they’re not really designed for this type of scale, and long-term code maintenance and support might prove more difficult.
Other points of consideration
Team Expertise
If your current team is already adept in one of the three frameworks, then selection would obviously skew toward what the team is already familiar with. Do keep in mind the caveats, especially when using Angular for simpler projects or Vue or React for highly complex ones.
Integration Requirements
If the project will be interfacing with third-party systems, then the choice of framework would have to take into consideration how easy it would be to do so. React and Vue and their use of pure JavaScript are typically easier to work with, given that they have a larger library of existing JavaScript code they can use. 3rd party code might have to be recoded into TypeScript to make them work with Angular.
Client Preference
Your client might have a preferred framework in mind, and this has to be taken seriously when recommending a different framework for deployment. We find that most clients are reasonable when you try to justify a different development approach, as long as your arguments are sound.
Conclusion
Deploying a modern web front-end these days will mean making use of either Vue, React, or Angular. Keeping in mind project complexity, team expertise, integration requirements, and client preferences when selecting the correct front-end to deploy could save you a lot of headaches down the line.
In EACOMM, we expect our front-end developers to be familiar, if not experts, with at least two of these three frameworks so that they can tackle projects of any size and complexity. This gives us the confidence that we can handle any type of web application project our clients might require.
For more information on how EACOMM can help with your front-end development requirements, contact us at admin@eacomm.com.