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Top 10 frontend frameworks for software development

Frontend frameworks are a huge advantage while developing a website or an app. They are structures that will help you create an outstanding user experience, satisfy your clients and boost your business. Frameworks provide templates to interact with and are compatible with various libraries, which results in boosting your performance and, at the same time, reducing the amount of code required. However, with so many options to choose from it is easy to get overwhelmed. In this article we will present the top 10 frontend frameworks and their main features to help you choose the perfect one for your project. 

What are frontend frameworks?

The frontend is everything that the user sees or interacts with when they visit a website or a web application. It is the development of the graphical user interface of a website or web app, through the use of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The frontend is essentially the client-side development and is the part of a system that the users directly access and interact with. 

Frontend frameworks are predefined structures that are used as a basis for user interfaces. They are used by web developers      link-icon to create clear and intuitive frontends. The main goal of front end frameworks is to help developers produce a website or a web app that will satisfy the users. Using frameworks can be very beneficial thanks to their reusable code models and ready-made interface blocks.  

The main goal of each framework is to improve efficiency, provide reliability and keep the quality of the code within certain limits**.** Of course, apart from the advantages mentioned above, there are also some drawbacks, such as the complexity of the code. Often, performance can be a challenge but it is a matter of choosing the right tools for the solution you want to achieve.

Benefits of using frontend frameworks

Before we dive into the specifics of each framework, let’s check out the main advantages of using frontend frameworks. 

  • Reliability - a standardized, pre-packaged frontend foundation provides you with a frequently updated codebase. Additionally, when using frameworks you get the benefit of documentation and support from a bigger community. Front-end frameworks are widely used, so answers to common issues should not be hard to find.
  • Better user experience - frameworks can help your web app perform better by implementing features such as client-side routing. It reduces times from user interaction to result, and removes or reduces page-refreshes, allowing for smooth transitions between pages. This will boost your website or web app performance and create an enhanced experience for the users.
  • Improved prototypes - frameworks are great for creating prototypes because  they reduce the amount of code you must write and do a lot of the heavy lifting for you. Additionally, frameworks provide a base development for non-developers to work up something quickly for prototyping or mockups.

Check out our various frontend development services for your company.

Top 10 frontend frameworks in 2022

With so many new frontend trends and frameworks to choose from it can be difficult to know which one will meet your needs. Continuous progress and modernization of technology causes some of them to fall out of circulation pretty regularly. Others, however, are still firmly at the top of the world rankings. Here, we are going to present a list of the top 10 frontend frameworks and their key features to help you choose the right one for your project. We believe they offer qualities that will make it easier for you to create an outstanding experience for your clients.

1. React

React is one of the most widely used and popular open-source web development frameworks. React is technically a library and because of that, it has a huge role in the framework's functionality. Using JSX as a template language is much more readable than typical HTML code. In addition, in React we can consider everything as components, which means that we do not need to create additional structures with greater complexity. In this approach, it turns out that the modules are not needed, but only introduced as additional layers. We use this approach in our React software development services.

2. Angular

Angular is a framework created by Google. The language used in Angular is TypeScript. This framework introduces a full range of functionalities that every application should have. Developers value Angular primarily for such functionalities as imposed application architecture, routing, solution-supporting component writing, modularity, and the use of design patterns.Angular’s usage has increased thanks to its high performance. Additionally, it is being adopted by more and more enterprises due to its huge community support. 

>> Learn about Angular state management

3. Vue.js

Vue.js is an open-source framework, designed by a wide range of specialists. Vue.js offers very similar functionalities to Angular, and at the same time you get the impression that it is a much simpler framework. The entry threshold is definitely lower, and we can often write a simple application after a few minutes of learning, knowing the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. On the other hand, that means the code is of much lower quality. Another thing that is not a perfect solution in Vue.js and Angular is the extension of HTML with directives that allow us to program at the template level which reduces the readability of the code.

4. Svelte

Svelte is another popular web development compiler, that rather than posting in the browser, puts all code as one compiled component. It means that Svelte does not need high browser processing or spending resources on building a virtual DOM. It is mainly used to create graphical interfaces for web applications. Applications written in Svelte do not have a framework structure, instead Svelte generates code, which speeds up the work on the user's side. The main advantage of Svelte is ease of management, as the size of an application written in Svelte is 10 times smaller than React. Additionally, Svelte is automatically equipped with powerful effects and animation modules, and it is suitable for beginners. 

5. Solid.js

Solid JS is a declarative user interface (UI) library for building web applications. Solid, like React, follows the philosophy of unidirectional data flow, read/write segregation, and immutable interfaces. However, it has a completely different implementation that forgoes using a Virtual DOM. Solid is built with efficient reactive primitives, from your userland code to your JSX views.

6. Backbone

Backbone.JS is a free open-source JavaScript library intended for web developers who are responsible for the construction of simple network applications, as well as the synchronization of numerous network components. It is known for being easy to handle, relying solely on the JavaScript library. It’s easy to learn and understand for beginners. The framework’s main benefits are good control over performance and the fact that it can store your data in models rather than DOM.

7. Ember

Ember.js is an open-source JavaScript library that makes it easy to write client-side web applications using the model-view-controller. Mainly intended for creating single page applications and web solutions. Ember is interactive and easy to use, which can significantly speed up the process of switching between projects or applications.

8. Semantic-UI

Semantic-UI is  a frontend framework, supported by LESS and jQuery, that has quickly become a favorite among JavaScript developers. Its strongest feature is the self-explanatory organic code with rich and responsive user interface components. It is very intuitive and can be used to design a page or develop a project rapidly. Another benefit of Semantic-UI is its rich out-of-the-box functionality, including 50+ components and 3000+ theming variables

9. Preact

Preact is a small-size framework that is meant to offer the same features as React. Preact and React share the same API and use the same methodologies for app development. The difference is that Preact is much smaller in size and uses the thinnest and fastest virtual DOM possible. It is among the fastest virtual DOM libraries and enables the development of dynamic web applications.

10. Foundation

Foundation is a frontend framework invented by Zurb, created mainly for enterprises. It is one of the most advanced frameworks so it allows you to create exquisite looking websites with a personalized ux. The Foundation framework allows developers to design customized end-user experiences and offers GPU acceleration.

How we do it at CodiLime

At CodiLime, we have many experienced frontend developers that can help you transform your ideas into a final product. Our software engineers and developers are dedicated to helping you with everything along the way. When it comes to frontend frameworks, at CodiLime we mainly work with React to create stable and scalable applications which can maintain high performance. We also use frameworks like Angular, Vue.js and many more. Our software developers will find the solution that meets both your business needs and product requirements. 

Conclusion

As you can see, frameworks are on the one hand a great help, but they need to be well matched to the project. Especially since there are so many of them, they are constantly evolving and new ones are still being created. The most important thing in choosing a framework is determining what you need and how you want to achieve it. Our experienced staff can provide answers to those questions.

Manturewicz Maciej

Maciej Manturewicz

Director of Engineering

Maciej is a Director of Engineering with nearly two decades in the software industry. He started his career journey as a software engineer, and he gained experience on every step of the ladder before landing in his current leadership role. With a rich background in software engineering, Maciej possesses a...Read about author >

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