JavaScript frameworks are tools you can use to automate tasks on a website and improve general user experience (UX). They also offer faster and more efficient ways of developing websites by providing highly scalable and customizable components and modules to suit any app you want to build.
Although if you’re a newcomer, jumping into JavaScript frameworks might be too technical for you, knowing more about them to make a potential choice is worth it. However, if you’ve been coding vanilla JavaScript for a while, it might just be high time you added some of these frameworks to your skillset.
So, for learning purposes, let’s take a look at a few JavaScript frameworks you can pick up as a beginner.
1. Vue.js
Vue is a progressive JavaScript framework for building single-page applications (SPAs). It’s a reactive framework that you can plug into an existing server-side language with minimum effort. If you’re more interested in building progressive web apps (PWAs), then you might want to consider picking up Vue.
Vue comes with a command-line interface (CLI), which makes it easy to either add it to an existing project or start building one from the ground up. When executing a project with Vue, you can either install it via the npm install method or connect to its content delivery network (CDN) directly.
With Vue, you can separate your DOM elements and treat them as separate entities in different files. Each entity then has its own CSS and JavaScript components.
However, you can also develop your app more conventionally by linking a whole DOM with its JavaScript and CSS file and connecting to Vue’s CDN.
In essence, if you’re plugging Vue into an app, all you need do is connect to its CDN and then link an existing DOM with the Vue instance. This way, you get to choose the parts of your project that uses Vue technology while leaving others out.
Building apps with Vue is seamless. The responsive Vue community, coupled with its detailed docs and stepwise tutorials, make it highly beginner-friendly and easy to comprehend.
2. React.js
React is a component-based JavaScript library created in 2011 by Jordan Walke, a developer at Facebook. Although its documentation says it’s a library, a lot of users of React argue that it’s a framework since it independently supports full front-end applications.
React simplifies complex tasks by treating each section of a webpage separately. One of React’s library features is that you can decide to apply it to a specific element in a DOM without affecting how others work. However, since React is scalable, you can also use it to build the whole website.
So, the fact that you can use small parts of React in your app components means you can use it as a library. But, you can also use it as a framework when your whole app depends on it for responsiveness.
React is one of the most-used JavaScript frameworks. It also powers popular websites and mobile apps like Instagram, Facebook, Airbnb, Discord, and Skype, among others. Like Vue, React has great docs to get you started. It’s beginner-friendly once you know the basics of JavaScript.
React has two technologies: Reactjs and React Native. Although these two technologies have little differences, using React Native is easy once you’re a master of Reactjs. However, React Native comes in handy for building mobile apps
To get a better hold of React, you can check out its documentation at reactjs.org.
3. Angular.js
Developed in 2010 and introduced by Google in 2012, Angular is a scalable MVC-based framework for building SPAs and PWAs.
Angular uses Plain Old JavaScript Objects (POJO) to relate with its models. So it’s capable of independently handling extra functionalities for controlling objects. It’s a suitable framework to consider if you like to build enterprise apps.
You don’t need to write extra functions to make a call in Angular. Those functions are in-built, and you can use them with your model each time you need to make a dynamic change to your DOM elements. However, Angular also has a sophisticated ecosystem that supports third-party solutions.
All these tools give Angular a unique feature that lets you execute more tasks with less code. It also has an interactive URL routing suitable for linking pages asynchronously in SPAs.
Although Angular might be a bit technical for a beginner, it has a supportive Google community that helps you out if you run into trouble. It’s suitable for building both mobile and web apps. It powers popular apps like Freelancer, Gmail, Forbes, PayPal, and Upwork.
Detailed documentation of Angular is available at the Angularjs Developer Guide website.
4. Next.js
Next.js is a reactive client-side framework for building both dynamic and static web pages. It’s a lightweight JavaScript framework that exports pages as React components, which is why it’s also known as a React framework.
Next.js features a routing method that preloads pages for faster page load and a better user experience. If you want to build server-side apps with React, then Next.js might be the right choice.
The framework offers full image optimization and internalization properties, as well as CSS and TypeScript support. Its API route methods give it server-side functionalities that let you develop server-side apps with minimal effort.
Just like Vue, Next.js has a CLI that lets you build and export apps faster. It has a pretty easy learning curve to help beginners pick it up quickly. TikTok, Twitch, and HostGator are some of the popular websites that run their front-end on Next.js.
For a more detailed explanation of Next.js, you can visit nextjs.org for its documentation.
5. Express.js
Express.js is a Node.js-based framework that supports the development of modular applications. Although Express.js can be overwhelming for newcomers with little or no experience with pure JavaScript, it’s worth learning, especially if you want to build your backend based on JavaScript.
Express.js is a perfect JavaScript framework for handling routes and requests in any Node.js application. It has robust HTTP tools that make building APIs a seamless task.
However, Express.js blends perfectly with Node.js, and some developers call it a Node.js module. It serves as a communication channel between the server and the client for apps that run their backend on Node.js. Typically, you can carry out Express.js tasks with pure Node.js, but using Express.js is more consistent and secure.
To learn more about this framework, you can take a look at its documentation at the Express.js homepage.
6. Ember.js
Ember.js is a scalable JavaScript framework that offers modern JavaScript built-in solutions for building a progressive and interactive user interface.
One of the core strengths of Ember.js is its CLI. The Ember CLI features a unique development environment that offers smart source file linking and automated unit testing to simplify the development process.
While it uses a rendering engine called Glimmer to boost the performance of its apps, the framework also offers a unique routing system that’s both dynamic and supportive for asynchronous loading.
In addition to having a flexible learning curve, Ember.js has well-detailed documentation and tutorials that make it less technical for newcomers.
Why Learn JavaScript and Its Frameworks?
According to a February 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, JavaScript maintains its lead as the most commonly used programming language. Based on this report, JavaScript has consistently been at the top for eight years in a row.
To back that claim up, Github Language Stats also placed JavaScript as the leading programming language in 2020 based on the number of pull requests, with Python now trailing behind it.
The popularity of JavaScript isn’t surprising. Besides, using vanilla JavaScript or one of its frameworks for your front-end is practically unavoidable if you want to give your users a great experience when they visit your webpage.
The fact that it’s now even server-side makes it a language of the future that’s worth learning. With its current evolutionary trend, you can decide to be a JavaScript-based developer without learning any other programming language.
JavaScript, no doubt, has many frameworks that can add great UI to your apps. However, the ones we listed in this article might be easier for beginners to learn.