It’s 2022, and it’s that question again which frontend framework to use? Are they maintained, production-ready, good learning curve vs benefit balance and active community? Let’s do a quick recap for the best of the best out there.
React
https://reactjs.org/ https://nextjs.org/ https://reactnative.dev/
I will put React in the number 1. The best of the best, and there are many reasons for that. First, because it has a vast community, simple structure, modular, component-based, and they also care about the world. They are a big supporter of Ukraine and the free world. That’s already alone is something.
What’s also very important with React and all the JavaScript (JS) based frameworks is that the learning curve and commons are very similar between the backend and the frontend. Also, React will let you build native mobile apps using React Native. So fewer code paradigms, similar codebase and a better understanding of each other’s code for various roles. Even though most of the developers are becoming full stack over time, thanks to these frameworks listed here, they can handle both backend and frontend code.
Also important to mention that React has Next.js for the backend. Quote from their web —
Next.js gives you the best developer experience with all the features you need for production: hybrid static & server rendering, TypeScript support, smart bundling, route pre-fetching, and more. No config needed.
Honourable mention is also React alternative Preact. They still hold a strong position, but I’m taking it as an alternative and would still go with React. But they have done an outstanding job there https://preactjs.com/. Preact also supports Ukraine.
Vue.js
https://vuejs.org/ https://nuxtjs.org/ https://nativescript-vue.org/
Very similar to React and also with a large community is Vue. Even if I put React in the first place, Vue is on the same line. In my opinion, Vue is oriented more toward the Front-end developers; some of the things they do is to make it easy to develop websites even for the designers. So their focus is simple even though they have a pretty sophisticated framework.
They are a bit left behind on the mobile side, and that’s a pity. They would be precisely the same or even better if they had also covered native mobile development. One option on how to still do native mobile with Vue is NativeScript Vue https://nativescript-vue.org/.
For the backend development, they have Nuxt.JS. It’s similar to React’s Next and easy to get things moving.
Btw, check out this project to find Vue-based sites https://vuetelescope.com/.
Svelte
https://svelte.dev/ https://sapper.svelte.dev/ https://svelte-native.technology/
They have been vital for some time and seem to have grown their position and community. Tools have also been much approved and have many exciting things going on. Like Solid, they don’t have typical virtual DOM. Their intro on their page are well written and explanatory. I need to quote them —
Svelte is a radical new approach to building user interfaces. Whereas traditional frameworks like React and Vue do the bulk of their work in the browser, Svelte shifts that work into a compile step when you build your app.
Instead of using techniques like virtual DOM diffing, Svelte writes code that surgically updates the DOM when the state of your app changes.
Svelte has its backend tools also in place, and they have a tool named Sapper https://sapper.svelte.dev/. It’s just like Next & Nuxt. And all of them support TypeScript. They love Vercel and have made it very easy to deploy there.
It is possible to create native mobile apps using Svelte, but I haven’t tried it. Please let me know in the comments if you know more about it — https://svelte-native.technology/.
SolidJS
Solid has built its strength over time and has a strong position on the market. Solid is an open-source project under an MIT license. They have done some of the DOM handling a bit differently, but overall, they are very similar to React. Take the time and give them a change. Start with a side project or experiment. They also say that Solid is swift. They say that they are simple and performant reactivity for building user interfaces.
Angular and jQuery
Still around, but if you are not building for an enterprise, these are more like naaaah… It was good to know, but it is not worth putting too much time into these. If you are already familiar with and use these, then it’s ok; they will still be around and have large communities and lots of help. They are also under active maintenance, and you probably don’t need to worry. But if you are new, please choose something from the top 4 above.
This helpful article sums it up nicely to read more about last year’s trends. https://2021.stateofjs.com/en-US/
To finish it up, I also wanted to mention some deployment and static web options that are important to be aware of on 2022. https://vercel.com/ https://www.gatsbyjs.com/ https://www.netlify.com/
And of course, if you need marketing automation tools for 2022, then Mockup API from Mediamodifier is the best on the market. I’m affiliated with that one.
This article originally appeared on my Medium. You can also read all of my articles here on my web.