Top Node.js Frameworks For Web Apps In 2022

There are thousands of technologies, tools and frameworks that come and quickly fade away from the industry with each passing year. Change is the only constant thing that exists in the world of app development. Therefore, as the new year is fastly approaching, everyone is eyeing up the new trends and technologies that hit the market in the new year and empowering developers to build successful web apps.

With the severe hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, the e-commerce industry is outgrown like never before and inspired businesses from all across the world to shift their traditional business models to virtual markets. The growing demand of businesses to create an application that ensures unmatched user experience actually put them in a dilemma about what technology they should choose to survive in the market for the next few decades…

Considering this surging demand, development companies are kept testing various technologies that help them build a future-ready app and are able to support advanced features of web app development.

I know, for many tech experts, the simple answer will be using Javascript's framework- Node.js for web app development. And this is what such survey reports convey…

According to a survey report, almost 80% of the developers prefer Node.js over the others for their development work.

As per the market survey report, 4 out of 5 back-end and full-stack developers rate the Node.js framework as their go-to choice.

With these statistics, it is fair enough to say that Node.js has acquired a global attention of developers. Before we proceed further to know what exactly makes this framework an ideal choice for businesses to create web applications, it is worth understanding a baseline about Node.js.

Understanding Node.js As a Leading Technology in 2022

Node.js is one of the most popular yet fastest growing programming languages that is typically used for web-app development. But more often, people consider Node.js to be a framework than technology..

Well, it seems like a never ending battle..

However, Node.js is actually a JavaScript runtime environment that provides a platform to execute JavaScript codes on the server-side and make it portable. If put in simple language, Node.js provides a runtime environment where developers run a program. Being the fastest server-side web application platform, it makes it easier for developers to build scalable real-time web applications.

But the question is what makes this technology stand outside?

What Makes Node.js a Worthy Choice for Web App Development?

Being a fast-growing programming language, Node.js has various frameworks to choose from. And thankfully, the frameworks can help you scale, speed up the development process and boost app performance across projects. Apart, here's what makes JavaScript's framework -Node.js stand apart…?

• Node.js has gained immense popularity as it ensures extremely lightweight and flexibility to the web app development process.

• Node.js comes with an extensive library of JavaScript modules that simplify the app development process.

• Due to its open-source libraries, it has become incredibly popular for web and mobile app developments.

• Node.js has a clear and concise codebase, therefore it works best for agile development and prototyping.

• Being based on the JavaScript programming language, it boasts a wide community and support.

• Node.js is widely used for developing enterprise-scalable applications faster.

If you are not yet convinced enough with these facts about Node.js, then let's take a deep breath and dive into the latest statistics about Node.js.

Insightful Node.js Statistics That Make It Popular Worldwide

The paradigm shift in customer's behaviour has undoubtedly made businesses rethink their business models. And with the increasing demand for web app development solutions, businesses are in great doubt about what technology they should choose to build an application that ensures an excellent user experience. However, with these statistics, you will get a clear idea about why Node.js has become a popular choice for web app development…

Market Insights About Node.js

• According to the survey report, Node.js reduced development costs by 58%, therefore a primary choice for startups.

• According to the reports, Node.js can increase an application's performance by 50%, therefore 43% of Node.js devs use it for developing an enterprise app.

• Node.js has been adopted by various industry leaders such as Amazon, Netflix, eBay, Reddit, LinkedIn, Tumblr and PayPal.

• 83% use it primarily for web app development.

• Using Node.js as a backend development technology, PayPal has witnessed a 35% decrease in average response time on its page after deploying Node.js.

• According to W3Tech, Node.js is used by at least 30 million websites.

• According to the survey report, Node.js hit 1 billion downloads back in 2018 and the numbers keep increasing.

• As per the latest reports, out of over 63,000 checked websites in the US, more than 37,000 are running on Node.js

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Hopefully, with these survey reports and market stats and facts about Node.js, you are sure that it is taking a center stage in the field of web app development frameworks. However, before you step ahead to hire a Node.js app development company, many of you are wondering which framework should be used for web app development in 2022. There are various frameworks of Node.js but each framework has its own ins and outs and is used for different purposes. So how to make a perfect choice for the Node.js framework for web app development in 2022?

Here are the top Node.js frameworks for web app development in 2022..

Leading Node.js Frameworks For Web App Development in 2022: Popularity, Features And Uses

1. Express (Github Popularity: 55.5 k Stars | 9.4 K Forks | Used By 11.9 M Users)

While counting on the top frameworks of Node.js for website and web app development, Express secured a top position. Express is one of the fastly growing web app development frameworks of Node.js as it is highly lightweight and flexible to Use. Since it provides a fundamental layer of web app development features, the app development process becomes much faster and easier with Express.

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Key Features of Express

**- **Express.js follows MVC architecture which makes the app implementation easier.

• It supports 14+ engine templates and HTTP methods.
• It is capable of writing robust APIs and injecting heavy load packages to help you extend the functionality of the framework.
• Express contains routing libraries that act as a routing table.

• Pros Of Express

• Comparatively easier to learn and simpler to implement
• Ideal option for the short app development cycle
• Flexible, lightweight and adjustable
• Enables app customization
• Ensure high performance
• Super-high test coverage

• Cons of Express

• Need code organisation
• Complex for beginners

Installation Idea

Credit: Author

When to Use Express?

Being based on the JavaScript-based technology known as MEAN software stack and readily available for API generation tools, therefore it can be easily used for enterprise-grade browser-based apps.

It can be used for:

• Single Page App Development

• Multi-page app development

• Hybrid app development

2. Hapi.js (Github Popularity: 13.6 k Stars | 1.3 K Forks | Contributors 209)

Hapi.js is one of the secured, simplest and reliable servers and an open-source framework of Node.js for web app development. If you choose to hire an app development company to build web apps using Hapi.js, you can easily save a cost on the license as it's free to use. It is broadly known for developing proxy servers, REST APIs and other desktop applications as it is always recognized for its high-end security. In addition, to make the entire development process simpler and faster, it provides a wide choice of built-in plugins so can cut down the risk of using unofficial middleware to add functionality to the app.

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Key Feature of Hapi.js

• Hapi.js provides you with complete control over handling requests.
• The in-built features of Hapi.js like caching, authentication and input validation make the entire app development faster.
• Allow developers to write robust APIs and can be integrated with other tools.
• It supports various types of databases.
• Hapi.js comes with a JavaScript Templating Engine which makes the rendering of dynamic web pages easier.
• The ideal framework of Node.js to build real-time applications as it has a scalable architecture.

• Pros of Hapi.js

• Architecture is a Plugin based though it eases the development process of real-time applications.
• Supports microservices and robust libraries
• The web server is functionality-rich, hence ensuring excellent app performance.

• Cons of Hapi.js

• Hapi.js based app required manual testing
• Refactoring of Hapi.js based also required manual practice.

Installation Guidance

Credit: Author

When to Use Hapi.js?

Since it's an ideal framework for developing secured, real-time, scalable and social media applications. Rest, mobile app developers can be used for creating proxies and API servers.

It can be used for:

• Website development

• HTTP Proxy applications

• API servers

3. NestJS (Github Popularity: 43.2 k Stars | 4.6 K Forks | Used By 116 k users | Contributors 279)

The performance of the web apps are majorly dependent upon the backend systems and to create a compelling backend, NestJS is an open-source, extensible, versatile and progressive Node.js framework. In recent years, NestJS has become one of the rapidly growing Node.js frameworks based on the TypeScript language. You can hire a Node.js app developer to write scalable, testable and loosely coupled applications.

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Key Features of NestJS Framework

• NestJS framework uses many programming paradigms such as FP, OOP, and FRP that make it more scalable.
• It provides a modular approach where libraries are arranged in proper modules.
• It uses TypeScript as its native programming language, therefore, it is perfectly compatible with Angular.
• It also uses some of the Express features to make the development process easier.
• Its simple and easy-to-understand command-line interface helps developers to seamlessly integrate it with different tools.

• Pros of NestJS Framework

• It is one of the scalable technologies
• The ecosystem is vibrant with open source libraries
• Event-based and fast to implement
• Ensuring strong corporate support

• Cons of NestJS Framework

• At times, it often shows a congested performance
• Tool immaturity can slow down the development process
• Show design issues in case of complex UI/UX design

Installation Guidance :

Credit: Author

When to Use NestJS?

This framework of Node.js is mainly used for writing applications that are scalable and testable. In fact, it adds scalability potential to node.js to a whole new level. With that in mind, you can hire a mobile app development company to develop large web apps as it provides a perfectly balanced efficiency to handle complex app structures. Therefore, you can use this framework for:

• Writing cleaner and reusable app codes.

• Writing scalable, testable and loosely packed applications.

• Enables you to write codes with higher-level structures like filters, pipes, interceptors and more.

4. Meteor.js (Github Popularity: 42.8 k Stars | 5.2 K Forks | Used By 57 users | Contributors 646)

Meteor.js is a full-stack framework of Node.js that can be used for creating real-time web and mobile applications. Since it ensures cross-platform compatibility to the applications, therefore it is commonly used by businesses from across the world. The best part about using Meteor.js is, it can be seamlessly integrated with other technologies such as front-end frameworks and databases systems such as React, Vue, Angular, and MongoDB. In addition, Meteor.js is closer to Node.js for backend development, where it becomes easier for developers to code a complete website without using multiple programming languages.

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Key Features of Meteor.js

• Allow developers to build apps for any platform (iOS, Android and Web).
• It can be easily integrated with NoSQL databases, including MongoDB.
• Meteor.js is lightweight and highly flexible for web app development.
• It can integrate with the top 3 front-end web frameworks such as Angular, React and Vue.
• It boasts a rapidly growing community and is an ideal option for full-stack developers.
• Meteor.js contains a lavish set of libraries that help developers to build dynamic web apps.

• Pros of using Meteor.js

• The lightweight architecture of this framework is appreciated by developers.
• Robust community of Meteor.js makes it an all-time favourite choice of developers.
• A wide choice of libraries and packages make the development process much more simple.
• Seamless syncing of catchphrases.

• Cons of using Meteor.js

• Less effective to make progressive web apps
• No network connection flexibility
• Lacks widget library

Installation Guidance

*curl https://install.meteor.com/ | sh*

*meteor create try-meteor*

*cd try-meteor*

*meteor*

When to Use Meteor.js?

Being one of the most straightforward frameworks to learn along with the capability of rapid prototyping and producing cross-platform codes, therefore Meteor.js can be used for:

• Complete mobile app development.

• Complete web app development.

5. Koa.js (Github Popularity: 32.1 k Stars | 3.1 K Forks | Used By 197k users | Contributors 225)

If you are looking to develop a web application that provides the scope of customizations, then Koa.js is one such framework of Node.js that stands perfect with your needs. Despite being comparatively young, this framework has secured the top most position in the list of Node.js frameworks. While it is developed by the team of Express.js framework, therefore, it offers you a bunch of excellent features, the efficiency of handling errors, and ensuring lightweight architecture for the web app development. You can hire app developers as it provides a wide variety of efficient methods to fasten the process of making servers more excitingly.

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Key Features of Koa.js Framework

• Understanding the changing development needs of the market provides you with a modern and future-proof platform.
• It has in-built callbacks for errors that prevent website or web apps from crashes
• It uses context objects which can effortlessly handle both request and response objects.

• Pros of Using Koa.js Framework

• It is lightweight and flexible to use
• Supports synchronization and await keywords
• Generator functions transcend

• Cons of Using Koa.js Framework

• Since its comparatively new, therefore, it has a smaller community
• Compatibility with express style middleware is almost neglectable.\

Installation Guidance

Credit: Author

When Is It To Be Used?

While Koa.js is being used for creating a server, routes, handling responses and errors, therefore, it can be used for:

• Developing Frontend Systems

• Backend System development

• Hybrid system development

6. Socket.js (Github Popularity: 55 k Stars | 9.9 K Forks | Used By 2.6 M users | Contributors 202)

If you are planning to build a real-time chat app, then Socket.js is the ideal choice of framework to consider. Socket.js is one of the Node.js frameworks that are majorly used to produce real-time computing apps. The framework is famous amongst the developers as it provides accuracy and makes the development process easier for the developers. Since it has straightforward and uncomplicated APIs, therefore, developers can seamlessly use it for app development.

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Key Features of Socket.js

• It supports auto-reconnection
• Seamlessly adding a real-time ability to a web app
• Encoding of messages as named JSON or binary events
• It ensures unmatched coding speed and reliability
• Enables you to develop instant messaging and chat app without having to juggle complex coding.

• Pros of Using Socket.js

• Socket.js ensures a smooth authentication process of the ap
• Renders JSON serializable objects without any hassle
• Customization of URL routing for web Sockets
• Assist in multiplexing
• Real-time data analytics is possible with Socket.js
• It is fast and secure to use for web app development

• Cons of Using Socket.js

• Keeps your app connection open on a server
• It lacks in creating web apps that require periodic updates.

Installation Guidance

Credit: Author

When is it to be used?

Socket.js is one of the best real-time bi-directional event-based communication tools that allow developers to add “real-time analytics” functionality to the app. However, for a better and smoother experience, it is best to hire mobile app developers that use socket bundles smaller in size and get the work done in real-time. Rest Socket.js can be used for:

• Logging and debugging

• Event handling

• broadcasting

• Several namespaces

• Error handling

• Chat app development

The list of Node.js frameworks does not end here. Since different businesses have different development requirements therefore it is always worthwhile to consult the experts about what technology suits their business requirements and help in saving development cost and time.

Conclusion

Hopefully, with this blog guide, you gained detailed insights into Node.js and its popular frameworks that have outgrowth to the next level. If you're wondering which Node.js framework will suit your app development project, then hire web app development company. The right use of node.js and its frameworks for building robust real-time apps will surely help you become a dominant leader in upcoming years. If you have any app idea in mind that you want to transform into a robust solution with the popular frameworks of Node.js, then drop a query below.