5 Incredible Nodejs Frameworks for Web Apps that Work Like a Charm

In 2021, it is never easy to come up with the best Nodejs frameworks for web development because of so many cool developers out there who are always creating extraordinary frameworks each having its own strong capabilities and features.

There are a ton of Nodejs frameworks out there today. Some may offer development freedom meanwhile others may help in automation!

The burgeoning demand for Nodejs frameworks especially for web-based applications highlights businesses that are employing them to deliver a finer and healthier user experience. This is the main reason why developers are continually looking to create better and better frameworks offering advanced features.

In this blog, I am listing out the top 5 most popular Nodejs frameworks of all time based on their popularity and usage among developers. I will also be discussing why a particular framework is used and what specific tasks it performs during web-app development.

But before we do that, let us first understand what exactly are Nodejs frameworks and their different types.

What are Nodejs Frameworks?

Nodejs frameworks are understood by their types. Web-app technologies like Nodejs, normally come with different types of frameworks with each one featuring a specific usage in the development process. Nodejs frameworks are basically of 3 types — MVC, Full-Stack MVC, and REST API frameworks.

MVC frameworks

MVC frameworks offer systematic and valuable patterns that scatter the logic of your web application into three essential parts namely – models, views, and controllers.

Dividing crucial development components make it extremely simple to maintain and scale.

Full-stack MVC frameworks

Full-stack MVC frameworks come in handy when you want to build a real-time application. These frameworks offer a great deal when working with scaffolding, template engines, libraries, and a variety of other development capabilities.

They are powerful enough to handle both front-end as well as backend development of web applications.

REST API (Representational state transfer)/ REST API frameworks

Nodejs frameworks are popular for faster app building with a great experience of REST API. This means you can forget all your worries about the architectural styles of network applications.

Most of these types of Nodejs frameworks come with a ready programming interface which saves a ton of app development time that requires an internet connection.

Top 5 Best Nodejs Frameworks for Web Apps in 2021

Let us get started with our ultimate list of Nodejs frameworks for web-app development in 2021.

1. ExpressJS

Express.js, aka Express, has been topping the list of best Nodejs frameworks for a long time now. It is a classic, straightforward architecture and acquires a minimalistic approach. Launched officially in 2010, it has been referred to as the de facto standard for Nodejs under the MIT License.

Key Features:

Speedy server-side programming – comes with many Nodejs features as functions and fastens development with minimal code.
High performing – asynchronous programming enables execution of multiple operations independently of each other.
A plethora of HTTP helpers – HTTP helpers make programs more comprehensible and reusable.
MVC Architectural pattern

2. KoaJS

Koa works wonders when it comes to creating different web services, also known as APIs. The Koa framework makes it super fun and easy to build these APIs. It can deal efficiently with HTTP middleware using a stack-like method. Moreover, it is similar to using Express.

Key Features:

Customizable & Futuristic – Popularly referred to as a lighter version of Express
Exceptional error handling capabilities.
Its cascading middleware helps in personalizing user experience.
Building apps from scratch is easier because it has more options for customization.

3. HapiJS

Next on the list is HapiJS. It is a commercially available server and open-source framework designed for web applications. Hapi is popular for developing proxy servers, REST APIs, and other desktop applications because of its reliability and rich security aspects. With a lavish set of built-in plugins, Hapi diminishes your worries about using unofficial middleware.

Key Features:

Creates scalable applications
Comes with minimal overhead
Features secure defaults making it highly reliable
Bug fixing is easier and rapid
Compatible with popular databases like MySQL, MongoDB, and more
Compatible with Rest APIs & HTTPS proxy apps
Comes with eminent features like default caching, authentication, and input validation resulting in highly scalable applications

4. MeteorJS

MeteorJS can be the ideal option if you are looking for a framework that is specific to JavaScript.

It was officially launched in 2012 developed by a startup software called Meteor. MeteorJS is an open-source, isomorphic framework for JavaScript. It comes with comprehensive libraries and testing features to keep pace with the client-server interactions.

Key features:

Writes in modern JavaScript code
Features an extensive community support and is an open-source framework
Full-stack Nodejs framework
Serves superfast interactions resulting in faster results
Integrates easily with other frameworks

5. FeathersJS

Feathers is a lightweight web-framework for creating real-time applications and REST APIs using JavaScript or TypeScript.

It can interact with any backend technology, supports over a dozen databases and works with any frontend technology like React, VueJS, Angular, React Native, Android or iOS.

Build prototypes in minutes and production-ready apps in days.

Key Features:

Built for JavaScript and TypeScript
Instant Real-time REST APIs
Service Oriented
Datastore Agnostic

Conclusion

The burgeoning demand for Nodejs frameworks especially for web-based applications highlights businesses that are employing them to deliver a finer and healthier user experience. In this blog, I am listing out the top 5 most popular Nodejs frameworks of all time based on their popularity and usage among developers.