One common debate or discussion amongst front-end developers is “Which framework is the best?” Now, that’s a question that doesn’t have a direct answer. The best frontend framework depends on various factors, like the project requirement, the type of application being built, the community and ecosystem, the learning curve, and so on.
In a previous article, we looked at 5 important considerations when choosing a frontend framework. Feel free to visit it to get more in-depth insights on how you can choose a framework for your project.
First, let’s look at the foundation of these JavaScript frontend frameworks.
Introduction to JavaScript and Libraries
HTML might be the backbone of the web, but let’s face it: JavaScript is the backbone of modern web development. It enables dynamic and interactive experiences.
JavaScript allows developers to build highly interactive web pages. Frameworks and libraries like React, Angular, and Vue.js built with JavaScript have changed how developers create scalable and maintainable codebases.
Pros of JavaScript
- Large ecosystem: JavaScript has lots of libraries, frameworks, and tools like React, Angular, and Vue.js, that provide solutions for almost any problem.
- Ubiquity: JavaScript runs natively in all web browsers, powering a large portion of the web.
- Community support: JavaScript has a strong community, which means extensive learning resources, frequent updates, and third-party tool support.
- Full-Stack capabilities: Can be used for both frontend development and backend development with Node.js.
- AI integration: JavaScript is increasingly used in AI and currently powers 100% of AI interfaces. For instance, Google’s Gemini, a generative AI chatbot, is powered by Angular. This highlights the role of JavaScript in building next-gen AI platforms.
Cons of JavaScript
- Client-side security risks: JavaScript is a client-side language by default, and this opens it up to potential security threats like cross-site scripting (XSS).
- Performance issues: When handling complex computing tasks, JavaScript may execute more slowly than server-side languages.
- Inconsistent browser support: While JavaScript is compatible with most browsers, there are some differences in how different browser versions support it.
Now that we’ve gotten familiar with JavaScript, let’s look at the frontend frameworks that are built with JavaScript.
Introduction to Frontend Frameworks
In this article, we’ll focus on reviewing various popular frontend frameworks used by developers to build web-based projects. But first, what do frontend frameworks do? Why are they so important enough to raise arguments from developers?
Frontend frameworks are tools that simplify the process of building dynamic and responsive web applications. They offer pre-built structures and components to help developers focus on delivering effective user experiences.
We’re going to explore some of the top frontend frameworks:
We will cover their common key features, recent trending updates, community support, pros and cons, and the ecosystem as a whole.
Common Features Across Frameworks
Frontend frameworks are built mainly either in JavaScript or Typescript or on top of another framework, just like how Nuxt.js was built on top of Vue.js.
Irrespective of the different use cases, types of applications built with each framework, or personal preferences of developers, there are certain features that are common across these frameworks.
Let’s get into it!
1. Component-Based Architecture
One of the most common features in frontend frameworks is the component-based architecture. The frameworks we’ll be reviewing here all have different ways components can be created.
Creating components involves breaking down the UI into modular, reusable components to streamline development, improve code quality, and foster collaboration within a team.
Take a look at the framework’s component-based systems. They are created in similar ways but have different file extensions.
jsx
or.tsx
for Next.js, React, Remix, and Solid.js.vue
for Vue and Nuxt.js, which is built on top of Vue.js.svelte
for Svelte.ts
for TypeScript in Angular, and.astro
for Astro-based applications.
Despite the different file extensions and ways of creating the component templates, they all have the same functionality—to separate code for reusability and maintainability.
2. Server-Side Rendering (SSR) & Client-Side Rendering (CSR)
Many frameworks support both SSR and CSR, allowing developers to choose the best approach based on their project’s needs and use cases.
While CSR provides a more dynamic user experience by reducing server load, it is less effective in terms of initial load times and SEO. On the other hand, SSR can lead to faster initial load times and deliver better SEO.
Soon, we will look at how each of the frontend frameworks handles CSR and SSR.
3. State Management
State management is very important in front-end development. It is the process of storing accessible data across the application for easy use among the different components.
Frameworks often come with built-in or recommended state management solutions like:
- Redux for React
- Vuex for Vue.js
- Pinia for Nuxt.js
- Nano Stores for Astro
- NgRx for Angular, etc.
All these help maintain the application’s data flow.
4. Ecosystem and Tooling
Every framework has tools, libraries, and IDE extensions that are specific to them.
Apart from the recommended state management libraries for each framework, we have other libraries for different purposes, like:
- React-icons, React Router, which are specific to the React framework.
- Remix Auth (authentication), Remix PWA, remix-routes for Remix-based applications
- Solid App Router (for routing), Solid Transition Group (for animations) for Solid.js.
- @astrojs/image (image optimization), astro-icon (icon integration) for Astro.
- Nuxt Auth (Authentication), Nuxt Image (image optimization) for Nuxt.js applications.
- SvelteKit (full-stack framework) and Svelte Routing (for routing) for Svelte applications, and so on.
We also have some VS code extensions that were built specifically for certain frameworks, like the:
- Svelte Intellisense for Svelte
- ES7+ React/Redux/React-Native snippets and React refactor extensions for React.js
- Volar and Vue Peek for Vue.js
- Angular Schematics for Angular and many more for other frameworks.
These libraries and extensions enhance development and play a significant role in the framework’s adoption and versatility.
How do Frontend Frameworks Handle Client Side Rendering (CSR) and Server Side Rendering (SSR)?
React CSR and SSR
- CSR in React: React is primarily a CSR framework. It renders components on the client side and uses virtual DOM to update the DOM dynamically.
- SSR in React: React supports SSR through libraries like Next.js. React components can be rendered on the server, improving SEO and reducing initial load times.
Next.js CSR and SSR
- CSR in Next.js: Next.js also allows CSR, especially with components that rely on client-only data or after the initial page load, using the
use client
directive. - SSR in Next.js: Next.js supports SSR by default. It also supports Static Site Generation (SSG), rendering pages on the server during runtime or build time.
Angular CSR and SSR
- CSR in Angular: Angular is primarily a CSR framework. It runs JavaScript on the client-side after the initial HTML is loaded, dynamically updating the DOM.
- SSR in Angular: Angular supports SSR through Angular Universal. It is a tool that allows you to perform server-side rendering (SSR) for Angular applications, improving performance and SEO.
Svelte CSR and SSR
- CSR in Svelte: In SvelteKit, client-side rendering can be used to compile components, but you can disable it with the
csr = false
option. - SSR in Svelte: SvelteKit supports SSR by default, allowing components to be rendered server-side for faster initial page loads and better SEO.
Vue.js CSR and SSR
- CSR in Vue: Vue, by default, renders components on the client side, where it handles DOM updates in the browser dynamically.
- SSR in Vue: Vue renders components into HTML strings on the server and sends them directly to the browser, disabling reactivity for better performance. Vue supports SSR through Nuxt.js, Quasar, and Vite, enabling server-rendered pages for better performance and SEO.
Nuxt.js CSR and SSR
- CSR in Nuxt: Nuxt supports CSR, making use of Vue’s reactive system to manage dynamic updates in the browser. You can enable client-side only rendering with Nuxt in your
nuxt.config.ts
. - SSR in Nuxt: By default, Nuxt uses SSR, offering out-of-the-box SSR and SSG capabilities. It can pre-render pages on the server to optimize performance and SEO.
Solid.js
- CSR in Solid.js: In Solid.js, you can use
clientOnly
to wrap components to make them render only in the client. You can do this for components that interact directly with the DOM. - SSR in Solid.js: Solid.js handles server-side rendering by compiling JSX templates to ultra-efficient string appending code through the babel plugin or preset.
Astro CSR and SSR
- Pre-Rendering in Astro: Astro’s default rendering mode is `output:'static”. By doing this, all of your page routes’ HTML gets created at build time. To provide a lightweight browser experience, Astro projects are set up to be pre-rendered at build time.
- SSR in Astro: Astro gives you the option to use server-side rendering (SSR), which generates HTML pages on the server and sends them to the client for some or all of your pages and endpoints.
Remix
- CSR in Remix: You can split client-only code and server-only code in Remix using the
.server
and.client
modules. To optimize browser loading, the client build splits your app into multiple bundles and removes server code from those bundles. - SSR in Remix: Remix uses a configurable server HTTP handler to enable rendering on the server and handle any other server-side requests for resources. The server build bundles up everything into a single module or multiple modules. When a user requests a page, Remix sends an HTML response generated on the server to ensure quick load times.
Learn more about SSR and CSR.
Recent Trending Features for Each Framework
Frameworks strive to push features that incorporate changes to their frameworks. Some of these features pushed to production are built to improve the framework’s scope and functionalities. Some of the features are requested by a large number of users and community members.
Let’s take a look at some of the current trending features for each framework:
1. Next.js
Next.js is a framework built on top of React. It has become a go-to framework for building full-stack web applications.
Some recent updates that were added to Next.js include:
- Server Actions: Server actions introduced in Next.js version 14 release are asynchronous functions that are executed on the server.
It enhances server-side functionality, allows developers to handle actions on the server directly, and is especially useful for data fetching and mutation. It can also be used in client components to call async functions executed on the server. Here’s how it can be implemented:
1export const submitForm = async (data: FormData) => {
2 ‘use server’;
3
4 const name = data.get('name') as string;
5 const email = data.get('email') as string;
6
7 console.log('Form submitted:', { name, email });
8
9 return {
10 success: true,
11 message: ‘Form submitted successfully!’,
12 };
13};
- App Router: This lets you structure and manage routing within your Next.js application. It also allows you to use new Next.js features such as shared layouts, nested routing, and new React features like server components, streaming with suspense, and server actions in your Next.js application.
- Partial Pre-rendering: A feature that combines the advantages of both static and dynamic rendering in the same route, built around the React suspense API. It uses a static loading shell to render the page, but it leaves holes for dynamic content, such as a cart to load. You’ll need to add the
ppr
option in yournext.config.mjs
file, like this:
1/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
2
3const nextConfig = {
4 experimental: {
5 ppr: ‘incremental’,
6 },
7};
8
9export default nextConfig;
Turbopack Build Tool: This is a bundler optimized for JavaScript and TypeScript, built into Next.js for faster development build. It can be used in both the
pages
andapp
directories by enabling the--turbo
flag in your ‘package.json’ file.Code Sample:
1"dev": "next dev --turbo",
Next/Image Optimization: The Next/Image feature was added as an upgrade to the framework with the version 13 release. This feature offers image optimization for faster load times. The image component requires the following properties: src, width, and height.
Code Sample:
1import Image from 'next/image';
2
3export default function Home() {
4 return (
5 <div>
6 <Image src="/image.png" alt="car" width={500} height={500} />
7 </div>
8 );
9}
2. React
Next up we have React, which is one of the top popular frontend frameworks. Well, it’s actually a UI library, but it’s often miscategorized as a framework. It’s the most popular UI frontend library, according to this survey trend by StackOverflow.
Some improvements were made to version 18, and earlier this year, version 19 was announced at the React Conf 2024 and released. Now what were these improvements and updates?
Key recent features include:
- Concurrent Features: Some of the new features that were added in version 18 include server-side suspense and transitions to improve app performance and user experience.
The transition feature allows you to prioritize urgent updates (like typing in input or clicking) over non-urgent ones (like updating a list or navigation).
Code Sample:
1import { useTransition } from 'react';
2
3function App() {
4 let [isPending, startTransition] = useTransition();
5
6 function handleClick() {
7 startTransition(() => {
8 // Fetch request or so...
9 });
10 }
11
12 return (
13 <button onClick={handleClick}>
14 {isPending ? "Loading...": "Click me"}
15 </button>
16 );
17}
Automatic Batching: We got to see the modified and improved method of batching in React 18 called Automatic Batching. This feature automatically groups multiple state updates within an event handler or asynchronous operations into a single re-render instead of triggering a separate re-render for each update.
Code Sample:
1const handleClick = () => {
2 setCount(count + 1);
3 setText('Updated');
4};
Server Components: We were still getting used to the improved features in version 18 when React version 19 was released, and it featured some new additions. In React 19, server components will be integrated directly into React.
React components are client-side by default. Adding the
use server
directive at the top of the component makes it a server component. Just like how addinguse client
in a Next.js component makes it a client component.Code Sample:
1'use server';
2
3import fetchData from '../lib/fetchData';
4
5export default async function ServerComponent() {
6 const data = await fetchData();
7
8 return (
9 <div>
10 <h1>Server component sample</h1>
11 <p>{data.message}</p>
12 </div>
13 );
14}
Other recent updates in React version 19 include the React compiler feature, Actions, Assets Loading, Document Metadata, and some new React Hooks. Here is the document containing the full list of features recently released in React 19.
3. Vue.js
Vue.js 3 is a JavaScript framework for building user interfaces.
Composition API: The Composition API in Vue.js is a feature introduced in Vue 3 and added in Vue 2.7. It offers a more flexible and reusable way to organize code within components.
Code Sample:
1<template>
2 <div>
3 <h1>Vue composition API example</h1>
4 <p>Count: {{ count }}</p>
5 <button @click="increment">Increment</button>
6 </div>
7</template>
8
9<script>
10import { ref } from 'vue';
11
12export default {
13 setup() {
14 const count = ref(0);
15
16 const increment = () => {
17 count.value++;
18 };
19
20 return {
21 count,
22 increment
23 };
24 }
25};
26</script>
- Vue Vapor Mode: A compilation method for single-file components that aims to enhance your Vue.js application’s efficiency by compiling your code into a less memory-intensive and more effective JavaScript output.
- TypeScript Support: The latest version of Vue, Vue3, now comes with improved TypeScript integration support to enable developers to build type-safe Vue applications.
4. Svelte
Svelte compiles your components into efficient JavaScript code that directly updates the DOM instead of using a virtual DOM. This makes apps faster and more lightweight.
Recent updates include:
- SvelteKit 2: The new version of SvelteKit, SvelteKit 2, introduces improved server-side rendering, routing, page transitions, and adoption of Svelte 5.
Code Sample:
1export async function load() {
2 return {
3 message: "Hello from the server!"
4 };
5}
- Runes: A new feature in Svelte 5 that helps you achieve and manage reactivity within your Svelte applications using signals.
Code Sample:
1<script>
2 let count = $state(0);
3
4 function increment() {
5 count += 1;
6 }
7</script>
8
9<button on:click={increment}>
10 clicks: {count}
11</button>
Read more about what’s new in Svelte.
5. Remix
Remix is a full-stack JavaScript framework built on top of React-router to enhance user experience for fast and dynamic applications.
Recent trending features in Remix include:
- Remix Vite Plugin: This plugin is now stable with the version 2.7 release. It has been improved to extend Remix’s bundling capabilities and optimize production builds.
Code Sample:
1import {
2 vitePlugin as Remix,
3 cloudflareDevProxyVitePlugin as remixCloudflareDevProxy,
4} from "@remix-run/dev";
5import { defineConfig } from "vite";
6
7export default defineConfig({
8 plugins: [remixCloudflareDevProxy(), remix()],
9});
- Remix SPA mode: This feature allows you to build static sites that do not require a JavaScript server in production but still use some Remix features, e.g., file routing.
Code Sample:
1// vite.config.ts
2import { vitePlugin as remix } from "@remix-run/dev";
3import { defineConfig } from "vite";
4
5export default defineConfig({
6 plugins: [
7 remix({
8 ssr: false,
9 }),
10 ],
11});
- Remix View Transition: Recent support for the view transition API. This allows developers to creat smooth animated transitions between pages.
Code Sample
1function NavImage({ src, alt, id }) {
2 const to = `/images/${idx}`;
3 const vt = unstable_useViewTransitionState(href);
4 return (
5 <Link to={to} unstable_viewTransition>
6 <img
7 src={src}
8 alt={alt}
9 style={{
10 viewTransitionName: vt ? "image-expand":" ",
11 }}
12 />
13 </Link>
14 );
15}
6. Angular
Angular is a Javascript UI framework best known for or used for building dynamic single-page applications (SPAs). It was written in Typescript.
Recent updates/features in Angular include:
- Signals: Angular’s reactive signals hold variable values and notify you when those values change. This enables you to handle data changes in a more fine-grained manner.
Code Sample:
1import { signal } from '@angular/core';
2
3const count = signal(0);
4count.set(count() + 1);
- NgOptimizedImage Optimizes image loading and delivery in Angular by adding some attributes and lazy loading images by default.
Code Sample:
1<img ngSrc="image.png" alt="code sample" width="400" height="300" priority />
Non-destructive Hydration: This feature was introduced in version 16 and changes the way Angular apps render content on the server-side. It eliminates the visible UI ‘flicker’ that would occur when hydrating a server-side rendered Angular application by destroying the existing DOM and then rebuilding and reusing it on the client-side.
Partial Hydration: Here, the page’s JavaScript won’t be loaded when the page is rendered
Angular’s New Built-in Control Flow Angular added @if and @for directives for better template control flow to let display, repeat, or hide elements conditionally.
Code Sample:
1@if (a > b) {
2 <p>{{a}} is greater than {{b}}</p>
3}
- Deferrable Views: Lets you defer the loading of some dependencies (components, directives, and pipes ) using a
defer
block within that component template.
Code Sample
1@defer {
2 <large-component />
3} @placeholder (minimum 500ms) {
4 <p>Placeholder content</p>
5}
7. Solid
Solid.js focuses on fine-grained reactivity. Frameworks like React use a virtual DOM, while Solid.js works directly with the real DOM, making Solid.js applications efficient.
- Signals: Signals are lightweight, efficient for tracking state updates, and are the ‘cornerstone of reactivity in Solid’.
Code Sample:
1import { createSignal } from 'solid-js';
2
3function Counter() {
4 const [count, setCount] = createSignal(0);
5
6 return (
7 <div>
8 <button onClick={() => setCount(count() + 1)}>
9 Click
10 </button>
11 <p>{count()} </p>
12 </div>
13 );
14}
SolidStart: SolidStart is a full-stack framework built on top of Solid.js and uses Vinxi, providing routing, SSR, CSR, SSG, and server-side data loading.
Solid Meta: Solid Meta helps manage document metadata such as titles, meta tags, and other head elements in a Solid.js application.
Code Sample:
1import { MetaProvider, Title, Link, Meta } from "@solidjs/meta";
2
3const App = () => (
4 <MetaProvider>
5 <div class="Home">
6 <Title>Title of page</Title>
7 <Link rel="canonical" href="http://solidjs.com/" />
8 <Meta name="example" content="sample content" />
9 </div>
10 </MetaProvider>
11);
8. Astro
Astro is a new framework that is designed mainly for building content-heavy websites. It uses Island architecture to reduce JavaScript payloads and improve performance.
- Island Architecture: Optimizes loading by rendering interactive components on the client side. The island architecture builds on partial or selective hydration.
Code Sample:
1---
2import MyComponent from './MyComponent.jsx';
3---
4
5<html>
6 <body>
7 <MyComponent client:load />
8 </body>
9</html>
- View Transitions: This supports smooth transitions between pages or view states using the
<ViewTransitions />
routing component.
Code Sample:
1---
2import { ViewTransitions } from ‘astro:transitions’;
3---
4<html lang="en">
5 <head>
6 <title>My Homepage</title>
7 <ViewTransitions />
8 </head>
9 <body>
10 <h1>Welcome to Astro!</h1>
11 </body>
12</html>
- Streaming and Prefetching: Prefetching enables near-instant page navigations for your multi-page application (MPA). Astro leverage speculation rules to pre-render pages for your visitors to interact when they visit the page.
You can enable prefetching with the prefetch config:
1import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
2
3export default defineConfig({
4 prefetch: true
5});
- Astro Images: New image handling feature to help you optimize images for your site. You’ll need to import and use Astro’s built-in
<Image />
component usingastro:assets
.
Code Sample:
1---
2import { Image } from ‘astro:assets’;
3import image1 from '../../images/subfolder/image1.png';
4---
5<Image src={image1} alt= "A dog eating a pizza"/>
- Astro DevAudit UI: The DevAudit tool is a user interface tool that automatically detects and identifies site performance, issues, and accessibility issues without requiring you to leave your browser. It audits and monitors performance during development.
You can learn more about Astro in the Getting Started With Astro With Ben Holmes tutorial.
9. NuxtJS
Built on top of Vue.js, NuxtJS enhances SSR capabilities and other features that let you build full-stack applications.
- Pinia: Pinia is now the recommended store plugin for Vue 3.
Code Sample:
1import { defineStore } from 'pinia'
2
3export const useStore = defineStore('main', {
4 state: () => ({ counter: 0 }),
5 actions: {
6 increment() {
7 this.counter++;
8 }
9 }
10});
- Nuxt/fonts: Custom font management and optimization in Nuxt projects with no configuration needed.
Code Sample:
1export default defineNuxtConfig({
2 modules: [
3 '@nuxt/fonts',
4 ]
5})
Nuxt DevTools: A new feature introduced as a floating panel alongside your Nuxt app to give you insights into your Nuxt App. It also supports community modules, like Vue Test or Tailwind CSS.
Nuxt/scripts-and-assets: provides you with utilities for optimally loading third-party resources.
Nuxt/bridge: Lets you easily migrate or move your Nuxt project from Nuxt 2 to Nuxt 3 and implement some of Nuxt 3’s features.
For more information about new features within the JavaScript framework ecosystem, watch this YouTube video.
Framework Communities and Ecosystems
These are the companies and communities backing and contributing to the success of these frameworks.
React
- Community: Built, maintained, and backed by Meta (formerly Facebook) and a community of individual developers. React has an active community and a rich ecosystem of libraries and tools. React currently has 227k stars on GitHub, making it the highest number of stars for any frontend framework.
- Companies: Used by Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, Shopify, Pinterest, Discord, Atlassian, Tesla, Skype, and many others.
Angular
- Community: Supported by Google and has an active community of individuals, developers, and enterprises. Angular currently has 95.7k stars on GitHub.
- Companies: Google, Gmail, Upwork, Nike, PayPal, Microsoft, IBM, Samsung, Adobe, Sony, Quora, Amazon, and many others use Angular.
Vue.js
Community: Vue is an independent, community-driven project created by Evan You in 2014. It isn’t backed up by big companies the way React, Angular, and some others are. Rather, it’s backed by donations from sponsors and contributions from its open-source community.
Vue currently has 208k stars on GitHub, making it the second highest-starred frontend framework.
Companies: Used by Alibaba, Xiaomi, GitLab, Wikimedia Foundation, NASA, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Zoom, and many more.
Remix
- Community: Remix has a growing community, a growing set of plugins, and third-party libraries that integrate well with other tools in the React ecosystem. It’s currently being backed by Fly.io, and recently, OpenAI decided to ditch Next.js in place of Remix. Remix currently has 29.2k stars on GitHub.
- Companies/Websites: Shopify, Docker, NASA, etc.
Svelte
- Community: An open-source, growing community project created by Rich Harris. It is currently being backed by Vercel and currently has 78.2k stars on GitHub.
- Companies: The New York Times, Apple, Yahoo, Brave, Ikea, Square, and Spotify.
Next.js
- Community: An open-source framework created by the Vercel. Next.js has a large and active community of developers. It has a number of 125k stars on GitHub.
- Companies: Used by Vercel, Hulu, WhatsApp, Spotify, Nike, Twitch, TikTok, Notion, Deliveroo, and Uber.
Solid
- Community: Solid is an open-source project that’s being supported by a team of public contributors. It has an active and growing community of developers. Solidjs currently has a number of 32.1k stars on GitHub.
- Companies: OpenText, MEELA, etc.
Astro
Community: Astro is relatively new but has gained traction among developers focusing on static sites and performance.
Astro is sponsored by Netlify, Storyblok, Sentry, Google, Ship Shape, and individuals and organizations. It has an active growing community that contributes to the framework.
Astro has a number of 45.5k stars on GitHub.
Companies: Used by Nordvpn, Firebase (blog), Appwrite, Thinkmill, etc.
NuxtJS
- Community: Nuxt has a dedicated community of contributors and developer advocates, particularly among Vue.js developers. It is led by an international team and has 54.1k stars on GitHub.
- Companies: Used by GitHub, NASA, OpenAI, GitLab, Google, Upwork, and Fedora.
Comparison of JavaScript Frontend Frameworks
Here we’re going to compare the frameworks based on some factors including features, performance, communtiy size & ecosystem, and learning curve.
Framework | Features | Performance | Community Size and Ecosystem |
---|---|---|---|
React | Hooks, JSX, Virtual DOM, One-way data binding | Good performance with optimizations | Large community and ecosystem |
Vue.js | Composition API, reactivity system, Directives | Fast, lightweight | Growing community and ecosystem |
Angular | TypeScript support, Two-way data binding, Dependency injection, Angular CLI | Strong performance for large applications | Strong enterprise backing and active community |
Svelte | No VDOM, simple syntax, Reactive components | Very fast at updating changes, compiles to JavaScript | Smaller but rapidly growing community |
Remix | Nested routes, Built-in support for FormData handling, Data-fetching APIs | Highly optimized for SSR, Fast load times and caching strategies | Growing community |
Solid | Fine-grained reactivity, JSX | High performance | Smaller growing community |
Astro | Island architecture, SSG support, multi-framework support | Optimized for performance, SSR | Small but increasing community |
Next.js | SSR, SSG, Automatic code splitting, Image optimization, Internationalization (i18n) Support | Excellent performance with SSR, SSG, and image optimization | Large ecosystem, large and active community |
Nuxt.js | SSR, SSG, Composition API, Vue-based, Automatic code splitting | High performance with SSR, component optimization | Growing community, Vue ecosystem support |
Pros and Cons of Each Framework
React
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Easy to learn and implement | Requires additional libraries for state management and routing. |
Component-based architecture | Not great for SEO optimization |
Huge community and ecosystem | It isn’t a full framework as it handles only the ‘View’ part of the MVC architecture |
React Native for mobile app development using React codebase | Frequent change to features often time-disrupting development pace |
Angular
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Great for large-scale applications | Steep learning curve |
Component-based architecture | Can be very heavy for smaller projects |
Large community and ecosystem | It is quite complex |
Good for building dynamic single-page apps | Lots of boilerplate code that may not all be useful and therefore hard to maintain |
Built on the MVC architectural pattern | Renders content on the client side; hence, it is not so great for SEO. |
Vue.js
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
It is lightweight, so it’s easy and fast to install. | Smaller community compared to React and Angular |
Easy to use and beginner-friendly | Limited ecosystems of plugins, libraries, and tools |
Flexible | Risk of over-flexibility |
Uses a virtual DOM to render a view | - |
Remix
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Focuses on server-side rendering to ensure better performance | Smaller community and ecosystem |
Built-in support for nested routing for structuring complex apps | Limited resources and ecosystem |
Comes with built-in data loading and mutation handling | - |
Svelte
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Simple syntax. Easy to learn | Smaller community |
No virtual DOM leading to improved performance | Limited resources and ecosystem |
Less boilerplate to write, hence easier maintenance. | Fewer job opportunities, for now, at least. |
Next.js
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Better performance for faster load time | Frequent updates causing frequent migration to the latest versions |
Image optimization | Hard learning curve for server components |
SSR and SSG, which is great for SEO | Unnecessarily large for small projects |
Built-in router for page navigation and functionality for API handling | Limited to React’s features since it’s built on top of React |
Built-in middleware support for custom server-side logic | - |
Solid
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Small bundle size leading to faster initial load time | Smaller community |
Fine-grained reactivity for targeted and specific updates | Limited resources and features that have to be provided by 3rd parties |
High performance | - |
Astro
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Great for static sites with its SSG capabilities | Small ecosystem |
SSR, which is great for SEO | Limited use cases out of static site generation |
Content-first approach, which is good for content management | - |
NuxtJS
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
SSR allowing for pre-rendering of pages on the server side | Small community |
Modules ecosystem to extend the functionality of apps | Complex compared to Vue applications |
SSg for generating static HTML files | High traffic causing server strain |
Automatic code splitting | - |
According to the most recent StackOverflow developer survey conducted in May 2024, it shows that the top 5 most used frontend frameworks are Reactjs, followed by Next.js, Angular, Vue.js, and Svelte.
Nuxt.js, Astro, Remix, and Solid.js came in the last four places among the frameworks we reviewed in this article.
That’s not to say the high-ranking ones are necessarily the best performing or better of them all. The best framework for your project depends on the use case, project requirement, performance needed, and so on, as discussed previously at the beginning of this article.
AI and the Future of JavaScript in Frontend Development
JavaScript extends beyond traditional web applications to AI interfaces, reshaping how we develop and interact with the web.
The rise of AI models like Google’s Gemini is transforming how we write frontend code. We also have AI-powered features, such as automated code suggestions (GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT) and code completion (Tabnine), that streamline development workflows and improve user experiences.
One other exciting example of AI transforming frontend development is Vercel’s v0, a generative AI tool that generates copy-and-paste friendly React code that developers can use in their projects.
JavaScript is not just powering the web now but it’s also shaping the way we build and interact with digital interfaces through AI innovations.
Conclusion
In this review, we explored the latest features, pros, and cons of JavaScript and the popular frontend frameworks, as well as how AI is transforming front-end development. Each frontend framework offers some unique advantages and caters to different project needs.
Your project requirements, the team’s expertise, and the framework’s ecosystem all play a role in choosing the right framework for your project.
Stay up to date with the latest trends through documentation, release notes, and community forums in order to make informed decisions on frontend frameworks to utilize.
Juliet is a developer and technical writer whose work aims to break down complex technical concepts and empower developers of all levels.