Best JavaScript Frameworks to Use in 2021

With all the evolution happening in the information technology field, the need to learn JavaScript has become more compliant for the developer community. The front end JavaScript frameworks are mainly the tools which are used for making the JavaScript coding more efficient as well as faster than before.

Before we proceed with the list of the best free JavaScript Frameworks, you need to get a better understanding of what actually a framework is.

What Is A Framework And Why Do We Need It?

A framework is a supportive platform with a design that is reusable and provides excellent support for scripting programming languages. In simple words, a framework is a block of code that is written by a team of developers to make the entire process of development simple and easy to implement.

The purpose of this block of code is to prevent the programmers from writing extra code that is redundant and unnecessary for the development process. One of the main objectives of a framework is to make the code reusable and makes the development process efficient, as the developer can directly reuse a function as many times as it is required during the whole process.

Looking from the business perspective, it enables the developer to work on the respective client’s requirements and using the frameworks for overcoming the challenges faced in the development phase of the client’s project.

Why Is Javascript Framework Important?

JavaScript or JS is a scripting language that lets the developer create dynamic web components as well as control them. These components include user-interactive forms, photo/image slideshows, digital animated graphics and many more.

The JavaScript framework also offers the front-end developers/programmers with a variety of structural website templates along with the pre-written JavaScript code that is required for the routine programming tasks.

Here are some of the best uses of Javascript Framework:

• Based on components.
• Strong community.
• Third party libraries to get help.
• Useful third-party components.
• Browser extensions help to debug.
• Excellent for doing single page applications. 

We can divide Javascript framework into two categories, one as Reactive JavaScript Frameworks and other as MVC (Model–View–Controller).

A. Reactive JavaScript Frameworks

Reactive web development is better known to bring resilience, responsiveness, scalability, and accuracy. All the frameworks mentioned under Reactive Javascript frameworks are based on the same principle.

B. MVC JavaScript Frameworks

MVC or Model–View–Controller is an architectural pattern that separates app logic from presentation. It separates internal information representation from how it is presented and accepted by the user. To put it simply, it minimizes the scripting as the presentation and PHP scripting is put at different places.

Top JavaScript Frameworks

Here are some of the widely used javascript frameworks that have made their mark in the developer community across the globe.

1. Vue.js

The Vue.js was first released back in the year 2014, but vue.js got its much more stable version update, i.e., Vue 2.0 after a gap of two years. Basically, in Vue, the developer gets some of the best features combined in one like features from Angular, Ember, and React at one place.  

This vue.js was designed in such a way that it can be adapted incrementally and used for projects including different JS Libraries.

And similar to the angular.js, the vue.js also offers the feature of two-way data binding. Vue is mainly used by developers as an open source full-featured javascript framework for front end web applications to develop interactive user interfaces. Other than that, this vue.js can also be used to create awesome single-page apps.

Vue	Description
Type	Framework
Website	https://vuejs.org/
Repository	https://github.com/vuejs/vue
GitHub Stars	130,000+
Current Version	2.5.17
Developer	Evan You
Launch Date	February 2014
Typical Size	19kb min
Typical Use	Components and single-page apps

Advantages of Vue.js

• Due to the small size, it can be easily downloaded easily.
• Offers freedom to developers to write their templates in the HTML file.
• Easy to learn
• Easy documentation
• Surging in popularity and usage 

Disadvantages of Vue.js

• The vue.js is relatively new.
• Some language barriers as there are community libraries whose code is written in Chinese.
• The current job market is less than that for React and Angular 

2. Angular.js

The Angular.js is an open-source javascript framework that is backed up by Google itself. Angular JS is mainly adopted by the upcoming startups and SMEs (Small to Medium-scale Enterprises) as it provides great support for simplifies testing with rapid app development.

Some of the business-oriented features that angular.js offers are two-way data binding, quicker production of code and many more.

Advantages of Angular.js

• The two-way data binding features comes with a great DOM programming interface.
• Consistent updates.
• Maintained by Google.
• The model is easy to maintain, reuse, and test.
• The community size is huge.
• Works on a highly documented architecture.
• Full-featured framework with well-tested defaults.

Disadvantages of Angular.js

• For some programmers, the learning path can be quite tough.
• The scopes used are comparatively hard to understand.
• The websites that are created using angular.js might require some extra time to render.
• TypeScript may be a barrier to adoption.
• Poor startup metrics in benchmarks.

3. jQuery

It’s an open-source JavaScript library, which comes compatible with CSS3 and can be accessed over multiple browsers. jQuery makes it easy for developers to produce dynamic pages and flash-like animations.

The main aim of this framework is to make programming scripts faster on the client side. After the backing of Microsoft and Nokia, jQuery started getting more recognition.  

There are many upsides of jQuery as it takes on its competitors. Right from adding plugins to the constant support for libraries, the framework excels in all.

Advantages of jQuery:

• Flexible and fast for web development.
• It has an MIT license and is Open Source.
• Excellent support community.
• Supports Plugins.
• Quick integration with AJAX. 

Disadvantages of jQuery:

• Not backward compatible.
• Stability is an issue.
• Support for animation and special effects are relatively poor.
• Issue on plugin compatibility.

4. React

React made its debut in the year 2013 by the company, Facebook and yes the amazing user interface of two of the most popular social media platforms – Facebook and Instagram are made on React.js.

For some time now, people have been divided into two groups when it comes to react.js, one group states that React.js as a framework and other describing react as a javascript library.

The react js framework is prominently used to develop web as well as mobile user interfaces this is the reason why react is also considered as a ‘View Layer’ instead of just a framework.

 

React	Description
Type	Library
Website	https://reactjs.org/
Repository	https://github.com/facebook/react
GitHub Stars	124,000+
Current Version	16.6.3
Developer	Facebook and contributors
Launch Date	March 2013
Typical Size	21kb min
Typical Use	Single-page apps

Advantages of React.js

• Popular in the strong job market.
• Ample training resources and third-party libraries.
• Best cross-platform teams for the web, mobile, desktop, other devices.
• Versatile platform.
• Strong corporate support from Facebook.  

Disadvantages of React.js

• The abundance of choice can be confusing.
• Best practices not always clear to new developers.
• The learning curve can be steep for developing larger apps.  

5. Polymer

Another free framework in this list is Google’s Polymer javascript framework which is all about being super fast by creating modern web design through its ability to build and reuse web components.

As a project, the polymer framework was in the BETA phase for a very long period, and last year it was finally released. The polymer is a lightweight library that can help the developer in taking complete advantage of the web components.

Polymer	Description
Type	Framework
Website	https://www.polymer-project.org/
Repository	https://github.com/Polymer/polymer
GitHub Stars	20,000+
Current Version	3.0.2
Developer	Google and contributors
Launch Date	May 29, 2015
Typical Size	..
Typical Use	..

Advantages of Polymer

• It has strong corporate support as it is backed by Google.
• Supports emerging web standards. 

Disadvantages of Polymer

• The complaints regarding the communication segment.
• Its implementation of vision is not so strong.
• Community complaints around communication.
• Poor browser support limits options/implementation of the vision.  

6. Node.js

Node.js javascript framework for frontend Development of Mobile Apps and web applications has been among the most popular frameworks. The basic idea behind node.js was to use the event-driven I/O in order to fulfill the aim of being lightweight and also efficient at the same time.

Its aim was mainly projected towards the data-intensive real-time applications which are known to operate on a range of distributed devices. It is a great option when the developer is looking to work with a full-feature Javascript environment consists of all the necessary tools.

With node.js, the programmer can easily build quick and scalable network apps because it can smoothly manage a wide array of various connections via its high throughput rate.

Node	Description
Type	Framework
Website	https://nodejs.org/en/
Repository	https://github.com/nodejs/node
GitHub Stars	59,000+
Current Version	10.15.1
Developer	Ryan Dahl
Launch Date	May 27, 2009
Typical Size	..
Typical Use	..

Advantages of Node.js

• The developer can build every element of his/her application right from scratch as it doesn’t bear any restrictions.
• A huge community being active and offers great support at the global level.
• Due to its non-blocking I/O ecosystem, the developer can easily process several requests simultaneously.
• Before the node.js, JavaScript wasn’t full stack as it was only used to do the client side development. 

Disadvantages of Node.js

• The node.js does not have the feature of multi-thread programming yet, which makes it harder to choose for the long-running calculations.
• The developers still face instances where the node API behaves unpredictably.   

7. Ember

Another free open source javascript framework is Ember.js which first came into the spotlight in 2011. Ember is primarily used for creating web applications, but apps for desktop and mobile can also be built by using the ember.js.

Ember is a great choice especially for startups who are looking to develop complex web applications. Currently, the ember.js community is very large and is widely active all over the world. Like vue.js and angular.js, ember javascript framework also supports the two-way binding.

Ember	Description
Type	Framework
Website	https://emberjs.com/
Repository	https://github.com/emberjs/ember.js
GitHub Stars	20,000+
Current Version	3.6.0
Developer	Ember team
Launch Date	December 2011
Typical Size	95kb min
Typical Use	Single-page apps

Advantages of Ember.js

• A highly stable performance that remains consistent throughout the process.
• An easy framework to understand and learn about.
• Offers faster loads and higher run speeds.
• Provides great community support.
• Get continuous updates. 

Disadvantages of Ember.js

• As compared to other JS frameworks, it has a larger size.
• Due to frequent changes, it becomes difficult to find some outdated tutorials, files, and documents.
• No server-side rendering support available.
• Sometimes, it can’t process the sudden changes to the developers’ code.
• Steep learning curve
• Declining popularity 

8. Aurelia

Aurelia framework claims to be the web development framework of the next generation that mainly focuses on making the process of web development creative in nature. This framework offers capabilities like routing, templating, and dependency injection that’s why the programmer doesn’t need to piece together various different libraries to create an app.

It is entirely built on the ES6 which is the latest update of the javascript standard. With this, Aurelia also incorporates some of the ES7 features as well which makes it easily function with all the latest web browsers.

Aurelia	Description
Type	Framework
Website	https://aurelia.io/
Repository	https://github.com/aurelia/framework
GitHub Stars	10,000+
Current Version	1.3.1
Developer	Aurelia team
Launch Date	2015
Typical Size	..
Typical Use	..

Advantages of Aurelia

• An absolute solution for web and mobile development.
• Works great with TypeScript, JavaScript, and many other languages.
• The API of this framework is very stable while operating. 

Disadvantages of Aurelia

• A smaller community as compared top frameworks
• Fewer job opportunities 

9. Backbone

The backbone framework is amongst some of the well-known web development javascript frameworks. Its popularity is because of the two reasons:

• The backbone’s usability models are quite easy to understand.
• The learning curve of the backbone is pretty straightforward. 

The code only tends to get messy when the developer doesn’t pay attention to the coalition with the code’s structure. The main objective behind the creation of the backbone framework was the idea that all the server-side functions should flow through an API.

It will minimize the total amount of code and the developer will be able to create complex functionalities with a lesser line of codes.

Advantages of Backbone

• Excellent code structure for web development.
• The developer can easily build stable app development projects. 

Disadvantages of Backbone

• The framework has an imperative programming style as opposed to declarative programming style.
• Drop in its community size.
• Declining popularity 

10. Knockout

Knockout is a modern variant of MVC or can also be labeled as JavaScript MVVM library. It is one of the oldest MVVM frameworks that is still in use and is in use by many developers.

With Knockout framework, it easier to design desktop-like user interfaces while using JavaScript and HTML. The framework deploys observers to keep UI in sync and to enable productive development, it is complimented with an extensible set of declarative bindings.

Advantages of Knockout

• No dependencies.
• Excellent browser support.
• Great documentation. 

Disadvantages of Knockout

• Big projects can be complex.
• Slowed development.
• Not much in use now.  

How To Pick The Best JavaScript Development Framework?

If you are new to the scene of JavaScript Frameworks or the JavaScript programming languages, you can quickly go ahead and try to experiment with any one of the above mentioned JS frameworks as they are free and easy to use.

But if you wish to pick anyone Javascript framework, consider comparing the following parameters, and we hope you can get the desired framework which ideally suits your project requirements:

• Architecture
• Performance
• Documentation
• Community Support  

Other factors that can define an ideal framework for you depends upon the features and functionalities you wish to add into your project and the period in which you want to complete the project.

We hope with this article on JavaScript Frameworks; you must have got a fair idea of types of most popular Javascript frameworks in the mobile app development industry that you can use for your next web or mobile app development project.

Let us know if we missed any JavaScript Framework that you would like us to add in the list as mentioned above of best JavaScript frameworks by leaving your ‘Comment’ in the section below.