The increasing prevalence of digital tools is good news for developers. The industry is taking web development seriously, which means more and more resources are available for today’s engineers. New tools are making development easier and helping to create standards that make collaboration more productive.

Of these, web frameworks are particularly useful. They avoid having to reinvent the wheel every time we undertake a development project. They also provide developers with a vocabulary to communicate effectively with others in their industry. Web frameworks help our code interact nicely with the internet, helping to deliver a smooth, consistent experience for the end-user.

It will come as no great shock that there are a ton of web development frameworks, many of which are quite popular. Here are ten of the most popular web development frameworks that we think will play a big role in the coming year.

The Top 10 Web Development Frameworks for 2022

If you’re hearing the term for the first time and are wondering, “what is a web development framework?” we’ll start by defining our terminology. Simply put, a web development framework is a library of prewritten code. A framework allows you to create apps, products, or services and deploy them easily on the web.

Web development frameworks are typically divided into two types: frontend development frameworks and backend development frameworks. Some bridge the gap between the two and are considered full-stack frameworks. Below, we’ll use the same criteria as we compare the best web development frameworks for 2022.

Frontend Frameworks

1. Angular

The most popular isn’t always the best, but there are certain inarguable advantages to using popular tools. Angular.js is a good case study in why this is true.

Angular.js is developed and maintained by Google, meaning that one of the largest tech corporations on Earth is maintaining this popular web framework. Even better still, more of the world’s largest companies use Angular, including Microsoft and PayPal. Certainly, they would know which digital tools are stable and worthwhile?

Angular.js has also been given a recent update. Until 2016, Angular was written in JavaScript. The current update ports the web framework into TypeScript, making Angular more consumable for various platforms and devices.

One of the best aspects of Angular is its ability to make single-page applications adhering to MVC (model-view-controller specifications). The learning curve can be steep, however, and the code can sometimes be bulky to compile.

Benefits of Anuglar.js

• Good for creating web apps
• Supports MVC architecture
• A large and vibrant community

2. React

React.js is not a dedicated web development framework, but it’s so prevalent we’ll mention it anyway. React.js is a frontend library for JavaScript created by Facebook and is the only real contender to Angular’s throne.

Like Angular, React is also suitable for creating single-page applications. It also interacts nicely with other web tools, thanks to its popularity.

Benefits of React.js

• Fast
• Virtual DOM
• Easy integration
• Excellent for mobile app development

3. Vue

Here’s another JavaScript web development framework that is especially popular. Unlike Angular and React, Vue.js was created entirely by independent developers. Also, unlike the first two frontend web frameworks we’ve mentioned, Vue is easy to learn and get started with.

If you’re looking for a good frontend framework and you’re still getting used to programming, Vue.js would be an excellent pick. It’s also a good fit for creating UIs for web applications.

Vue.js doesn’t integrate quite as easily as Angular or React, though, as Google, Facebook, or Amazon don’t support it.

Benefits of Vue.js

• Fast
• Easy to learn and implement
• Easily maintained
• Lightweight

4. Ember

If you’re looking for a Model View ViewModel (MVVM) framework that is used by some enormous corporations, you’d do well to give Ember.js a glance. Everyone from Twitch to Apple Music to LinkedIn uses this JavaScript web framework.

Bandwagon hopping isn’t the only reason to consider Ember for your frontend development. Ember.js is a good, well-rounded frontend framework, suitable for everything from web applications to mobile app development. It’s particularly well-loved for its routing and data-handling capabilities.

Benefits of Ember.js

• Fast performance
• Powerful development environment
• Well-maintained
• Widely documented

5. Svelte

Svelte is another popular JS framework that can give React and Angular a run for their money. It’s got several features that are bound to be popular among Nordic APIs readers. First and most notably, it has genuinely excellent APIs. Secondly, it’s truly and completely open-source.

Svelte is also set up to require as little coding as possible. It also enhances your code, as you go, with a clever and intuitive coding environment that notices and corrects inefficient code during the compiling stage. This will also help your application performance.

Benefits of Svelte

• Popular
• Open-source
• Excellent APIs and support
• Responsive
• Intuitive coding

Backend Frameworks

6. Express.js

Backend web development frameworks are frighteningly important. Yes, frontend frameworks do a lot, being primarily responsible for the look and feel of an app or website. The backend is where the magic happens, though. It’s thus critical to make sure your backend web development framework is pulling its weight.

Express.js has many features that recommend it as a backend framework. First of all, it’s written in JavaScript. If you’re already using JavaScript for other parts of your development process, you won’t have to learn new syntax.

Secondly, Express makes use of Node.js. This means there are a ton of tools and resources that are already available, just ready to be installed with an NPM Install command. It also means that there are a lot of excellent debugging tools that make coding for Express.js a joy.

Benefits of Express.js

• Minimal
• Lightweight
• Written in JavaScript
• Scalable
• Built-in Caching

7. Django

Speaking of web development frameworks for popular languages, we have to mention Django. Django is written for Python, which is now the most popular computer programming language. Django leverages many of the features that make Python so popular.

The popularity of Python also ensures that Django has a widespread and healthy community of developers. There are a ton of projects using Django on GitHub and StackOverflow. This has a few benefits. First, it means that there’s bound to be someone who can answer any questions you might have. It also means that there’s a vast body of knowledge that you can reverse engineer, making learning and implementing this backend framework exponentially easier.

Benefits of Django

• Popular
• Open-source
• Well documented
• Easy integration with 3rd-party applications
• Easy to learn

8. Ruby On Rails

Ruby On Rails is another one of the most popular backend web development frameworks for many of the same reasons as Django. It’s free and open-source. It has a widespread community of developers. This also means there are many resources available for Ruby On Rails, making learning it more effortless.

Ruby On Rails is known for its security and its scalability, as well. Not bad for an entirely free, open-source web framework!

Benefits of Ruby On Rails

• Offers localized code option
• Excellent coding tools
• Wide library of resources
• Vibrant community
• Scalable
• Secure

9. Laravel

Laravel, the PHP backend framework, is like a mixture of Django and Ruby On Rails. It’s free and open-source, like Ruby On Rails. It’s also widely popular, so there are a ton of tools and resources available for it.

Laravel shares many other features with the other backend frameworks we’ve already discussed, as well. It’s scalable and secure, like Ruby On Rails. It’s also widely popular and easy to learn, making it comparable with Django.

Laravel conforms to MVC architecture, which makes it quick and convenient to develop and deploy apps and websites using Laravel.

Benefits of Laravel

• Free
• Open-source
• Little coding required
• Secure
• Scalable

10. Gatsby

We round out our list of the best web development frameworks of 2022 with Gatsby. Gatsby’s a popular backend framework for React. This makes it useful for developing single-page applications as well as text-heavy assets like blogs or landing pages.

Gatsby is a static site generator, which means it doesn’t connect with the database. This means that you don’t need to worry about security, either. It also creates the fastest, most efficient websites and apps you could hope for.

Benefits of Gatsby

• Features of React
• Static site generator
• Secure
• SEO optimization
• Fast performance

Top Web Development Frameworks

That rounds out our list of the Top 10 web development frameworks for 2022. These libraries and resources will make your coding as easy and efficient as possible, in keeping with the latest standards and best practices.

What web development frameworks are you using going into 2022? Leave us a comment to let us know!