Best Node.js Frameworks

Starting in 2009, Nodejs has grown into one of the most popular and well-liked technologies. And there are many reasons for that; for starters, it’s fast, scalable, and easy to get started with.

Built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine, it’s an open-source, cross-platform development environment. One of the main advantages of Node is that it enables developers to use JavaScript on both the client and server-side of an application. This does two things; first, it makes the source code of any app cleaner and more consistent. Second, it significantly speeds up app development, as developers only need to use one language hence why it’s being embraced by millions of developers all across the globe. 

Node comes with a huge number of frameworks. Built on top of Node, these frameworks extend the functionality of Node, mostly by making it easier to prototype and develop applications while also making the applications faster and more scalable.

Below are some of the top Node.js frameworks for you.

Note: The titles mentioned here are not in any order of preference.

Nest.j

Nest.js combines object-oriented, functional, and reactive programming; Nest.js is an adaptable and versatile REST API framework that helps build practical and reliable Nodejs server-side apps. Though the premise of development here is JavaScript, the applications get designed with the help of TypeScript (a special superset of JavaScript that offers special benefits over other frameworks).

The modern structure of this framework helps separate and organize the code into different modules making the use of external libraries easier and common with Nest.js. 

Express.js

One of the best-known frameworks of Nodejs, Express.js is fast, flexible, and minimalist. It helps to direct servers and routes as far as proper management is concerned.

The framework offers extremely fast I/O, allows rendering large HTML pages dynamically, has an MVC (Model-View-Controller) like structure and comes with a robust API that makes routing easier and faster. 

You can craft single-page apps, websites, hybrids, or public HTTP APIs with ease over Express.js. It supports 14+ template engines, so developers aren’t forced into any specific ORM. Express.js is also reasonably easy to learn, even with the most basic knowledge and can be easily customized, without any hardship.

Meteor.js

A list of the best Nodejs frameworks can never be complete without Meteor.js. A full-stack JavaScript platform, this framework is safe, scalable, fast, and pretty simple & straightforward when it comes to the development of real-time applications (applications where code changes are pushed to all browsers and devices in real-time). Meteor provides ideal performance because it uses the same API on both the client and the server-side. 

Implementation of regular updates is easier with this framework since it uses the same code line across different devices, thus, making it the best option to build mobile and web applications for different devices and browsers.

Meteor.js comes with many pre-written modules, from which you can greatly benefit yourself. Also, this framework is backed by a strong community of developers, tutorials, packages, and documentation. Thus, Meteor.js is perfect for everyone, even new developers.

Koa.js

Introduced in 2013, Koa.js is designed by the brilliant brains who developed Express.js, they built it because they wanted a lighter framework that was more expressive and more robust than Express.

And, one can easily say they succeeded in it, as this powerful HTTP middleware framework offers a robust foundation for creating web applications and APIs. It uses ECMAScript, or put, the ES6 method that allows developers to work without callbacks. Developers also have more control over error-handling, meaning you’ll be able to identify and detect errors faster and solve them quickly as well. 

Hapi.js

Like Express, Hapi.js serves the purpose of bridging the data gap between client-side and server-side. As such, the framework can serve as a substitute for Express. 

It provides an effortless structuring of API servers, websites, and HTTP proxy apps. The robust plug-in system and essential features such as input validation, configuration-based functionality, implement caching, error handling, and Mor makes are among the most preferred frameworks. 

Created to support the work environment of a large enterprise, Hapi is perfect for crafting enterprise-grade apps. It is, therefore, a reasonably good choice for a large, distributed team.

AdonisJs

A highly effective Nodejs MVC framework runs and functions on all major browsers and OSs and aims to offer a very secure and stable development platform for writing scalable server-side web applications. The flexibility and stability that AdonisJs provides you help you focus more on your professional needs.

It comes with an internal support system for ORM (built keeping in mind SQL database) thus allowing you to explore and handle data easily from databases such as SQLite and Postgres. AdonisJs also offers great support for no-SQL databases, and its MVC (Model-View-Controller) structure is quite similar to Laravel. So, if you are familiar with Laravel then you can smoothly go on with AdonisJs.

AdonisJs sheer simplicity and practicality makes it a go-to framework. Unlike other frameworks, the only focus here is getting things done.

Loopback.js

Loopback.js is an incredibly fast and favored Nodejs framework that allows developers to easily & quickly set up models and build powerful REST APIs and that too with a minimum or even no knowledge of coding.

It has an easy-to-use CLI wizard and allows developers to create models either on their schema or dynamically. It also has a built-in API explorer, thus enabling developers to create SDKs and API Documentations.

DerbyJS

Based on MVC structure, the framework is considered ideal for developing real-time collective applications. 

The full-stack Nodejs web framework integrates a quick time Derby’s Racer – a real-time data synchronization engine for Nodejs that allows multi-site, real-time concurrency and data synchronization across clients and servers. The racer offers automated conflict resolutions and allows real-time editing of the app by leveraging the ShareJS.

Using this MVC framework, you can easily add customized codes and craft real-time and efficient custom made websites.

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