To create the most efficient and effective websites and web applications, you need to make use of the latest and greatest technology. Front end technology is particularly vital for making web apps and web pages, being used to craft the design, structure, and animations users see when loading up a website or opening a web application.
Front end technology can have a critical effect in terms of getting users engaged, giving them a good first impression, and encouraging them to take action too. In other words, businesses need to make sure that their front end works well to generate leads, boost traffic, and raise revenues too.
With the right front end technology, designers and developers can create attractive, efficient mobile and web applications and services, but there are quite a lot of different types of front end technology to choose from. In this guide, we'll break down some of the best front end technologies you can use, discussing some of the key features and benefits of each.
4 Best Front End Technologies & Tools
- React
- Vue.js
- Github
- Angular
1. React
React was first released by Facebook back in 2013 and has since become one of the most popular front-end frameworks available in modern times.
It's being used by massive companies across the world, including well-known brands like Netflix and Airbnb, so it's clear to see that this technology has a lot to offer and can be trusted to generate success.
The main aim of React is to create interactive user interfaces, and this framework is generally regarded as the most powerful front end technology.
Despite being so powerful, it's also surprisingly accessible. It works by dividing code into individual, reusable components, letting developers debug and build more easily.
- Impressively easy to learn
- Highly powerful
- Excellent reusability
- Great for debugging
- SEO-friendly
2. Vue.js
Vue.js is a model-view-viewmodel (MVMM) front-end technology or framework that is used for making single-page apps and user interfaces.
It was written by Evan You and launched in 2014. Since then this front-end technology has proven very popular with developers due to its versatility and flexibility.
One of the main advantages of Vue.js is that it can be incorporated into existing web pages to make them more functional and efficient, or used to build new apps from the ground up. This means that there are lots of different ways in which Vue.js can be used, and there are plenty of useful Vue.js tools that developers can utilize for debugging, state management, routing, and so on.
Plus, the whole thing is based on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, so it shouldn't be too difficult for even rookie developers to figure out the basics.
- Excellent flexibility
- Easy to understand, even for beginners
- Works well with existing pages, libraries, and tools
- Can be used for apps of all sizes
3. GitHub
GitHub is a cloud-based service and website that can be used by developers to store and manage their code for websites, applications, and projects. It also helps with tracking and managing changes to development code, almost making it a kind of control system and database for developers, all in one big package.
Many developers are drawn to GitHub due to its unique advantages. It can store and save file changes very efficiently and also guarantees a high level of integrity and security for files too. As well as offering access control, GitHub also provides a range of collaboration features like debugging, feature requests, wikis, and so on.
Unsurprisingly, it has attracted tens of millions of users over the years, becoming the biggest source code host of all in 2020 and asserting its dominance as the largest site dedicated to collaborative version control.
- A great range of collaborative tools and features
- Relatively easy to learn
- Secure and stable code storage
- Excellent documentation for beginners
4. Angular
Angular is a front-end technology that first started out as AngularJS back in 2010. It became a big hit right away for being the first type of front-end technology that allowed developers to make single-page applications, inspiring many other technologies and frameworks to adapt and evolve in order to catch up.
In 2016, however, AngularJS was written by Google and released as Angular 2, which is now just known as Angular. There was a difficult transition period from AngularJS to Angular for many developers, but Angular has still become a very popular and effective front end technology, used by the likes of Google itself and Microsoft too.
It offers a full solution for making single-page web applications, with excellent tooling and TypeScript being used as the primary language, ideal for enterprise-level use. It's ideal for things like forms and routing, with various third-party tools giving developers many other ways to play around, but it is one of the tougher technologies to learn for beginners or less experienced developers.
- Excellent versatility
- Great for enterprise applications
- Used for making the entirety of single-page web apps
- Top tooling
Choose the Best Front End Technology for Your Next Web Project
These are just some of the best and most used front-end technologies. Each has its pros, cons, and best-use scenarios, and it's important for development teams to be aware of what makes each technology different in order to choose the right option for every project.