Single Page Applications, also known as SPAs are very popular and widely used nowadays because of their seamless user experience and ability to provide dynamic content without loading entire pages. When it comes to choosing the right framework for requirements, developers have various options of frameworks that provide a way to develop SPAs.
In this article we will take a look into the Top 10 Single Page Application Frameworks in 2024 and its strengths and weaknesses that developers must consider before choosing it.
What are SPAs?
SPAs can be referred to as webpages or websites that allow users to interact with them by just rewriting current page data rather than reloading entire page data from the server. So in easy terms, we can define SPAs as simple HTML pages that dynamically update the page as users interact with it without the need to reload the entire page.
With the traditional approach, the user interacts with the website by clicking on links and submitting forms to retrieve data from the server and present it to the user. SPAs use JavaScript and other library frameworks to render data and provide navigation to the client side itself.
Top 10 Single-Page Application Frameworks in 2024
There are many SPA Frameworks available in the market therefore it can be challenging to choose the right one for your project. In this article, we will explore the top 10 Single Page Application frameworks in 2024, based on their features, limitations, and community support.
1. React.js
React.js which is commonly well known as React, is an open-source JavaScript framework developed and managed by Meta (earlier Facebook), mainly used for developing single-page applications. React is also used with other libraries and frameworks such as Redux for managing states, React router for smooth navigation, and Axios to manage API calls. React has received significant adoption and popularity among developers due to its performance, simplicity, and efficiency.
Key features
- React’s component-based architecture allows developers to create custom and reusable components which results in code efficiency and reusability.
- React uses virtual DOM to render UI instead of updating DOM, this helps to improve performance by eliminating unnecessary DOM manipulations.
- React has a large and rich ecosystem of libraries and frameworks such as Redux and React router which allow various types of domains to build SPAs using React.
Limitations
- React has a steeper learning curve, specifically beginner developers may require good time to learn its framework such as JSX and state management.
- Developing large applications with React requires multiple libraries, which results in boilerplate code and a large application size.
2. Angular
Another SPA framework in our list is Angular, which is an open-source web app framework developed and managed by Google. Angular is widely used for building SPAs and complex enterprise applications. With the help of its rich tools and features such as data-binding, dependency injections, and more Angular helps businesses to create web applications with seamless user experience with excellent performance.
Key features
- With its rich toolset and features such as data binding, dependency injection, and routing, Angular offers a complete solution to build SPAs.
- Angular is backed by Google, which benefits a large community of experienced web application developers with rich documentation and other resources.
- Angular offers a powerful routing model that enables developers to create a single-page application with multiple views.
Limitations
- Though Angular’s two-way data-binding is a powerful feature that increases productivity, it can also result in performance overhead mainly in large-scale applications.
- New developers may face a steeper learning curve with Angular because of its comprehensive tools and framework features.
3. Vue.js
Vue.js(also known as Vue), is a JavaScript framework used to build User Interfaces. Vue was created by Evan You and was publicly available in early 2014, soon it received popularity for its simplicity and easy integration. Vue is defined as a progressive framework because of its incremental adoption approach which means developers can use its features more or less as per their need which makes it versatile for various projects’ size and complexity.
Key features
- Vue has a strong learning curve, that makes it widely accessible for beginners. Its simplicity allows developers to grasp the fundamentals easily and start building the applications.
- One of the best features of Vue is that it’s incrementally adoptable, which allows developers to use its modules in parts, without the need for a full rewrite full module.
- Though Vue’s community is not as large as other frameworks, still Vue’s community is well known for its positive and collaborative atmosphere. Vue has a supportive and active community that contributes to its development and provides a large set of resources to developers.
Limitations
- Vue’s ecosystem is still growing and might not offer tools and features provided by React or Vue.
- Compared to React and Angular, newcomers may have fewer opportunities specifically with large enterprises.
4. Svelte
Svelte is a new JavaScript framework that differs from other frameworks such as Vue, Angular, and React in terms of the UI building process. Svelte is also known for its performance as it shifts its workload, unlike other frameworks that do this at run time. This generates highly optimized JavaScript code which results in faster loading time and smaller bundle size.
Key features
- Svelte came up with an easy and concise syntax that makes it easy for developers to learn and use. It follows similar concepts like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript along with additional features such as reactive declaration and assignments.
- One of the powerful features of Svetle is it supports scoped styles, which allows developers to define CSS styles that will apply to specific components only.
- Svetle does not use virtual DOM, which means it directly modifies the DOM when necessary, which results in better performance in certain scenarios.
Limitations
- Compared to well-established frameworks such as React and Angular, Svelte is new and may not have as large a community and ecosystem as other frameworks such as React and Angular, which results in less tools and resource availability.
- Though Svelte is simple to learn, developers having experience in other frameworks may need some time to grab Svelte’s.
5. Ember.js
Ember.Js is an OpenSource JavaScript framework that follows Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. The aim of designing Ember.js was to allow developers to create single-page applications. Ember offers conventions that allow developers to write clean and maintainable code, which helps in rapid development while managing consistency.
Key features
- Ember offers a set of tools and an inbuilt library for routing, data management, and designing, this eliminates the need of using third-party libraries.
- Ember command line interface offers tools that help developers to manage dependency, run tests, and generate code, this helps in development workflow.
- Ember.js has a rich and active community that actively works to contribute to plugin and extension development which helps developers to address common development challenges.
Limitations
- Applications generated using Ember.js are larger compared to other frameworks which can affect performance, especially with mobile devices where resources are limited.
- Compared to other JavaScript frameworks Ember.js has a steep learning curve due to its complex conventions and concepts such as observer and other properties.
6. Backbone.js
Backbone.js is a lightweight JavaScript framework mainly designed to develop single-page applications and client-side applications. Backbone.js is mainly referred to as a library rather than a framework due to its minimum design. It was created by Jeremy Ashkenas and released in 2010 as an open-source project. It provides developers with all the tools required to build websites such as a collection of APIs, views, and connections to JSON interfaces.
Key features
- Backbone.js is a lightweight framework with minimum overhead which makes it an ideal choice for small-scale projects.
- Backbone’s minimal structure allows developers to use their preferred features and tools such as data-binding and AJAX communications.
- It follows a modular development approach that makes development scalable and easily maintainable along with code consistency.
Limitations
- Backbone contains more boilerplate code compared to other frameworks which makes development more time-consuming and increases code verbosity.
- Backbone.js relies strongly on JS and manual code organization which makes scaling and maintaining applications challenging over time and results in a larger and more complex codebase.
7. Aurelia
Aurelia is a modern open-source JavaScript framework for building single-page applications. Aurelia was developed by Rob Eisenberg and was released in the year 2015. Aurelia allows developers to develop powerful, scalable and scalable applications. It provides features such as two-way-data binding and dependency injection help developers to write easily maintainable code for large and complex applications.
Key features
- Aurelia provides a modular architecture that has each package as an individual module, this enables developers to add only required modules in projects that reduce project size and improve performance.
- Aurelia is developed with JavaScript (ES2015+) and also supports type scripts(statically typed superset of JavaScript). Using this developer leverages the use of the latest tools and features to write scalable and maintainable applications.
- Aurelia includes a powerful router that allows to define routes and navigate between different views/components within your application.
Limitations
- Compared to other well-established like React and Angular Aurelia has limited user adoption and ecosystem which may result in fewer plugins and libraries.
- Though Aurelia offers CLI tools for managing dependency many developers have reported Aurelia is not as mature as other frameworks are.
8. Mithril.Js
Mithril.Js is a lightweight(< 10kb gzip) modern client-side JavaScript framework that can be used for developing single-page-applications. Mithril.Js is well suitable for makes it suitable for small projects where performance is a top priority. Mithril.Js is used by well-known companies such as Nike, and Vimeo.
Key features
- Mithril.Js offers rich built-in tools and features that help developers streamline the entire development process by making it faster and more efficient to build SPAs.
- This framework follows strict structure and conventions that help maintain consistency in projects, especially in scenarios when multiple developers are working on the same project.
- Mithril.js utilizes a virtual DOM implementation for efficient DOM manipulation
Limitations
- Developers may face overhead with Mithril.Js in terms of bundle size and performance which makes it less suitable for small or performance-oriented applications.
- Businesses may face vendor lock-in(very difficult to switch technology stack if required in the future) if they choose Mithril.Js for their projects due to its structure and consist
9. Polymer
Polymer is an open-source JavaScript library(not a full-fledged framework) that allows developers to build SPAs using web components. Polymer is developed by Google and as it is open-source it allows contributions from other developers as well via raising PRs.
Key features
- Polymer focuses more on creating reusable components that result in reducing code redundancy and faster performance.
- Polymer is interoperable with JavaScript, which means its components can be used with any JavaScript framework.
- Polymer utilizes a declarative syntax to define elements, making it easier to understand and maintain code.
Limitations
- Polymer has a steeper learning curve mainly for newcomers, due to its focus on web components which may introduce complexity.
- Polymer does not have the same level of community support and ecosystem as more established frameworks like React or Angular.
10. Alpine.js
Alpine.js is a lightweight JavaScrript library that is used for creating interactive web applications with minimum overhead, This makes Alpine.Js well suitable for smaller projects. It allows to creation of reusable components that can be used as HTML tags for developing web applications.
Key features
- Alpine.Js is a lightweight framework (7KB minified and gzipped) with minimum configuration steps which makes it well suitable for newcomers to learn it quickly.
- Alpine.js uses a declarative syntax similar to Vue.js or AngularJS which allows developers to enhance HTML directly with the dynamic content.
- Alpine.js supports a component-based architecture allowing developers to create reusable UI components.
Limitations
- As Alpine.Js is a lightweight framework it relies more on online JS and DOM manipulation which may not as efficient as other virtual DOM-based frameworks are.
- Alpine.js has a relatively low learning curve compared to more complex frameworks, developers who are new to its declarative syntax and reactive programming model may still face a learning curve.
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Conclusion
Choosing the right platform for single-page applications is always a difficult task especially when you have one option to choose out of many. The frameworks listed above have their own strengths and weaknesses. There are some popular choices like React.js, Angular, and Vue.js, as well as newer ones like Svelte and Alpine.js. Businesses need to consider the requirements of the project, the availability of the team along with strengths and weaknesses of the framework before choosing it.