10 Best Frameworks for Front-End Web Development (Don’t Miss the No.1)

Best Front-End Development Frameworks: The Top Contenders of 2024  

Frameworks for front-end web development have been in popularity for years. However, the changing technologies and demand to create modern user interfaces have changed the preferences among developers. 

But these top ten managed to get into the list of most popular front-end frameworks. Nearly 10,000 developers have been voting on Github, StackOverflow, JetBrains, and more. They voted on key parameters like ease of use, learning, and functionalities. 

And there is one framework that continued to lead the list back-to-back. Let’s start with the number 10. 

No. 10. Foundation 

Best for enterprise-level development, Foundation is the most advanced framework for developing responsive websites. 

It was developed by ZURB and used by big companies like Adobe, eBay, Samsung, Amazon, Ford, and more. 

What do we like?

• It is flexible which means customize your app or website however you want.
• Foundation is good for creating visually appealing prototypes. 
• It uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript plugins which are mostly used among developers.
• Everything is semantic in Foundation. In other words, you don’t have to worry about utility and speed and can have the cleanest markup. 

What do we dislike?

Though popular, Foundation is the comparatively less preferred choice of front-end developers because of its complexity. 

No. 9. Preact

Not really a framework, but instead a library, Preact is perfect for front-end development projects. It is lighter than React and works well with other popular UI libraries and frameworks. 

Despite its 3KB size, Preact helps you build complex projects without compromising with the speed and functionalities.  

What do we like?

• It improves the app’s performance without making it bulky. 
• It loads quickly making it a perfect choice for PWAs. 
• Learning Preact is easy for those with React experience. 
• Working on new projects is quick and easy with this library because of its powerful CLI. 

What do we dislike?

• It doesn’t support synthetic event handling in React. 
• Preact doesn’t work well with the React prototype. 

Also Read: Preact vs ReactJS: Which JavaScript Library is Better and Why?

No. 8. Semantic UI

If you also dislike Preact for the above reasons, switch to the Semantic UI framework. Though a newcomer, Semantic UI is loved by front-end developers because it makes code understandable. 

All because it believes the user interface is not about HTML tags, but the natural language in which a website interacts with the users.  Debugging code is even easier in Semantic UI because of performance logging.

What do we like?

• Semantic UI’s simplicity has won the hearts of many front-end developers. 
• 50+ UI components and 3000+ themes make it a framework for all your development needs. 

What do we dislike?

• Though simple, Semantic UI is not widely recommended for beginners as it requires JavaScript knowledge to use it. 

No. 7. Backbone.js

The Backbone.js framework is truly impressive. It works on MVC architecture and runs on engines like Moustache and underscore.js. 

The best part? Backbone.js is not limited to front-end development. It can be used for the backend as well. Usually, single-page applications are developed using this JavaScript library.  

What do we like?

• It supports RESTful APIs helping you easily sync with the back-end of your applications.
• It doesn’t need jQuery.data. 
• Backbone.js is lightweight and easy to learn.

What do we dislike?

• No readymade structure for app development.
• Need to write boilerplate code for communication between model and view. 

No. 6. Ember.js

Developing apps or websites with modern-day technologies? Use this front-end framework. Ember.js works on a model-view-view-model pattern making it easier to develop a graphical user interface without changing the business logic. 

What do we like?

• It focuses more on convention rather than configuration. In short, developers don’t have to spend too much time writing code. 
• It has a robust ecosystem, including CLI to help developers manage projects, generate codes, and handle dependencies.
• Ember.js supports two-way binding simplifying the development of a dynamic user interface. 

What do we dislike?

• Learning Ember.js is quite difficult than other best front-end frameworks in our list. 
• For simple apps, Emer.js is an overkill.
• It has a few third-party plugins.

No. 5. jQuery

jQuery made to the top 5 frameworks for front-end development. Despite being one of the oldest, it is still popular among developers as jQuery perfectly syncs with today’s technologies. 

It also works across multiple web browsers and simplifies the client-side HTML scripting. After recent development in jQuery, it can be used to develop native mobile apps. 

What do we like?

• It supports dynamic content. 
• It has easy-to-use syntax.
• Its large community and plugin ecosystem help in developing complex features.
• It makes apps fast and efficient.

What do we dislike?

• Despite of simplified syntax, jQuery is hard to learn, especially for those using JavaScript for the first time. 
• Managing dependencies is challenging with too many plugins and extensions. 

Also Read: Blazor vs React: Which is the Right Framework for Front-End Development?

No. 4. Svelte

Svelte is still under development, but it’s a great framework for developing high-performance user interfaces. It uses a JavaScript virtual machine which makes it ten times faster than other frameworks in our list. It has recently been chosen as the most admired framework. 

What do we like?

• It’s scalable, lightweight, and easy to use. 
• No more manual optimizations with Svelte. 
• Writing concise components is easy with Svelte as it uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 

What do we dislike?

It has a small community for support making it a tough choice for newbies. 

No. 3. Vue.js 

Ranking at third, Vue.js is the best front-end framework so far. It’s simple, versatile, and small in size. Therefore, Vue.js is often preferred for developing web, mobile, and even progressive web apps. And since it works on MVVM architecture, handling HTML blocks is easy with Vue.js. 

What do we like?

• Its speed and size make Vue.js a good choice for building high-performance apps. 
• It has detailed documentation to support developers at every stage. 
• The two-way data binding and simple syntax are other reasons to use Vue.js. 
• With Vuejs no need to write codes for multiple components, simply reuse them. 

What do we dislike? 

• It doesn’t have enough plugins like other frameworks. 
• Too much flexibility makes Vue.js prone to errors. 

No. 2. Angular

Powered by Google, Angular stands as the second-best framework for front-end development. It supports component-based architecture helping developers create scalable web apps. 

Angular also offers two-way data binding. Due to this feature, any changes made in the model are instantly done to the view side as well. 

What do we like?

• Less code due to two-way data binding
• Component-based architecture simplifies UI  and supports reusability. 
• Easy code readability for new developers.
• Easy to test and maintain components.  
• Wonderful community support. 

What do we dislike?

• It has third-party libraries which cause security concerns.
• Learning angular is hard for those with JavaScript familiarity in comparison to those with React or Vue experience. 

Also Read: Angular Latest Version V15: 10 Features & Breaking Changes to Know‍

No. 1. React

Now comes the top and most loved framework for front-end development. Around 40% of developers voted it as their favorite consistently in 2023, 2022, and 2021. 

The reason is its impressive features. Virtual DOM is one of them which lets developers make changes easily without manipulating the real DOM. This feature ensures that the app performs well and can be easily updated. 

What do we like?

• React’s component reusability feature saves developers time and effort. 
• Virtual DOM delivers a high-performance and consistent experience in the apps. 
• Learning React is easy.
• Classes are not mandatory to write components in React. 
• It has advanced dev tools. 

What do we dislike?

• JSX complexities pose a challenge for developers who have just started using the React framework. 
• There could be SEO challenges because of client-side rendering. 
• It is purely JavaScript dependent which can increase bundle sizes if not managed properly. 

So, these were the top 10 frameworks you can use for developing the front end of your websites or mobile app. 

Conclusion

Front-end frameworks are as important as back-end frameworks. They can make or break your app’s user interface and performance. However, our top 10 recommendations are known for building highly scalable and performant apps. 

Whether single page or progressive web apps, whatever your goals are, these frameworks are the best bet. But make the final decision after considering your project’s needs and evaluating each framework’s pros and cons.