To help you decide which front-end framework to learn, explore six possibilities by comparing summaries, learning routes, and advantages and disadvantages for each. Find the best fit for you and your project.
Front-end developers are technical professionals with a range of skills to build applications and websites on the side the user sees. The front-end focuses on how users interact with and experience the website or application, including layout, fonts, colors, design, buttons, images, and forms. Front-end developers are competent programmers who write code to create and maintain websites and web-based applications.聽
In addition to writing code, front-end developers use a framework as a foundational structure to streamline the process of creating websites. A framework is a pre-written code that developers use and reuse across projects, keeping code organized and consistent.聽
Explore six popular front-end frameworks, with pros and cons for each, to determine which framework to choose for your project.
A front-end framework is like a blueprint, or structure that developers can use to make creating and developing websites and applications quicker, easier, and consistent. Frameworks are pre-written code that saves you from having to build some parts of your website or application from scratch. Being able to reuse the frameworks, often built using JavaScript, HTML, or CSS, ensures that your work is consistent and well-organized across platforms. Some specific actions that web development frameworks can support you in doing include:
Generating, maintaining, and updating code
Automating repetitive tasks聽
Achieving a consistent user experience聽
Creating responsive designs that you can optimize across devices
Front-end frameworks are popular, so you鈥檒l find numerous options available, each with its own strengths and primary functions that make them stand out. With this in mind, get to know the details of each to find a framework that suits you and the work you're engaging in. A good place to start is with some lists of top frameworks from reliable sources. For example, Statista posts research stating that Node.js surpassed React.js as the most popular web framework among developers globally in 2024 []. According to the study, approximately 39.5 percent of respondents reported using React.js, while 40.8 percent use Node.js [闭.听
Consider the following list of six top front-end frameworks, including a summary and pros and cons, to help you explore your options.聽
You鈥檒l find several front-end languages for building websites and web-based applications. Popular languages include HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Many of these link to front-end frameworks, with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS being common. When choosing your language, think about the framework you鈥檒l likely be using.聽
Angular is a front-end framework from Google, using HTML syntax. It has a library of features you can use to build scalable web applications, including routing, management of forms, client-server communication, and tools to help you build, test, and maintain your web apps. To use Angular effectively, you鈥檒l need to be fluent in TypeScript, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
Pros: Angular integrates with TypeScript to produce cleaner code through effective error-catching. It also supports mobile-responsive application building, ensuring continuity across devices.
Cons: Angular is for advanced users, and you may experience a steep learning curve when you first start using it. As it integrates with TypeScript, you also need to be able to use JavaScript.聽
Learn more: Single Page Web Applications with AngularJS by Johns Hopkins University
React, which is one of the most popular front-end development frameworks, is an open-source JavaScript framework developed by Meta. This framework allows you to easily make changes in your code because it reuses a built-in component called React Native that you can use with different parts of the application you are building, such as optimizing for mobile. React is known for its Virtual Document Object Model (VDOM), which enhances performance and allows applications to have high rendering, even when fast-loading.聽
Pros: React is typically easy and quick to learn and to use. Due to the ease of changing code, productivity is high, and you can easily maintain applications.聽
Cons: Debugging can be difficult due to a number of components layered into the codebase. In addition to this, developers must learn and use third-party libraries because React doesn鈥檛 provide routing or state-management options.聽
Learn more: Meta React Basics
Svelte is a UI framework using a compiler that curates code into a step, instead of using it in a browser. This makes it easy to use and keeps your outcomes succinct, using popular codes like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Svelte is a good choice for large projects because it includes two-way binding for creating user interfaces and is scalable, given its modularity.聽
Pros: Svelte is a lightweight framework that is easy to use and doesn鈥檛 require the use of much code.聽
Cons: Svelte is another relatively new framework, and therefore, community support is still growing. As an emerging framework, it has yet to offer the range of features that some more established frameworks can.
Vue.js is a progressive JavaScript framework. This means it works in steps, starting small and building on each one. For this reason, developers use Vue for single-page applications and web user interfaces.聽Since its launch in 2014, it鈥檚 become very popular. It combines the features of data binding from Angular and a component system from React.聽
Pros: Vue.js uses a simple syntax, which makes it easier to learn and use than some frameworks. It鈥檚 highly versatile due to its incremental framework and because it integrates with other libraries and tools.
Cons: Vue's support system and community aren't quite as large as React's or Angular's. Moreover, it has a popular presence in China, where much of its documentation originates. As such, it鈥檚 currently challenging for global users to find answers to questions.聽
Learn more: JavaScript Deep Dive by SCRIMBA
Backbone is an open-source framework that is free for anyone to use, making it a popular choice for developing single-page web applications. Backbone is a simple framework with fewer features than some frameworks, so it is excellent for use with plugins. This means you can tailor it to your design needs. Backbone translates data into models and triggers custom events whenever a UI action changes a model. Models are easy to create and delete.聽
Pros: Backbone鈥檚 size and structure make it easy to make small applications, and for debugging and modifying code. This framework has a smooth learning curve, with support and tutorials available.聽
Cons: Backbone doesn鈥檛 have two-way binding for data, and it requires you to write more code than other frameworks.
Ember.js is an open-source front-end framework for developing web applications. Ember describes itself as being for 鈥渁mbitious developers鈥 because it lets users build complex web applications easily, allowing for scalability through structured code.
Pros: Ember is one of the fastest front-end frameworks available and has a solid ecosystem with add-ons and a support network with numerous resources.聽
Cons: Ember can be tricky and time-consuming to learn. As a heavy-weight framework, it is more suited to large applications than small ones.
The front-end framework you choose depends on your goals, preferences, and skills. Before making a decision, consider what you want to use the framework for. For example, some frameworks, such as Ember.js, are more suited to large applications, and others, like Backbone, work well for small applications. When it comes to learning a framework, consider your current knowledge and experience and find one that feels natural to you. Svelte is a good option for beginners as it does not require much coding, whereas Angular is more complex.
Front-end developers use frameworks to make their jobs more efficient, consistent, and easier. You鈥檒l find a range of frameworks available depending on your goals, skills, and preferences. If you鈥檙e interested in a career as a front-end developer, a good place to start is by learning more about front-end development in general. Check out the IBM Front End Developer Professional Certificate, where you鈥檒l learn how to develop webpages using HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and React.
Statista. 鈥, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1124699/worldwide-developer-survey-most-used-frameworks-web/.鈥 Accessed May 08, 2025.
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