The most popular backend frameworks for your web presence

Behind every good frontend is a backend that is at least as good. Both are interdependent and influence each other. So if you want your frontend to be convincing, the choice of backend is crucial. We will introduce you to the six most important backends and give you an outlook on how they work.

The most important in a nutshell
• The backend contains data access systems and an administration interface.
• The backend thus regulates user logins, database queries or protects internal areas.
• All important background tasks that contribute to the smooth functioning of a website can be found in the backend.

Express.js
Express is a Node.js framework that comes with many features to build desktop and mobile websites. A very active community and JavaScript as a language make it easy to build good backends quickly. However, JS can also be used in the frontend. This makes it easier for frontend developers to create backends without having to get used to a new language.

• Node.js is event-driven, and its efficiency favors data-intensive, real-time applications whose work is distributed across multiple endpoints.
• Server client applications such as smartphone apps are thus made available in a performant manner.

The most famous examples here are the companies Uber and Netflix. Both rely on Node.js due to its ability to process asynchronous requests and thus provide more performance with less RAM utilization.

Django
Django is written in Python and follows more the motto “configuration before conventions”. While this makes it easier for development, since conventions don’t necessarily have to be strictly followed, the configuration must also anticipate appropriate cases.

• In return, Python is widely used, developers are easy to find and the language is easy to learn.
• The disadvantage is that Python can be a bit slow.

Nevertheless, Instagram, GitHub and Pinterest rely on Django. Even if the platforms are written differently as a frontend, the Instagram API, for example, is based on Django.

Ruby on Rails
Ruby is often the first choice for writing fast, database-driven web applications. The developer community is very active, problems are solved quickly and there are many tutorials that are always kept up to date.

In contrast to Django, Ruby follows the “conventions before configuration” philosophy, which is why the code must be written properly. The advantage, however, is that it doesn’t have to be explained in quite as much detail when new people take over a project. Large examples of Ruby are Airbnb and Twitter.

Spring
The Spring framework is based on Java and works with Dependency Injection, which enables a modular backend design. It can be combined with all JVM scripting languages and suitable projects, which makes it very flexible.

❗ Good to know: Spring is actually the oldest and most widely used JVM web framework, which logically means that it has gathered a huge community around it that is very active in development and problem solving. Spring holds the annual “SpringOne” an event for developers to present new features and ask questions.

Apps based on Spring are flexible and grow with their requirements. This makes Spring a popular framework, especially for backends.

Laravel
Laravel is a PHP framework that is strongly focused on security. Especially for backends this makes sense, because one of the main tasks of the backend is the security of the whole website. It is highly scalable and can be extended very easily. This makes it the ideal foundation for large enterprise solutions.

It is often used in the eCommerce sector. Large web stores are often equipped with a Laravel-based backend, as it really covers all areas of a web application. Even large price search engines are built on a backend with Laravel. A very active community and also the developer himself keep providing new extensions to make Laravel even better and easier.

Google Web Toolkit
The Google Web Toolkit forms the basis of many Google applications. It has a Java-to-JavaScript compiler that allows almost all development to be done in Java. The big advantage here is that the code can be written very simply. Instead of programming different components like HTML, CSS, Ajax elements and JavaScript separately, you can write everything in Java and then let GWT compile it. This saves time and nerves when debugging.

• The included widget package is also handy, making it very easy to create graphical interfaces.
• You don’t have to think too much about the background of the GUI, but can get started straight away and use Java to tackle the important issues such as database connectivity and security precautions, as the obligatory tasks are taken away from you.

Conclusion
As with programming languages, there is no one right choice for backend frameworks. Subtle differences emerge to suit everyone. Java programmers often go for the Google Web Toolkit and JavaScript developers should rather stick to Express.js, as they will make faster progress here. It is exciting that there is only one PHP framework among the top six, but it has much higher security standards and better performance.