Top 5 Node.js Frameworks for Your App Development Needs

It’s 2024, and with the current technology trend on the rise, the future of web applications has a promising outlook. With this rising trend comes the need for compatible and complementary technologies. Hence, various frameworks work seamlessly with the Node.js backend environment!
Any company prefers technologies that cut costs and boost productivity. Since Node.js is a popular Javascript runtime environment, it has a large community of developers continuously working on its growth with the latest frameworks.
Node.js is an open-source backend environment and has three types of frameworks to build app functionalities:

MVC frameworks divide app logic into three parts: Models, Views, and Controllers. Express.js is an MVC framework.
Full-stack MVC frameworks can handle both frontend and backend a huge range of capabilities.
REST (Representational state transfer) API frameworks offer a common set of rules for network apps to easily communicate with each other.

In this blog, we will look at the best and most popular 5 Node.js frameworks that help develop high-end and powerful applications.

Best 5 Node.js Frameworks for App Development

Here are the top frameworks for building a Node.js application:

Express.js

The most popular node.js framework is Express.js or Express. The primary reason for this popularity is its minimalistic and flexible approach to coding architecture. You don’t need specialized learning of this framework for building a Node.js application. This framework is convenient even for those with a basic understanding of the Node.js environment.

One of the main reasons why many developers prefer Express is its fast and asynchronous architecture. It is highly compatible with Node and makes it easy to build APIs and server-side applications. An important feature of Express is that developers can decide client request responses by the server. It is based on the URL path and the conventional HTTP request method, including GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.

Another benefit of Express.js is that it offers both built-in and custom middleware. It makes code execution easy during the request-response cycle. Furthermore, due to being a highly flexible and convenient Node.js framework, Express.js has the back of a large developer community for extensions and plugins. So, if you’re working on custom eCommerce app development with Node, Express.js can be a great choice.

Koa.js

Koa.js is a lightweight and modern Node.js framework created by the professionals who made Express.js. Developers use it because it is easy to create middleware in Koa.js with the async/await technique. It simplifies the web development process and allows programmers to write understandable code.

Interestingly, Koa.js can use a stack-like method to seamlessly handle HTTP middleware. This capability makes the framework easy to use. Besides, this framework enables developers with many capabilities. One of those is you can use the same URL to manage different content forms (designed for users). This includes personalization in eCommerce websites, different image formats, and translating a web page. Furthermore, it gives the same flexibility as Express. However, it is easier and less complex to write code.

Nest.js

A progressive framework for building a Node.js application! Nest.js helps build scalable server-side applications. For programmers working on huge, multi-layered projects, this framework offers extensive libraries. Interestingly, Nest.js is written with Typescript, a superset of Javascript. It provides the framework with clean-code architecture without affecting its capabilities of handling the complexities of multi-layered projects.

Due to being built on Typescript, it makes it easier for Node.js to keep a modularized architecture. The result is scalable and manageable applications. Besides, it also boosts developer productivity by combining the elements of functional reactive programming (FRP) and object-oriented programming (OOP).

Sails.js

Here’s a Node.js framework that makes it easier to develop web applications that rely on data. Sails.js follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture pattern and comes with some excellent features. It helps programmers interact with databases using a powerful ORM (Object Relational Mapping) system.

In short, it is great for building a Node.js application that demands high-end customization. Besides, this framework is open and flexible too. You can integrate npm modules to customize a code in less time. Another feature of Sails.js is the automatic generation of REST APIs. It uses conventional mapping to handle CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations.

Hapi.js

Hapi is another great open-source Node.js framework for building powerful applications. It’s a highly secure framework, making it reliable to develop REST APIs, proxy servers, and real-time social media apps. Another reason why Hapi.js doesn’t compromise on security is its extensive library of built-in plugins. So, with Hapi, you don’t need to work with unreliable, third-party middleware.

Furthermore, Hapi has a rich ecosystem to build scalable apps. It is compatible with MongoDB, MySQL, and many popular databases. Hapi.js also uses a configuration-driven approach, which means that routes, plugins, server settings, and other application details are defined by the developers in one single configuration object.
No matter which framework you choose, having an eCommerce app is the first step for the growth of your business. If you are looking to develop an app, here’s our Guide To eCommerce App Development: Steps, Key Features, and Trends.

To Sum Up

The list of Node.js frameworks doesn’t end here. Being a community-backed open-source environment, Node enjoys plenty of frameworks to work with. However, the 5 we discussed in this blog are the most popular and comprehensive ones. For businesses looking for custom eCommerce app development, these frameworks can come up with extensive benefits.