JavaScript is undoubtedly the most popular and powerful programming language used today. It has been pivotal in web development since 1995, when its earliest incarnations were developed. As it’s known among developers, JS has become an indispensable tool for developing interactive web applications.
Before JavaScript, websites were slow, static, and didn’t offer much user interaction. JavaScript changed this by bringing about adaptive content, enabling animation, etc. Today, web users enjoy dynamic enhancements that make interaction with websites seamless, all thanks to JavaScript.
Working as a web application developer without JavaScript has become almost impossible. Internet users have high expectations forcing developers to add as many interactive features as possible. Web developers extensively use JavaScript to avail all the features that internet users expect to see.
This makes JavaScript worth learning if you want to become an expert web developer. You can make robust and scalable web applications with JavaScript knowledge. This article looks into why JavaScript knowledge and tools have become important to web application developers today.
Let’s dive into these reasons.
1. Minimize the Complexity of Web App Development Process
There are lots of benefits that we get from using web applications. They have transformed everything from entertainment to how we interact and work. But then, it takes a lot of work and time to build these applications. The process of developing them has various steps that can range anywhere from 5 to 8.
Developers get the requirements ready, plan, then start designing applications. Other steps that follow include labeling, programming, testing, and launching. Every step in this process is crucial and can take some time to complete. This makes web application development tedious and time-consuming.
JavaScript has helped web application developers to make this process less overwhelming. Developers can simplify an application’s composition, reducing the scope of work. They can also use the JavaScript library to create DOM shadow boundaries, making it easy for web browsers to deliver documents.
Even the best developers in the world fall short when it comes to time. It takes a long period to develop quality outputs, but this doesn’t mean you spend a lot of time on one project. Reducing the amount of time spent developing a single web application can help you deliver more within a short time.
We have already mentioned how JavaScript can help simplify this process. The simpler it becomes, the less time you take to deliver web applications. This is why web developers need to learn about JavaScript and utilize it. There are also other ways of speeding up the web app development process.
2. Implement Client – Side Scripts
JavaScript is one of the well-known client-side scripting programming languages. Client side-scripting aims to help developers create web applications that are faster and more responsive. This code exists inside the client’s HTML page and helps in ensuring good navigation, data validation, etc.
But then, this requires developers to use JavaScript as the programming language. It is compatible with different browsers, making it the most preferred language for implementing client-side scripts. Therefore, developers have little or no alternatives to learning and using JavaScript.
Besides, you cannot do without client-side scripting in modern web development. One of its main benefits is that it requires few resources, making it a cost-effective technique. You also get immediate responses when you implement client-side scripting as it doesn’t need to send requests to the server.
A practical example of when to use JavaScript is when verifying email addresses. JavaScript verifies emails as users enter them into form fields and alerts them immediately in case of errors. You find this feature in almost every web application today, and it shows that many developers use JavaScript.
In short, doing without JavaScript as a developer has become almost impossible. The benefits you can draw from it, especially for client-side scripting, are numerous. Whether it is to increase interactivity or reduce server interactions, JavaScript is essential in modern web app development.
3. Ease of Writing Server-Side Code
JavaScript is not only essential for client-side scripting. It has also proven to be vital for developers, mainly for server-side scripting. Web browsers interact with servers through HTTP. They send requests and receive responses which they then process and display on our computer screens.
Many people tend to think that client and server-side scripting are similar. The reality is that these two have huge differences, including the fact that they run on different OS environments. The similarity between the two is that they can both use JavaScript as a programming language.
Server-side programming is essential, and every web developer does it. Web applications cannot deliver information efficiently without proper server-side programming. Besides, it can be challenging to deliver great user experiences if you do not program the server-side as required.
There are many benefits that you can draw from proper server-side programming. It helps with data analysis from customer feedback, makes communication easier, controls access to content, etc. All these are benefits that you cannot get without using programming languages such as JavaScript.
You still need to know a lot before you can be an expert, server-side programmer. If you’d like to develop a web application as a novice, the best thing is to hire an expert. For instance, you can speak to a web design agency, as they have expert web developers who can do client and server-side programming.
Web design experts working with agencies understand how runtime engines like Node.js work. This makes it easy for them to create applications without relying on external web servers. Node.js helps in writing codes for both client and server sides. This helps developers create applications that meet the users’ needs.
4. Google AMP Project
Another big reason most developers use JavaScript is Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project. The AMP project helps developers produce applications and websites that deliver rich user experiences. This is especially regarding responsiveness on mobile devices and across platforms.
Google uses different techniques to ensure that mobile web pages and applications run at optimum speeds. You probably already know the impact page loading speed has on a website’s bounce rate. Research shows that every additional second a webpage takes to load lowers its conversions by 20%.
Thus, AMP is a solution designed by Google to help reduce website bounce rates. Developers need to integrate AMP into the web application development process. This ensures their final product loads quickly to provide users with a great experience.
There are two main benefits of integrating AMP into the web development process. First, it increases your web app’s performance and also boosts engagement. If you have interacted with web pages created in the AMP project, you may have realized that they load almost instantly.
Second, AMP brings about flexibility in web development. It gives developers the freedom to decide how they want to present their content. They also get the freedom of choosing technology vendors. The best thing is that they can do all these while maintaining and improving on KPIs.
Developers need to use HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript to integrate AMP technology into the development process. This makes JavaScript an essential piece of technology for them. Therefore, you need to learn how to use JavaScript before getting yourself into the world of web application development.
5. MEAN Stack: 4 Major Components in a Single Pack
You can simplify the process of creating web applications with JavaScript using the MEAN stack. If you are a complete novice, you need to understand the MEAN stack first. Well, MEAN stack is an acronym that represents the following web development tools; MongoDB, Express.js, Angular.js, and Node.js.
The first one, MongoDB, is a modern NoSQL database that web developers use to store data structures. It mainly stores these data structures in a binary JSON format. This tool is essential for JavaScript web application developers as it makes it easy to work with large-scale data.
Express.js is a tool specialized in JavaScript application development. It is one of the most flexible and efficient tools developers use to create easy-to-use web applications. Many web developers use it because it is minimalistic and doesn’t clutter the application.
Angular is also essential for web application development purposes. You can use it to build single-page web applications efficiently. This open-source front-end framework has emerged as essential for web application developers today. It is one of the most popular tools for front-end web development.
Back-end web development heavily relies on Node.js. It is also an open-source JavaScript framework that helps developers provide users with smooth experiences. It comes with lots of benefits, such as shortening the time to market cycle, allowing better scalability, and many more.
The web development tools in the MEAN stack help simplify the web development process. The fact that you can use them when developing applications with JavaScript is a great benefit.
6. Cross-Browser Compatible
Cross-browser compatibility is one thing that web developers look for in a client-side script language. JavaScript is one of the best languages for building applications that work on different web environments. The fact that people use different browsers makes it vital to cater to every need.
JavaScript is one of the most important tools for creating cross-browser-compatible web applications. This means you can deploy an application anywhere once you build it with JavaScript. This language has several libraries and frameworks that make it easy to create applications that fit everyone’s needs.
These libraries make it possible to find the right stack for your applications. Once you have the stack, you can develop applications with one language and use the same code. This makes it possible for you as a web app developer to cover all platforms, including iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux, all browsers, etc.
Different JavaScript cross-platform compatibility issues have been reported in the past. For instance, some people have complained about outdated browser correction, vendors-specific CSS styling issues, and many more. Thankfully, there are also proposed solutions to every compatibility issue.
These solutions include using the various libraries for coding. JavaScript also has features that detect errors and display error messages making it easy to correct compatibility issues when they occur. This makes it easy to achieve compatibility in web applications using JavaScript client-side script language.
Many other languages have come up, and several of them support cross-platform compatibility. But then, JavaScript has emerged as one of the best languages when it comes to cross-browser compatibility.
7. Hassle-Free Integration of Multiple Transpilers
Transpilers are vital tools for web application developers. Some tools read source codes in one language and produce similar codes in another. As a developer, writing in a language that you understand best is simpler and will make you more productive in the end.
These tools come in when you want to write in JavaScript but don’t have a good grasp of it. If you are a Pythonistas, you will most likely prefer using CoffeeScript, while a developer who understands OOP best will use TypeScript. The main point is that you will need to use transpilers in all these cases.
Therefore, the inability to write in JavaScript is not an issue for developers. If anything, the challenge could be choosing what transpiler to use as there is a vast variety available. However, JavaScript lacks some robust features, leaving developers with no option but to use tools like transpilers.
Transpliers empower developers to do their work more efficiently. They make it easy for developers to meet their needs and also fulfill the growing requirements. This makes it possible for developers to produce large enterprise applications effortlessly and with a reduced market cycle.
The best thing about JavaScript is that it is easy to integrate with Transpliers. You can be sure that whatever transpiler you use can work seamlessly with JavaScript. This is one of the reasons why developers choose JavaScript every day.
8. Easy to Write JavaScript Code Without Using any Specific Tool
Many developers prefer JavaScript because of its simplicity. You do not need a lot to create your first JavaScript program – a notepad, web browser, and 5 minutes of your time will do. You probably already have all these, and surprisingly you do not need any other specific tool to get started with JavaScript.
Unlike JavaScript, other client-side script languages have many requirements. You may have to download and install a compiler to get started when using some languages. Some require you to install the entire environment and even set up an account to access the environment, which can be tedious.
The steps to writing JavaScript code with a notepad are also simple. Besides, many tools can help you detect errors in the JavaScript code and edit it. These tools make it easy to identify errors and correct them early enough. These editor tools also help developers save a lot of time.
Besides, another benefit of using JavaScript is that you can easily share the programs after developing them. Unlike many other languages, JavaScript doesn’t require program users to download and install any software. Many users fear unknowingly downloading viruses or exposing their data to theft.
JavaScript only requires you to provide users with a link. You only need to convince your target users to open a web page, and they will be using your JavaScript program even without knowing it. This is unless they look at a website’s source code, which many people don’t care to do.
9. Ability to Develop Responsive Web Pages
One thing that matters to web developers is the user experience their products provide. What determines UX on the web is how easy it is for users to access a website or web application. It is vital to ensure that a website or web app works perfectly across browsers and devices as a developer.
Having a responsive web app isn’t only good for the user experience. Google rewards websites and web apps that have a great design with better visibility. Your web app can be highly visible on search result pages if you invest time and money in making it responsive on computers and mobile devices.
Mobile app developers use different tools to create highly responsive web applications. They combine everything from HTML to CSS3 and JavaScript. Combining these three makes it easy for developers to optimize web pages for various devices using a single code base.
The best thing about using JavaScript for web application development is that you may need no extra tools. JavaScript comes with a plethora of tools that make it easy to create responsive web apps. You, therefore, do not need any coding if you have access to its libraries and frameworks.
Creating responsive web apps is important in this new age of web design and development. Thankfully, there are many options available today to help you tailor your web app for all devices. JavaScript and many other web app design tools have come to help developers achieve great design.
10. A Broad Access of Libraries and Frameworks
Many web application developers use JavaScript because of its wide range of tools. JavaScript provides developers with access to libraries and frameworks that make web application development seamless. These tools that JavaScript provides come with different features and functions that simplify work.
There are various JavaScript libraries that you can find on JavaScript. An excellent example of Javascript libraries is jQuery. About 77.6% of all sites use jQuery, according to the latest research. This tool is feature-rich, fast, free to use, and lightweight. Developers use it to detect features, develop Ajax applications, etc.
Other examples of JavaScript libraries include React.js, D3.js, Underscore.js, Lodash, Algolia Places, Anime.js, Animate on Scroll (AOS), Bideo.js, Chart.js, Cleave.js, etc. The vast variety of JavaScript libraries is often a headache to developers, as picking one tool from this long list of libraries can be daunting.
JavaScript frameworks are also important tools for web application developers. Frameworks make it easy for developers to manipulate code so that it meets their unique requirements. This helps them reduce the time and high cost required to write codes from scratch.
One of the most popular JavaScript frameworks is AngularJS. It is a front-end framework that has helped web app developers create applications since its release in 2010. Other examples of JS frameworks include Bootstrap, Aurelia, Vue.js, Ember.js, Node.js, Backbone.js, Next.js, etc.
With JavaScript libraries, developers can visualize data in charts and maps, add animations, manage databases, and handle data. Frameworks also help in website building, video game development, front-end, and back-end app development.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that JavaScript is an important tool for web app developers today. Creating dynamic and interactive experiences are some of the most important objectives for web developers. JavaScript has played a critical role in livening up the once static and non-interactive web pages and applications.
As mentioned earlier, there are various crucial enhancements that JavaScript has brought. Being a client-side script makes it possible to load content onto a page without reloading it. Things like auto-completing, validating input from web forms, and animation are all possible because of JavaScript.
An excellent example of how JavaScript works for developers is the autocomplete feature on web browsers and applications. Most web apps and browsers today show users suggestions once they start typing anything into the search boxes. JavaScript communicates with the remote server to make this possible.
Functionalities like autocomplete play critical roles in elevating user experiences. But then, JavaScript is still evolving as a programming language. Although it’s the most popular, developers still believe it needs more improvements to make it more efficient. Thus, you can expect to see some changes in the future.
What may not change is the fact that JavaScript is the most widely used client-side scripting language. If anything, its usage can only increase as it is the language every new developer wants to learn. Besides, the awesome variety of tools it provides makes it stay ahead of other client-side scripting languages.
For instance, tools like jQuery and Backbone.js are on every web developer’s list of essentials. The former makes animation and interactive functions easy to use, while the latter helps ensure responsive design. JavaScript is to thank for the great experience we have with the apps we use today.