Best Technology Stack For Web Application Development In 2021

We understand that many of the readers may not be as technically experienced as usual developers; hence we have created this blog in such a way that it will be beneficial for the technical as well as non-technical readers.

What is the main aim of a client, or the business person who is financing the web development project? That the product works seamlessly for any number of users across any vertical. However, the solution to this response is not very simple. Hence, we have decided to help you out in selecting the perfect technology stack.

How To Choose Web Application Development Technology Stacks?

Before answering that question, we need to understand what web application technology stacks are and how they work. So, we can bifurcate the entire web development process into 2 parts:

Client Side Programming

The client-side, also known as the frontend technologies of the web application development is the part that the user sees and interacts with. For instance, the website in which you are reading this blog.

Everything that you see right now from the text, images, spacing, and that small notification button in the bottom right corner; everything comes in the front end.

Every technology that makes this happen is the technology stack of a website.

When people talk about front-end technology stacks, you must have heard terms like HTML 5 and CSS 3. So, what are those? HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) make the objects in the screen look the way they appear.

HTML helps the browser in displaying the content of the webpage as it is designed, and CSS styles the content of the page. And, the mediator managing these two is called a Bootstrap framework.

JavaScript (JS) is another term tossed around in front end development. JavaScript is what makes the webpages interactive. So, the drag, scroll, and pressing actions that respond is due to JavaScript.

Server-Side Programming

Server Side Programming Languages

The server side has a programming language based on which the whole back-end technology stack is chosen, and websites and web applications are developed. So, some of the top programming languages that you can choose from are:

• PHP
• Python
• SQL

• Java
• Ruby
• .NET

• C#
• Perl
• Groovy

Server Side Frameworks

The frameworks are tools that help developers code the backend in a specific programming language. Hence, different frameworks are used for different languages and development needs. So, some of the top backend frameworks that you can choose from are:

• Laravel
• CakePHP
• Express

• CodeIgniter
• Flask
• Ruby on Rails

• Pylon
• ASP.NET
• Spring Boot

Node.JS is a JavaScript runtime that is widely used for backend programming.

Most Common Databases for Web Development

The storage unit for all the data of your website is a database. Hence, all the information that the users request for is stored using a database. So, to store all the data you may choose from most commonly used databases: Relational Database (RDB) and Non-Relational Database (NRDB).

Relational databases represent and store data just like a spreadsheet, in rows and tables. Further, this database is based on the relational algebra. However, on the other hand non-relational database stores data in subsections, so not the whole file but only a part of the database is called when requested.

Some of the top Databases for Web Developers

• MySQL
• SQLite 3
• SQL Server

• Postgre SQL
• Oracle
• Casandra

• MongoDB
• Sybase

Best Open Source Web Servers

The server side is nothing without the servers. In short, it is the system that handles the client requests from the websites and applications.

Some of the top open source web servers that you can choose from are:

• Ubuntu
• Apache

• Nginx
• Linux

• Windows

Choose From Technology Stacks

Some projects need quite more than just a single technology or a small set of stacks. You may lack the knowledge of customizing your own technology stack; hence we are mentioning the most popular web technology stacks used by developers worldwide. When you need such “ bulk” of technologies, you can opt from any of the following web development stacks.

LAMP Stack

LAMP was one of the earliest stacks to get popular amongst developers. It is made up of open source software with the key stacks being

• Linux (Operating System)
• MySQL (RDBMS)

• Apache (HTTP Server)
• PHP (Programming Language)

The LAMP stack works seamlessly for websites as well as web applications. Being open source, this stack can be used in combination with other software development stack of open source nature. A detailed look at LAMP stack shows you that the OS Linux is very stable, secure and free being open source.

You can also interchange the PHP programming language with Perl or Python. Similarly, the server can be replaced from Apache to Nginx and the database from MySQL to MariaDB.

There are other variations of LAMP stack such as

• WAMP (Windows/Apache/MySQL/PHP)
• WISA (Windows/IIS/SQL/ASP.net)
• XAMPP (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows/Apache/MySQL/PHP, Perl)

• LAPP (Linux/Apache/PostgreSQL/PHP)
• MAMP (Mac OS X/Apache/MySQL/PHP)

MEAN Stack

Now you must have understood that these stack names are just rearrangement of initial letters of a group of technologies that they offer. So what does MEAN stack offer? Let’s find out

• MongoDB (Database)
• Angular.JS (frontend framework)

• Express.JS (backend framework)
• Node.JS (back end runtime environment)

SEE ALSO: Which is better, Firebase or MongoDB?

Mean stack is a collection of open source technologies primarily based on JavaScript. MongoDB makes it simpler to send and receive data between client and server side by saving data in a binary JSON format.

Express.JS was inspired by a one time popular Ruby framework, Sinatra. It assists developers in building software using JavaScript on the server side. Angular.JS reduces time to market by eliminating tons of code with its features of data binding and dependency injection.

Angular.JS is also capable of running on smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop, and even smart TVs. Finally, the Node.JS offers a lightweight and efficient runtime environment because it works on Chrome V8 JS engine.

There is an alternative to MEAN stack in MERN (MongoDB/Express.JS/React.JS/Node.JS). If your developers are expert in MEAN stack, they are in a way full stack developers as they can single-handedly build the client side and server side of your web app.

Python-Django Stack

This duo technology stack is formed on the base of the Python programming language. Here the language used is Python and the framework chosen is Django (also written in Python). This stack provides Apache web server with MySQL for its database use.

The benefit of using the Python-Django stack is that it offers a very rapid development while parallelly maintaining the quality of development. It is the perfect choice of web development stacks when you need to create an MVP of your web application or build a web software in a limited timeframe.

.NET Stack

The .NET framework is a very robust and thoroughly tested one that is capable of developing dynamic web applications. The .NET framework and C# programming language are the centerpiece jewel of Microsoft’s tech stack

You can also call .NET stack as a part of the more massive overflow stack which is expert in fulfilling client and server side development needs. The most exciting thing about this stack is that it has over 60 frameworks, libraries, platforms, SDKs, etc., spread across more than 13 layers.

This makes the stack highly interoperable and independent in terms of programming language. It is one of the most secure stack, able to avoid all major types of attacks. The speed of development and portability of the solution is a solid feature of the .NET stack.

Ruby on Rails Stack

Ruby on Rails (ROR) stack offers a very high library integration. The  developers call these libraries as gems. So when a developer says they added a Gem to their app, it means they added a library.

The framework is highly scalable and has a built-in database, and also compatible with MySQL.

In MySQL, if you want to pull up data from the database from multiple tables, you write 3 or 4 lines of code. In Ruby, you can do that in 3 words. This type of speed makes the development time cut short on a vast scale.

How to Choose a Technology Stack for Web Application Development?

You can learn all about these stacks all day and yet feel very confused when you have to settle for your project finally. Hence a better approach is to see how other successful businesses and enterprises chose their web application stack. The decision to choose the right tech stack also depends on the web application idea that you are implementing.

Although, the ones mentioned here are not to be considered the final word. Your needs may differ from what they had in their minds. Still, you can learn from these technology stack examples.

Social Media Network (Eg: Facebook & Instagram Tech Stack)

Programming Language

• PHP

Database

• MongoDB
• Cassandra
• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• MariaDB
• HBase

Frameworks

• PHPFox
• Ruby on Rails
• Tornado
• Diaspora

JavaScript UI Libraries

• Yoga
• Relay
• React
• Flux

Other Tools

• Prophet (Forecasting)
• Presto (Big Data Tool)
• Beringei (In-Memory Database)
• Buck (Java Build Tool)
• McRouter (Memcached Tool)

Collaboration Tools & SaaS Products (Eg. Hive & Slack Tech Stack)

Programming Language

• Objective-C
• Java
• JavaScript
• PHP

Database

• MySQL
• MongoDB
• MS SQL

Frameworks

• CakePHP
• Laravel
• MacGap (Cross-Platform Desktop WebKit)
• Electron (Cross-Platform Desktop WebKit)

Web Servers

• Apache HTTP Server
• Amazon AWS

eCommerce Platform (eBay & Amazon Tech Stack)

Programming Language

• Perl
• Java
• JavaScript
• PHP
• Ruby
• ES6

Database

• MySQL
• MongoDB
• Oracle
• MS SQL
• Hadoop
• Cassandra

Frameworks

• Node.JS (Full Stack)
• React.JS
• Bootstrap

Web Servers

• Apache Tomcat
• Google
• Amazon AWS

JavaScript Libraries

• Marko
• jQuery

Learning Platform (Eg. Udacity & Coursera Tech Stack)

Programming Language

• Ruby
• Scala
• Python
• JavaScript
• PHP

Frameworks

• Node.JS
• Angular.JS
• Backbone.JS
• React
• Bootstrap
• Django
• Play

Other Tools

• Kafka (Message Queue)
• GraphQL (Query Language)
• Amazon SQS (Message Queue)
• Stylus (CSS Pre-Processor)
• jQuery (JavaScript UI Library)
• Pug (Templating Language)

Cloud Storage

• Amazon EC2
• Amazon VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)
• Amazon S3

Database

• MySQL
• Redis
• Cassandra
• MongoDB

Web Servers

• Nginx

Q&A Forums (Eg. Reddit & Quora Tech Stack)

Programming Language

• Python
• PHP

Database

• MySQL
• PostgreSQL

Frameworks

• Pylon
• Zepto.JS
• Node.JS

Web Servers

• MongoDB
• Nginx

Other Tools

• jQuery (JavaScript UI Library)
• Memcached

Information & Blogging Website (Product Hunt & Medium Tech Stack)

Programming Language

• Ruby
• JavaScript
• PHP (WordPress, Drupal

Database

• PostgreSQL
• MySQL

Frameworks

• React.JS
• Ruby on Rails

Web Servers

• Nginx

Word of Advice

The best technology stack for web applications mentioned here are not the only ones that you have to choose from. We have tried to bring you the best technology stacks for web development that are prevailing in 2020. The web application technology stacks are ever-growing, and this web stack list will be inclusive with time.

We hope you make the right choice with your web stacks. It is a bit of advice that besides doing your own research, you should talk to development experts who can guide you more firmly towards the right options.

Category: Dev & Design By Mahil Jasani April 16, 2019

Author: Mahil Jasani

Meet the web tech lover and COO of Excellent Webworld. Mahil is an expert in drupal web development. He's the complete package skilled in design, development, and deployment of exceptional websites. His blogs are helping lots of start-ups to understand how to improve website performance and how to enhance web designs.