2023’s Best Front-end Programming Languages – A Simple Guide

In the first contact with every application and website, we see the front-end. Its high quality plays a crucial role in the success of your digital product. The variety of front-end programming languages can make it challenging to choose the perfect language for your project or product. In the following article, we will introduce the most popular and reliable languages in 2023 to help you make the right choice.

What is a Front-End Development?

In simple words, the front-end can be defined as part of the application that is “seen” by us, users. It’s responsible for how users interact with the application. The back-end handles the data behind the application. The front-end and back-end programmers can create a transparent and adequately functioning application. All in all, the page layout, all graphics, and text – the front-end draws from the back-end, thanks to which we get the final image on the screen of our phones or monitors.

What does a front-end developer do?

The main task in the work of a front-end developer is to check what the website will look like. It is essential that the devs have to verify how the website will behave in various situations. The front-end developer is responsible for the application’s graphical interface and connects it with backend applications. To create an intuitive and straightforward interface, a professional front-end developer must have extensive knowledge of how to connect all parts of the application with each other.

The frontend technology stack is a very dynamic environment that is constantly developing and changing. Connecting all parts of the application translates into the need for cooperation and interaction not only with your own team but also with others. Knowledge of UX/UI (user experience and user interface) work is an additional advantage for every front-end developer because cooperation with specialists in this field is an everyday reality. Greater awareness of this issue will allow you to understand how a user-friendly application should work. Learn more about the role of a front-end developer here.

The Best Front-end Programming Languages to Use in 2023

The variety of languages makes it difficult to decide on the best technology for your product. Let’s look into the most popular front-end technologies in 2023.

1. JavaScript and its popular frameworks

It is by far the most popular programming language in the world. It first appeared in 1995 and has grown steadily ever since. Over 97% of websites use JS on the client-side for web page behavior, often incorporating third-party libraries. All major web browsers have a dedicated JavaScript engine to execute the code on users’ devices. It’s an object-oriented language like Visual Basic. Object-oriented languages ​​are widely used for characteristics such as polymorphism, which allows an object to take many forms. There are many JavaScript frameworks you can work with as well.

The advantages of this language are certainly:

• offloading the server by reducing the amount of data transferred between the hosting and the user,
• simple and intuitive code syntax,
• universality, thanks to which the JS code allows you to perform many actions on the page, starting from changing the font color and ending with advanced operations that make the page interactive,
• continuous development of libraries and interfaces.

Disadvantages of JS:

• ambiguous interpretation of the code by browsers may cause different code effects in various browsers,
• the high popularity and versatility of JS mean that many developers abuse it and implement JS code where it doesn’t work best, which can cause complications.

1.1. React.js

React is actually a JavaScript library used to build interfaces or anything that allows users to interact with machines. Created by Facebook while looking for a way to build dynamic yet highly efficient interfaces.

React’s pros:

• easy debugging due to React’s simplicity leaves little room for errors, and you can debug before executing your code,
• painless SEO – beneficial for the website indexing algorithm used by Google thanks to its fast rendering and lightness,
• open-source with many users, which makes it easier to solve problems.

Cons of React:

• a high pace of development forces developers to constantly renew their knowledge,
• an incomplete documentation that does not reflect all updates.

1.2. Vue.js

Vue.js (commonly referred to as Vue) is an open-source front-end JavaScript framework for building user interfaces and single-page applications. It was created by Evan You and is maintained by him and the rest of the active core team members. It is pretty regularly updated, and it is one of the most popular frameworks in 2022.

The benefits of Vue.js are: 

• ​​detailed documentation facilitating the understanding of particular functions of the framework,
• Open Source software that allows developers to develop and adjust the framework to their needs,
• low weight and a perfect optimization,
• easy to learn,
• simplicity.

The drawbacks of Vue.js:

• difficulties in working with iOS Safari,
• a limited number of plugins.

1.3. Angular.js

Angular is also a framework; it was created in 2009 by Google. This superhero framework is based on TypeScript, which we will describe below. It is excellent for building highly interactive web applications.

Strengths of Angular: 

• detailed documentation allowing the developer to obtain the necessary information,
• high server performance.

Weaknesses of Angular: 

• slow page rendering,
• migration problems arise when upgrading from an older version to a new one.

1.4. JQuery

It’s actually a JavaScript library that makes it easy to manipulate elements and events in an HTML document. JQuery allows the user to write less code and increases its compatibility for multiple platforms and browser versions.

JQuery’s assets: 

• simplicity,
• flexibility.

Liabilities of JQuery:

• deteriorates the performance of websites and applications,
• a decline in popularity in favor of Angular JS, Vue.js, and React.

2. TypeScript

TypeScript is a front-end programming language developed and maintained by Microsoft. It is a strict syntactical superset of JavaScript and adds optional static typing to the language. TypeScript is designed for the development of large applications and trans-compiles to JavaScript. As TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript, existing JavaScript programs are also valid TypeScript programs.

TypeScript may be used to develop JavaScript applications for both client-side and server-side execution (as with Node.js or Deno). There are multiple options available for trans-compilation. The default TypeScript Checker can be used, or the Babel compiler can be invoked to convert TypeScript to JavaScript.

Pros of TypeScript:

• thanks to code typing, it is even easier to understand than the one created in JavaScript,
• TypeScript is a component of many modern web projects; therefore, knowing it makes it easier to use new tools.

Cons of TypeScript:

• requires programming tools,
• difficult to edit with CMS.

3. Python and Django Framework

Python has continued its steady march in the programming world with its simplicity, flexibility, and robust performance. In the context of front-end development, Python is not the typical choice, as it is a general-purpose language more commonly utilized for back-end development, data analysis, machine learning, and other areas. However, it holds a strong position in web development primarily due to Django, a high-level Python web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design.

Django, built on Python, comes with a collection of modules that are designed to help with building web applications. Django adheres to the DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) principle, aiming to reduce the redundancy in coding, which can make front-end development more efficient. It includes functionalities like authentication, URL routing, template engine, object-relational mapper (ORM), and database schema migrations, which are essential for web development.

While Python might not be the most conventional front-end programming language, with Django’s support, it is possible to create powerful and efficient front-end applications. Its usage typically appeals to developers working on full-stack applications where Python is used extensively on the back-end.

Highs of Python:

• Python’s clear and readable syntax makes it great for beginners and allows developers to express concepts without writing additional code.
• It boasts a large, active community contributing to a vast library and framework ecosystem.
• Python is a general-purpose language used in a variety of fields, including web development, data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
• Python’s simplicity and the extensive standard library allow for high productivity, as less time is spent understanding the syntax and more time on problem-solving.

Lows of Python:

• Python is an interpreted language; thus, it’s often slower than compiled languages like C++ or Java.
• Python is not commonly used for mobile application development. Other languages like Swift (for iOS) and Java/Kotlin (for Android) are more popular choices.
• Python’s ease of use and flexibility come at the cost of higher memory consumption, which can be a drawback for certain applications.
• Compared to popular technologies like JDBC and ODBC, Python’s database access layer is somewhat underdeveloped and primitive, making it less suitable for enterprises that require smooth interaction with complex data.

4. HTML and CSS (Though not programming languages, they are crucial for front-end development)

Although HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are not typical programming languages, they form the basis of a web environment. HTML handles the functionality of the website, and CSS is responsible for what the website looks like. Knowledge of them both is necessary to become a Front-end Developer. HTML is technically not a programming language, but it is a markup language and is the building block of a website.

CSS is a style sheet language that is used to define the presentation of certain web documents written in a markup language, usually HTML. Along with JavaScript and HTML, CSS is the backbone of the web.

Emerging Front-end Technologies in 2023

The world of front-end development is dynamic and constantly evolving. It’s not just about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript anymore. There are several exciting new technologies coming to the forefront, aiming to redefine how we build web applications. Three such emerging technologies that have been turning heads are Svelte, Elm, and Web Assembly.

Svelte

Svelte is an innovative JavaScript framework that is winning over developers with its simplicity and performance. Unlike other frameworks that do most of their work in the browser, Svelte shifts that work into a compile step that happens when you build your app, resulting in highly efficient code. This offers a smoother user experience and makes writing web applications more straightforward. The reduced need for virtual DOM diffing gives Svelte applications a speed advantage over more traditional frameworks. Svelte is a great tool for developers who want the reactivity of modern front-end frameworks without the performance overhead.

Elm

Elm is a functional programming language specifically designed for front-end development. It compiles to JavaScript and offers a strong type system, preventing many common runtime errors that can occur in JavaScript applications. Elm’s architecture is geared towards creating maintainable, scalable applications, and it includes built-in tools for debugging and testing. With its friendly error messages and robust performance, Elm is a solid choice for developers interested in embracing functional programming in the front-end landscape.

Web Assembly

Web Assembly (often abbreviated as wasm) is a binary instruction format for a stack-based virtual machine. It’s designed as a portable target for the compilation of high-level languages like C, C++, and Rust, enabling deployment on the web for client and server applications. Web Assembly provides a way to run code written in multiple languages on the web at near-native speed, with client apps running on the web that are as fast as apps written in native system languages. It opens up the web to a whole new set of languages, frameworks, and tools, potentially revolutionizing what web applications are capable of.

These emerging technologies, each with their unique strengths, are pushing the boundaries of front-end development, promising more efficient, powerful, and scalable web applications in the future. While not yet as widely adopted as JavaScript and its various frameworks, Svelte, Elm, and Web Assembly are worth watching as their communities grow and their usage becomes more widespread.

Front-end Languages Used in 2023

As you can see, the front-end is a very complex environment. Each of the programming languages ​​presented above has its own advantages, unique features, but also some kind of inconvenience. When choosing the right language, you should carefully analyze all the features of the languages ​​and try to match them to your product. Trends in front-end development are highly dynamic as well, so if you have more questions, don’t hesitate to contact our top tech experts!