Best Backend Frameworks in 2022

Backеnd development entails the use of tools, frameworks, and other resources to develop a website’s engine. The engine is always composed of several basic components, which are inextricably linked to the server, databases, website’s root, external and internal resources. The component, which is linked to the server, can be considered the most important in terms of programming so you should look at the most powerful backend frameworks that are going to be in demand in 2022. We also recommend reading - best css frameworks in 2022.

Importance of backеnd frameworks

Backеnd frameworks are essential to both products and developers themselves. Programmers always take note of what tools they are about to work with at a specific job. In particular, this is taken into consideration during the choice of a company to cooperate with. Stack Overflow annually publishes statistical reviews related to developers, web development tools, and other components.

The graph below excellently illustrates the results, so we may conclude that it’s frameworks, programming languages, and various technologies that are the most important in this regard. The programmers evaluate this factor on a first-priority basis when choosing a workplace.

Oftentimes a specific developer knows only one framework at a satisfactorily high level; therefore, it’s crucial to determine which one of them is better and will be popular in 2022 to start learning it right now.

By choosing backend frameworks, which hold leading positions in this rating, the developer won’t be left irrelevant anyway. According to the latest research, the most promising frameworks seem to be Django, Node.js/Express, and Spring Boot. Each of them is highly professional, but you shouldn’t dismiss their particular advantages, specificities, and even shortcomings.

A statistical approach to learning programming languages and frameworks

To determine those frameworks, which can be at the height of their popularity in the next year, you need to see those sites that do statistical researches of development environments, assess the users’ interest, and analyze the best backend frameworks from different points of view.

The first service that makes regular statistical reviews is GitHut. Specifically, it offers extended information about the repositories. This resource collects detailed data about active file repositories, a total number of Pull Requests, and other information – including tasks and the number of the project subscribers, etc.

Another popular service is Stack Overflow. It usually offers quite valuable information as it studies not only< a href="https://merehead.com/blog/in-demand-programming-languages-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">frameworks and programming languages but also the users’ opinions of them. According to Stack Overflow, Node.js/Express is now a leader among other frameworks that the developers are using for backend development. Other frameworks, which we’ve talked about earlier, are a little lower in the rating. According to the research of Stack Overflow, the following frameworks are going to be the leaders: the project on the JavaScript language, the project with the use of the Node.js/Express framework, then Spring and Django.

If you consider the repositories of the frameworks’ platforms, it will help you to make a final conclusion of these frameworks.

You can see the number of forks and stars concerning each of the frameworks here, but the first indicator is far more important.

Express framework for the Node.js platform

Node.js is a server platform, in addressing which you cannot ignore the fact that it meets the majority of developers’ requirements and is based on the popular programming language – JavaScript. It has a significant feature – the V8 engine.

Most world-famous projects are based on this engine; for example, Chrome browser and other browser programs that are developed on its basis. You can write a code, which will be executed on the server, on this platform due to the above-mentioned framework. This specifies the high value of the platform to the programmers.

The popularity and efficiency of Node.js are beyond comparison and this is due to many positive qualities including performance and the possibility to create projects of various types and purposes on its basis.

Node.js served as a basis for the creation of many different frameworks, not only Express; however, it’s the one that is considered the most popular and sought-after.

It offers developers input/output API interfaces, event-driven, and asynchronous. In addition, it can interpret the JavaScript code with the Google V8 JavaScript engine. Moreover, it works with a single-thread cycle event-driven so that all operations are performed without the blocking.

The main strengths of Express include the following:

• support of plugins that enhance functional capabilities of apps. Setting up is simple to perform and takes little time;
• minimalistic, user-friendly interface;
• support of the framework – backend development process is implemented with the use of NPM packages;
• any app’s path can be determined with URL addresses and HTTP methods;
• minimum time spent on debugging, owing to convenient debugging mechanism;
• the framework is compatible with other ones – Kranken, LoopBack, or Sails. You can also connect it to such databases as MySQL, Redis, and MongoDB;
• flexibility – due to this feature, Express was appreciated by such famous companies as Stack, Twitter, and Accenture (server side of other products is also fully or partially built on Express – this refers to PayPal, IBM, GoDaddy, Flickr, Storylens, and Walmart);
• integration capacity of Express – engineers and developers can use the framework with various template engines (from EJS and Jade to Vash).

Code on JavaScript in the implementation is far more compact than the one, which is written in some other language; for instance, C. It guarantees a high speed of writing and working of this code. Units of the Node.js platform are in the form of ready code fragments, so you can use both them and your own developments. The framework isn’t picky about the resources and is easily scalable if needed. The platform offers a lot of units, which can be used in microarchitectural development as building blocks for server apps.

As judged by the advantages of the platform in general and particularly the Express framework, it can be said that this is quite a popular direction for development in 2022. Many famous companies already use these tools and developers make a lot of money for their work on the platform.

Spring Boot

As for Spring Boot, this project is a reliable framework for the creation of server apps. It’s also based on Java and was created to simplify the work on microservices. It’s created by Pivotal Software, Inc. and can be used for both traditional WAR apps and standalone Java apps. Spring Boot helps the developers to proceed with programming without wasting time on preparation and setting up the environment. Unlike other Java environments, it provides flexible XML configurations, reliable batch processing, database transactions, a simple workflow, and a broad range of development tools. It usually works by providing default values for codes and the configuration of annotations, which will help you launch any new Spring project in real time instantly. It also follows the «default configuration» strategy to exclude template configurations and other configurations meant for the improvement of unit testing procedures, development, and integration testing.

Spring is great for development and has a lot of advantages and special features:

• simplifies the creation and testing of Java-based apps providing the default setting for unit testing and integration testing;
• reduces the time spent on the development and increases the overall efficiency of the development team;
• helps to set all components for the production-grade Spring-based app automatically;
• provides a lot of plugins, which the developers can use for smooth and convenient work with built-in databases and in-memory databases;
• offers easy access to a command-line interface, which makes the development and testing of Spring Boot apps that are created with the help of Java or Groovy, flexible.

The Spring Boot framework aimed to help developers reduce the development time and enhance the performance by providing the default unit setting and integration tests. If you need to launch a project quickly, you can just adopt all default values and skip the XML configuration. Spring Boot is an extension of Spring, which makes the development, testing, and deployment more convenient. MIT, Platform, Zillow, TransferWise, and Intuit are among the companies, which actively use this framework.

Django

An extensive set of frameworks and libraries, simplicity, and universality turned Python into one of the most popular programming languages. Django is well-known as a high-level framework for Python that combines different libraries. Developers can use it for the creation of effective apps because this framework is suitable almost for any project.

Django's advantages are obvious:

1. Rapid development. Due to Django, developers can move from concept development to 100% project completion very quickly.
2. High security level. Django helps developers avoid many common security mistakes. Besides, this framework automatically protects the website. First of all, Django manages the account and password without putting important information in cookie files where it might be stolen. As usual, in such cases, the cookie files save keys and the important files are stored in the database.
3. Operation speed. This framework is pretty fast due to the fact that it isn’t overloaded with extra details.

Django was released in 2005 and it has already become one of the most popular backend frameworks among many developers. It was created as a framework in the Python programming language. Thanks to a set of right features, Django reduces the code amount, which simplifies the creation of web apps and speeds up the development.

Less popular, but yet good frameworks

There are other frameworks, which are particularly popular with developers. So they cannot be discounted in the prospects for 2022.

CakePHP

This framework for PHP is highly appreciated due to its high level of organization, a large set of elements, and effectiveness. It refers to open-source PHP platforms and contains various libraries that help to perform a standard set of tasks. CakePHP has the following advantages:

1. It’s suitable for quick prototype creation.
2. Model-View-Control helps to distinguish data presentation from business logic. MVC reduces time and resources, which are spent when a developer creates a web app or a website.
3. Compatibility with any latest version of PHP and various website catalogs.

It’s easy to manage and databases are easy to control.

ASP.NET Core

Web apps with this framework are very easy to create. This is a set of tools and convenient libraries, due to which a high quality of the end product is ensured. The use of ASP.NET Core has the following advantages:

1. Creation of the apps created on ASP.NET is really fast because the Windows servers are used for code processing.
2. Performance is extremely high.
3. Simplicity.  Developers appreciated this feature that helps to set websites, forms, and processes of authentication.

ASP.NET Core is cross-functional and flexible. It also provides the developers with convenient development tools, which simplify the creation, testing, and implementation of apps.

Phoenix

Phoenix is somewhat similar to Ruby on Rails. This is a server structure, which is developed in the Elixir programming language and includes generators as well as other tools and components. Among Phoenix’s benefits, we should note the possibility to create scalable and highly effective web apps with its help. The framework provides the necessary level of performance and effectiveness.

Flask

Flask is a lightweight Python framework. It’s usually classified as a microframework. This framework allows selecting necessary libraries and tools. It’s based on such projects as Jinja2, Pocoo, and Werkzeug. A lot of developers don’t see Flask as a serious and promising framework. Anyway, it has advantages that enable it to thrive:

1. Integrated capability to do unit testing.
2. Built-in debugger and development server.
3. Support of a client session.
4. Simplicity.  It’s quite easy to puzzle out the code written with the help of Flask.
5. Flexibility.  Almost every part of Flask can be changed. You can insert variables in a template.

Laravel for PHP

Laravel is an MVC open-source code platform. It helps to develop and launch PHP applications on Symfony. The company supplies it with an exceptional manager and module packets that simplify the operations. You will understand why Laravel is the leading PHP environment if you add the opportunity to cooperate with various relational databases and deployment instruments. Laravel has the following advantages.

1. Straightforward authentication. It is pretty easy to implement the authentication for the built-in access and management instruments. 
2. Mailing on API. Laravel offers you integrating an API with all the necessary mailing services, PHP drives, notifications, and multichannel message delivery. It significantly simplifies implementing the reports and mailing.
3. Simple data caching. Laravel offers Redis, Memcached, and other popular instruments to cache data and memory within a built-in driver. 
4. Convenient log processing. Laravel supports a range of log processing tools and has a default issue and fault processing.
5. Extensive testing. Laravel provides deep module testing through PHPUnit and phpunit.xml files.

However, Laravel has its disadvantages. For example, it is easy to learn Laravel yet difficult to understand. Many functions are complicated and work only one way. It is hard to understand each of them. There are many Laravel developers, yet only a few know how to use Laravel’s features to the full extent. Furthermore, Laravel has some scaling issues. For example, the 5th version significantly differs from the 4th version. There is no smooth transfer between the versions. However, Laravel is the best choice to develop PHP applications since it is a secure, robust multifunctional MVC framework. 

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source code platform working on the Dart language. The users started rapidly appreciating the platform. Its main features are developing the code right on time and rendering on the go without specific widgets for design and machine code interaction. It all becomes a tool for the fast development of cross-platform applications that work on iOS, Android, Flutter, Windows, Linux, Mac, Google Fuchsia. The advantages of this platform are:

1. Rapid reload. Flutter allows applying the code to the application without filling it for testing a minor update. 
2. Design widgets. Flutter provides custom widgets that work with many platforms. A unified code base works precisely the same anywhere. 
3. Concise development. A unified code base updates fast. The functionality allows the developers to create clear, plain, and neat code. 

Flutter focuses on future frameworks that allow creating beautiful applications for various devices and operating systems. The users say that the disadvantages are the inaccessibility of the interfaces, the platform’s adolescence, and some compatibility issues that may appear after updating the software.

Ruby on Rails

The Ruby programming language is still popular among the developers who create web applications and implement another set of various tasks. It is slower than Python, yet famous for being an interpretable language. Ruby is one of the three most popular languages for the server past. Many companies like Airbnb, Fiver, GitHub use Ruby for their projects. 

Ruby on Rails is the server structure of a web application written in Ruby. David Hanson developed and released it in 2003. The main aim of the framework is to make the website and application creation simpler. Ruby on Rails saves time generally spent on standard tasks like creating forms, menus, spreadsheets. The developers can choose ready solutions and save time creating a website or application from scratch. 

The reasons why various developers and companies so much appreciate Ruby on Rails are:

1. It is an open-source and backend framework. It supports reusing the code for various projects.
2. The community of talented developers uses Ruby on Rails and makes it better.
3. The code written with the help of the framework is plain and agreed. The companies appreciate this feature because they can enhance the project written by other teams. 
4. Ruby on Rails is famous for being cost- and time-effective. 
5. Model-View-Controller-Format. It means that the business logic is separated from other application parts. Each subsystem is responsible for specific actions that allow making the process faster.
6. Scaling. You can scale an application written on Ruby on Rails and process more inquiries within a second. It is an excellent benefit for applications that grow and need to process thousands of queries. 
7. DRY. The developers do not need to repeat the same code on RoR. They record it instead.
8. Self-describing. One can read the code without any additional documentation. The juniors can participate in any existing project. 

Ruby on Rails has its disadvantages too. Just like any other framework or programming language. For example, not all web-hosting providers support the RoR application. However, you can always find a reliable hosting provider.

Each of the mentioned above frameworks can win the power in 2022 because all of them have the necessary qualities and characteristics for that. The review of the most popular and promising frameworks should help to highlight the most significant development environment that should be learnt and used later this year. Although programming doesn’t stand still and new developments are emerging daily, the old ones don’t fade into obscurity either so you shouldn’t forget them.

Best Backend Frameworks in 2022 key takeaways:

1. Importance of backеnd frameworks
2. A statistical approach to learning programming languages and frameworks
3. Less popular, but yet good frameworks
4. CakePHP
5. ASP.NET Core
6. Phoenix
7. Flask
8. Laravel for PHP
9. Flutter
10. Ruby on Rails