With over 300,000 websites, including Google, YouTube, and Paypal, relying on it, AngularJS is a widely popular platform. Despite its benefits, developers have been searching for alternatives due to certain drawbacks. Therefore, we have put together a compilation of the ten best substitutes for AngularJS that can be considered in 2021.
Overview of AngularJS Development
AngularJS, an open-source front-end web framework, was launched by Google in October 2013. Since then, it has been widely supported by developers and companies that focus on building single-page applications.
Due to its efficiency, AngularJS has become a popular option for front-end developers and their employers. The Stack Overflow Developer Survey (2023) identified it as the second most commonly used front-end framework, leading businesses to hire individuals with AngularJS expertise to work on their websites. You can read more about the benefits of using Clojure in our blog post “Justifications for Using Clojure: Look at These Potential Rewards for Your Company.”
The primary goal of AngularJS is to simplify application development and testing. Therefore, it offers a framework for executing Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) and Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectures on the client side.
Although AngularJS has been broadly embraced and has several advantages, it also comes with certain downsides.
Here are the benefits and drawbacks of using this framework:
The Best 10 Substitutes for AngularJS in 2023
If you’re planning your next web development project, we’ve put together a list of ten outstanding substitutes for AngularJS:
1. React
Launched by Facebook in 2013, React is a widely used JavaScript library that has earned its popularity over the years. React, which is an integral component of front-end development, empowers developers to build visually stunning, interactive, and user-friendly websites quickly. Since its launch, it has emerged as a critical tool for constructing user interfaces.
Key features of ReactJS include:
- Uses React’s virtual DOM, which is a lightweight version of the HTML DOM, to minimize redundant code.
- Ensures code consistency by implementing one-way data binding.
- It is made up of various independent components.
- You won’t encounter any SEO problems.
- JSX (JavaScript XML) is a syntax extension for JavaScript that streamlines the development of ReactJS components.
- The platform provides a mobile application built with React Native.
2. Vue
Introduced in 2023, Vue has quickly risen to prominence as a top-notch JavaScript library. Its millions of users appreciate its simple user interface and single-page application development capabilities. Vue.js is a view layer oriented tool that is extremely flexible and adaptable, making it an excellent choice for a variety of tasks, rather than a framework.
Advantages of Vue.js are:
- Compared to Angular frameworks, it’s easier to learn (developers only need to know HTML and JavaScript to work with Vue.js).
- It provides the ability to add animation and transition effects to HTML components.
- Furthermore, it comes equipped with a Virtual DOM.
- The data-binding feature of HTML simplifies the assignment and modification of HTML elements.
- Provides faster development through a command line interface (CLI) that enables the use of plugins and swift prototyping.
- Can be employed on multiple operating systems with ease.
3. Aurelia
Aurelia is a suite of contemporary JavaScript modules that combine to form a dynamic system, promoted on Aurelia.io. Aurelia can be utilized in conjunction with open-source web-based client software, such as web browsers, desktop programs, and mobile applications. Its modular architecture makes it a unique choice, enabling developers to create online applications that are extremely flexible. As a result, Aurelia offers a straightforward and practical alternative to Angular.
Aurelia’s features include:
- A broad range of plugins is available as a part of its rich ecosystem, enabling developers to create dynamic online applications with ease.
- By blending the latest JS models with a simple approach, Aurelia streamlines and enhances the effectiveness of unit testing.
- It is easy to learn and use (just add a script tag to your application to get started).
- A Dependency Injection Container is included to simplify system breakdown.
- It includes exceptional reference materials (and boasts a vast developer community).
- Applications developed with Aurelia can be thoroughly tested and easily updated.
4. Backbone.js framework
If you’ve ever been involved in major JavaScript development, you’ve probably come across Backbone. This compact JavaScript package streamlines the creation of single-page applications and has grown significantly in recent years, primarily due to its user-friendly nature.
Key components:
- JavaScript’s capabilities simplify the creation of both the backend and frontend of an application.
- Components such as models, views, and events are all included.
- By automatically updating HTML code when a model is updated, this feature saves developers a significant amount of time.
- The framework generates structured, client-side web applications or mobile apps.
- With over 100 add-ons and plentiful documentation, Backbone is a dream for developers.
- The UI development process is streamlined and extended through the use of a template engine.
5. Polymer
Google unveiled an environment for building web-based applications in 2023, leveraging the open-source JavaScript library Polymer.js. This allows developers to create custom components using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making it easier to create sophisticated, scalable, and maintainable web applications.
Polymers possess the following characteristics:
- Facilitates data binding (supports both one-way and two-way data binding).
- Web component standards can be used to create reusable widgets, which can be utilized in multiple web-based projects.
- Can be used in various web browsers.
- From simple components to sophisticated web applications, Polymer’s command line interface (CLI) has got your back.
- Rapid development of mobile applications using Polymer.
6. Meteor
Meteor is a full-stack JavaScript framework that provides an expansive library for quickly and effectively building websites and applications. It can serve as a viable alternative to AngularJS and boasts a variety of tools and libraries for creating responsive, client-connected applications.
Properties of Meteor:
- Meteor offers a framework for developing applications for mobile devices, the web, and other platforms.
- Meteor allows for creating universal applications, meaning that the same code can be used for both desktop and mobile web browsers.
- Development for both server and client can be accomplished using only JavaScript.
- Meteor provides access to the MongoDB database, which is written entirely in JavaScript.
- The database updates automatically whenever changes occur.
7. Sencha Unlimited
Ext JS is a JavaScript framework that allows for creating dynamic, browser-based applications that run on various platforms. It synchronizes with contemporary web development methodologies such as Ajax, DHTML and DOM scripting. It also serves as an all-inclusive framework for building single-page applications and comes with pre-installed themes and UI components to facilitate development efficiency.
Advantages of Utilizing Sencha Ext:
- Sencha Ext supports both Model-View-Controller and Model-View-View-Model architectures.
- Sencha Ext includes support for object-oriented principles that simplify application development and maintenance.
- Sencha Ext provides GUI-based features including numerical fields, radio buttons, checkboxes, toolbars, a tree control, and vector graphic charts that can be used during application development.
- Sencha Ext offers a selection of approximately 140 pre-built components to select from.
- End-to-end testing is a technique that assists developers in producing superior applications.
- Sencha Ext’s adaptive layout manager enables uniform display of data and information across various devices and screen sizes.
8. Knockout
The conversation now moves to titles and last names. Does the name of this JavaScript library spark your creativity? Knockout is not only one of the top alternatives to AngularJS but also has an excellent name. It is an open-source initiative that was launched in 2023 and is compatible with all major web browsers. Knockout was built using JavaScript and helps developers design and maintain mobile-friendly websites utilizing the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) design pattern.
Remarkable Features:
- Modifications made to the model’s data display are immediately reflected in the user interface.
- Templates simplify the process of building complex user interface frameworks.
- It simplifies the handling of complex data-driven user interfaces.
- The official website of the platform offers extensive tutorials, information, live examples and other resources to help developers address any issues.
- Declarative bindings enable linking user interface components to a database.
- It is possible to introduce this functionality to an existing web application.
9. Riot
Riot is a lightweight component-based UI framework, developed by professionals from various fields such as academia, businesses, and enthusiasts. It is compatible with various microcontrollers, external devices, and Internet of Things (IoT) gadgets, providing robust features such as security, connectivity, anonymity, and longevity. Riot supports HTML and JavaScript, enabling developers to craft custom tags and reusable widgets, to build sophisticated user interfaces using a language that is easily comprehensible by humans. Its intuitive properties make it accessible even to beginner programmers.
Additionally:
- A priority-based, tickless and preemptive scheduler.
- Modular memory management.
- Our support extends to over one hundred boards, running on architectures such as AVR, MSP430, ESP8266, ESP32, MIPS, RISC-V, ARM7, and ARM Cortex-M.
- It is compatible with Mac OS X, BSD, and Linux operating systems.
- Link multiple RIOT processes on the same computer using an Ethernet bridge.
- IPv6
- 6LoWPAN (RFC4944, RFC6282, and RFC6775)
- UDP
- RP, P2P, and Storage modes
- CoAP
- CCN-Lite
- Sigfox
- LoRaWAN
10. Ember
Ember.js is a popular open-source JavaScript web-framework that was released in December 2023. It is extensively used by major organisations such as LinkedIn, Vine, Twitch, Chipotle, Apple Music, and Discourse. As an alternative to Angular, this framework enables developers to create scalable web applications utilising common practices. Ember utilises the Model-view-viewmodel (MVVM) architecture, simplifying jQuery’s functionality and dynamic templates. Despite its advantages, Ember’s size is a disadvantage, making it unsuitable for minor tasks.
Ember boasts the following characteristics:
- Modification Coordinator feature
- Array support
- Usage of angle brackets for internal references
- Using angle brackets to call internal parts
- RouteInfo metadata
- Native decorator support
- Attribute-driven modification of forwarded elements
- The function aiding tool (fn tool)
- Usage of “on” as a modifier
- Asset inventory feature
Closing thoughts
We are optimistic that by 2023, you will have access to the most innovative tools in the industry. This is the reason we have compiled a list of alternative options to AngularJS. While it is certain that some developers remain loyal to AngularJS, other excellent alternatives can assist in streamlining your processes and building exceptional websites rapidly. Ultimately, success hinges on making informed decisions and being responsive to changes.
Establishing a strong foundation is crucial, as is gaining access to an exceptionally skilled pool of Angular developers. If you need help in finding and hiring the top Angular experts from around the globe, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
