As more and more businesses focus on digital channels for increasing sales and revenue, much lies untouched when it comes to potential. On the other hand, the ramifications pertaining to a position held online are also very much present, thereby making the world of digital brand positioning a complex undertaking. Nonetheless, it’s imperative that businesses reach their consumers online, and even come up with novel ways in order to do so.
Cloud support services have further fuelled this trend – and for good reason. Even before remote work was the norm, the industry of software development in Sri Lanka, for example, had long since been depending on cloud service providers to build and scale even the most intricate of applications, for clients all around the world.
With competition fierce across the digital marketplace, numerous channels are already saturated, which raises the stakes higher than normal. In a landscape that is so abundant with options for the average consumer, how is your business to stand out? While it’s important to have stellar business positioning online, simply creating a basic website and/or mobile app just won’t cut it. After all, as customer preferences change on the fly, your business will also need to evolve in order to accommodate these changes in taste. If not, competitors are bound to swoop in for claiming the same audience base.
Add to this the fact that everyone’s online; whether it’s because more users are now depending on e-commerce to satisfy basic needs such as groceries and medications, or if it’s due to an increase in remote work environments owing to social distancing, an increasing number of users is very real – and it’s happening now. The steady yet rapid proliferation of on-demand services have further advanced this movement, as consumers can get practically anything done at their fingertips, with a smartphone or tablet.
With so much activity happening across the digital landscape (and complete overhauls taking place in terms of what consumers want, along with where, when, why and how), establishing a web and mobile presence that can adjust to the shifting needs of your customers can be one of the most valuable investments you can make towards your company. However, maintaining the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) takes more than just a one-time commitment from start to finish; it’s an ongoing process that will require the competencies of a skilled development team, as well as clear business objectives.
This even goes down to the granular details, such as the programming frameworks your team will use in order to satisfy a demanding and time-sensitive DevOps process. Likewise, backend frameworks are also deserving of their very own discussion, since the framework your team eventually chooses will determine everything from scalability to usability. In addition to that, the right backend framework can help your team embrace new-age functionalities such as headless CMS, which can further expand your offerings to devices beyond conventional smartphones, desktops and tablets.
While some of the main reasons behind choosing the right framework have already been elaborated above, it is insightful to go a little deeper to understand precisely what the benefits are, by choosing a framework that is ideal for your team.
Ultimately, the goal of a framework is to make development easier, faster and less complicated. Depending on what your application requires, the right framework needs to be chosen so it can satisfy specific needs (processing thousands of requests per second, for example) without crashing.
Therefore, speed and performance bifurcate into two attributes when it comes to frameworks – the effort required on the part of your development team, and the performance the final application will provide once it is in production.
This ties in with the above-mentioned point, but it also signifies how steep the learning curve shall be for developers who are completely new to a particular framework. Based on the exact requirements of your application, using predefined components or creating them from scratch will have to be addressed – and only the right framework shall support you in this endeavour.
Trial and error is a big part of application development, so knowing how much support you have from fellow developers who would’ve experienced the hindrances that your team may encounter shall determine how much you can depend on solutions from others – or whether you need to wing it on your own.
Without further ado, let’s discuss a few of the leading backend frameworks that are popular with developers around the world. Read on to know more!
Based on JavaScript, Node.js is event-driven and asynchronous, which means that it pays prime focus to oncoming requests instead of strictly working on requests back-to-back. Being one of the more popular backend frameworks, Node.js is a hit with developers for a few good reasons. For one, the familiarity of JavaScript is pretty much universal, while its event-driven capabilities further give it the leverage to scale.
As a result, Node.js is especially popular with applications that are intensive in terms of real-time data streaming. By asynchronously serving requests, even the most trafficky applications can gain momentum since the framework focuses on requests in the here and now.
Also based on JavaScript, Next.js is another backend framework which offers a streamlined yet simplistic backend coding experience. There’s no need to rewrite or duplicate code, which means that you can write once and use the same code anywhere in and around your project. What’s more, Next.js also integrates with TypeScript, which is a programming language that is also based on JavaScript syntax.
Comprehensive documentation further eases the learning curve that developers need to go through in order to get accustomed to Next.js – while also simplifying the overall process of incorporating any use case or element that your application may need.
Add to all this the fact that Next.js also integrates seamlessly with Google Lighthouse, which is an analytics tool developed specifically for web pages. Therefore, analyse the quality of your web applications well after production with Next.js, to create an iterative backend development process that is being constantly improved.
Based on Python, Django caters to both backend and frontend development through a code library that has completely been built from scratch – as opposed to using previously existing frameworks. On top of that, Django has been formulated such that it can scale as much as needed with absolute ease, especially when it comes to hardware. This means that any number of servers can be added, and Django can conveniently adapt to accommodate extra resources.
As a result, Django has been trusted for websites and applications that attract vast amounts of traffic. Add to this the fact that the framework also takes care of ancillary elements such as site maps and CMS, which means that your development team need not look elsewhere for other components that go into building a website or application.
Last but never the least, Django is also strong from a cybersecurity standpoint. The framework offers inbuilt protection from threats such as SQL injections and cross-site scripting, while also taking care of access administration for users. This way, Django is a complete package that offers a full stack framework, while also including other supplementary components that would otherwise require input from external services.
Based on the Ruby programming language, Rails is a web application development framework that follows a condensed yet highly productive set of methods. For one, Rails is considered as an ‘opinionated’ framework, which means that it assumes a set of rules that will be most productive. Other than that, the simplified syntax of Ruby is also reflected on Rails, which makes coding a fast, easy and hassle-free experience.
With the goal to write shorter yet performant code, Rails also features the principle of writing code only once – and never having to rewrite it, in the interest of productivity. Based on the MVC architecture, Ruby on Rails is ideal for applications that need to render varying items of data. As a result, it is great for building e-commerce websites and apps, as well as social networking platforms and enterprise SaaS solutions.
An open-source application development framework that’s based on the PHP programming language, Laravel presents an MVC framework that’s coupled with plenty of familiarity. Thanks to repurposing components from other frameworks such as Yii and CodeIgniter, Laravel shall not offer a steep learning curve to developers who have used these frameworks previously.
In addition to that, Laravel offers an ecosystem that is rich in components, from billing modules to containerization. This way, scalability is guaranteed, while also ensuring peace of mind in terms of testing/debugging and security. A constantly buzzing developer community offers developers more autonomy when help is needed, since answers to quandaries will always be available.
Also based on PHP, Symfony features an elaborate offering of components within its framework – and the familiarity of other frameworks hailing from the same programming language. Thanks to a thriving community of fellow developers who are always asking and answering questions, using nothing short of the very best of components for your own projects is a convenient possibility with Symfony.
For those looking to zero in on a suitable PHP backend framework, Laravel and Symfony may seem like two peas in a pod. So what differentiates one from the other? Symfony shall attain extra points for versatility, since its components can be used in other frameworks. It is also more suited for larger and complex applications, while Laravel may be ideal for rapid development and deployment in the interest of high speed.
Ultimately, which framework your development team needs to choose boils down to exactly what your application requires, as well as the level of familiarity your team has when it comes to programming languages and their subsequent frameworks. While no framework is technically better than the rest, identifying the pros/cons of each and tallying them with your exact requirements is the wisest way to choose the backend framework that will best meet your project’s needs.
Let’s not forget other key qualities such as scalability, since even the simplest of projects may need to endure the test of time. This may most probably require an increase in resources – or an upgrade at the very least. As a result, thinking about the long-term needs of your application, especially from the perspective of what your business’s end objectives are will make all the difference for choosing the right backend framework – as well as everything pertaining to your SDLC.
Choosing the right backend framework is a mix between knowing what your application needs, and what skills your developers have. Software outsourcing in Sri Lanka, for example, has long since consisted of companies maintaining partnerships with leading cloud service providers (such as being a dedicated AWS partner, for instance). This further streamlines software development, as there is no need to purchase and maintain physical infrastructure to keep things running. However, the right frameworks still influence the overall quality of your application, including the level of convenience developers have while using it on a daily basis.
From popular backend frameworks such as Node.js to alternatives such as Next.js, an endless limit of options await any development team. But how can you select the right one? It all boils down to key attributes such as speed, performance and scalability – both for the application that is eventually built, as well as the ease it offers your development team.
Community support, although tempting to overlook, can also play a pivotal role in determining the final framework for use – since feedback from other developers can entail solutions to any problems your team may come across