Currently, JavaScript is known as one of the most sought-after programming languages on the web. As reported by W3Tech, 97.1% of all the websites use it as a client-side programming language. Other areas of its implementation include mobile app development, web games, and desktop application development.

It should be noted that JavaScript is not a static technology. On the contrary, it is evolving constantly, meaning that few frameworks and libraries are introduced almost daily. Sometimes it is hard to choose those ones that suit your project the most.

To make things easier, we prepared a post covering the most popular JavaScript libraries and extensions. So what’s trending in JavaScript in 2021? Let’s find out!

Front-end frameworks

Next.js. The advanced-level framework created on top of the React library to ease the pre-rendering process. Importantly, Next.js allows you to build an application with both server-rendered and statically generated pages.

Nuxt.js. By now, just about everyone familiar with Next.js. has heard of Nuxt.js. It’s a framework that developers use to create apps integrated on both the front-end and back-end sides. Nuxt.js can also be used for making up static HTML pages.

Gatsby. It is a fast static site generator for building ecommerce websites, landing pages, progressive web applications, etc. Gatsby uses GraphQL to prevent overhead and memory leaks.

VuePress. A feature-rich tool to build single-page applications powered by Vue theming system. It is designed for easy integration with any existing JS library. All pages generated by VuePress have corresponding pre-rendered static HTML that provides faster initial loading.

Back-end frameworks

Nest.js. An open-source framework for building scalable Node.js web applications. Nest.js is built with TypeScript but also preserves compatibility with progressive JavaScript. Its architecture implies code reliability and modularity.

Express.js. Node.js framework that speeds up the process of developing a backend API. It is carefully designed to ease adding features such as basic routing, middleware configuration, template engine, etc.

Fastify. A lower overhead alternative to Express.js. Fastify features a set of TypeScript decorators across the encapsulated contexts to facilitate code reusability and decoupling.

Socket.io. A real-time application framework that enables bidirectional communication between web clients. It supports multiplexing, namespacing of messages, and disconnection detection.

Libraries

LitElement. A small library for creating lightweight Web Components. It uses lit-html for async rendering.

Date-fns. A lightweight alternative to Moment.js. It provides a forceful toolset for JavaScript data parsing, manipulation, and formatting.

RxJS. A reactive extensions library for creating async and event-based programs using Observable streams.

Yup. A schema builder for modeling complex and interdependent validations that takes advantage of type-based application design.

Agenda.js. A lightweight job scheduling library in Node.js powered with MongoDB.

Bull. A Node library that provides a fast and robust Redis-based queue. Bull, while written in TypeScript, can be used in Vanilla JavaScript.

Jest. A well-documented, feature-rich, and fast performing library for assertions, mocking, spying within Unit tests.

Commander.js. Expressive command-line interface library for creating CLIs in Node.js. It is widely used to parse the incoming message for commands and arguments.

Bonus: Useful guides on popular JS tools

• Tutorial: Intro to React;
• Vue.js 3.0.0 Documentation;
• TypeScript Handbook;
• Web Components basics;
• Introduction to GraphQL;
• Svelte Introduction;
• PWA Guide by Google;
• Introduction to LitElement;
• Getting Started with date-fns.

Conclusion

This article was aimed at highlighting the most in-demand JavaScript libraries and frameworks on the software development market in 2021 and beyond. Now you have plenty of technologies to choose from for your web app. Your ultimate choice depends on your specific business needs and project requirements.

For more information about the latest trends in JavaScript, read our full article: Top JavaScript (JS) Trends to Watch in 2021.