Deciding on a JavaScript framework for your web application can be overwhelming. Angular and React are very popular these days, and there is an upstart which has been getting a lot of traction lately: VueJS. What’s more, these are just a few of the new kids on the block.

So, how are we supposed to decide? A pros-and-cons list never hurts. We’ll do this in the style of my previous article, “9 Steps: Choosing a tech stack for your web application”.

Before we start — SPA or not?

You should first make a clear decision as to whether you need a single-page-application (SPA) or if you’d rather take a multi-page approach. Read more on this in my blog post, “Single-page-application (SPA) vs. Multi-page web applications (MPA)” (coming soon, follow me on Twitter for updates).

The starters today: Angular, React and Vue

First, I’d like to discuss lifecycle & strategic considerations. Then, we’ll move to the features & concepts of the three javascript frameworks. Finally, we’ll come to a conclusion.

Here are the questions we’ll address today:

• How mature are the frameworks / libraries?
• Are the frameworks likely to be around for a while?
• How extensive and helpful are their corresponding communities?
• How easy is it to find developers for each of the frameworks?
• What are the basic programming concepts of the frameworks?
• How easy is it to use the frameworks for small or large applications?
• What does the learning curve look like for each framework?
• What kind of performance can you expect from the frameworks?
• Where can you have a closer look under the hood?
• How can you start developing with the chosen framework?

Ready, set, GO!