Node.js Development: The Secret Weapon for Startup Success

What do Netflix, Uber, Paypal, and LinkedIn have in common? All of them invest in Node.js development to build their web and mobile products.

In recent years Node.js software development has proved beneficial for startups considering future growth — all thanks to its scalability, versatility, and cost-effectiveness.

As a seasoned Node.js development company, OpenGeeksLab created this article to share our experience with this technology. Thus, we will explore its key benefits and implementation areas, and define the most helpful frameworks. Our aim is to show the power of this JavaScript runtime and help you use Node.js efficiently for building high-performing web applications.

Node.js: Technology Overview

Before delving into specific benefits of Node.js web app development for your startup, let’s discuss what this technology that empowers 2% or over 30 million websites actually is. Thus, you will understand what makes using Node.js for web app development such a sound idea and learn how to get tangible business results with its help.

What is Node.js?

To start off, Node.js is an open-source runtime environment. It uses JavaScript Engine, known as V8 and is famous for the most extensive ecosystem of open-source libraries and powerful functionality. Its prominent features include fast data streaming, quick code execution, cross-platform compatibility, and many more.

Node.js enables developers to run the entire website on a single stack. This way, the web development process becomes much easier and faster. Powerful capabilities of this technology make it a great tool for different tasks. Here we should mention Node.js API development, building conversional websites, single-page applications, and many more.

Node.js is famous for its lively and vibrant community, which means that the technology is constantly improved and modified.

Helpful Node.js Frameworks

The vast popularity of Node.js over the recent years has resulted in a great variety of frameworks created to support a particular case in the software development lifecycle. Below you can see the list of the most helpful frameworks you should consider using:

• Express.js is a flexible web application framework with robust functionality to simplify the creation of mobile and web apps. It facilitates simple and fast API development using Node.js.
• Meteor.js is an open-source framework that works best for rapid prototyping. It is also famous for its security measures, including secure browser storage, HTML escaping, and encryption.
• Hapi.js has multiple built-in plugins and is suitable for creating real-time and social media apps. Node.js programmers also use it to build proxy servers, desktop applications, and REST APIs.
• Koa.js is a compact, expressive, and robust foundation for Node.js API development and building web-based apps. It utilizes async functions to improve error handling significantly.
• Nest.js is a progressive framework with a strong command line interface that is commonly used in our projects.
• Sails.js can be seen as the best framework for Node.js backend development. Owing to code generators, it allows building single-page and real-time applications with minimal code writing.
• Feather.js is a super lightweight framework compatible with multiple databases, and various front-end technology, be it React.js, Angular.js, or Vue.js. It simplifies bug fixing in mobile and web Node.js application development.

Owing to a great number of frameworks, you may find it overwhelming to choose the right one. We hope that our list of the most popular and useful frameworks will simplify this task and help you understand which Node.js web application framework will suit your project best.

The Most Popular Implementation Areas

Extensive functionality of Node.js together with its helpful frameworks make this runtime environment a perfect tool for building different types of web applications.

Schematically, the key implementation areas for this runtime environment can be presented the following way:

Now let’s take a closer look at the each type of web applications you should consider developing with Node.js:

• Internet of Things. An Internet of Things (IoT) system comprises multiple devices with embedded sensors, specific software, and other modern wireless technologies. All those devices collect, track, and exchange the data in real-time mode. So if you want to build an IoT application, you need to use a framework that can handle extensive data flows efficiently. The ability of Node.js to manage multiple simultaneous requests and its seamless integration with IoT protocols makes it a good choice for delivering IoT projects.
• Real-time Chats. Event API enables Node.js developers to add push notifications functionality and server-side events common for real-time communication tools. Apart from that, thanks to the event-driven architecture of Node.js, it is easy to build and maintain collaboration with the web socket, a communication protocol that ensures two-way interactive communication between a browser and a server.
• Single-page applications. We use the term a single-page application or SPA to refer to a web application or a website that loads a single page and rewrites it dynamically with new data taken from a web server each time users interact with the page instead of loading a new page. The fact that Node.js is capable of managing asynchronous calls and heavy input/output (I/O) workloads make it suitable for building such applications.
• Real-time collaboration tools. Team collaboration software is  designed to allow multiple users to collaborate on the same project simultaneously. The key reason to use Node.js for such software solutions is efficient utilization of Event API and Web Socket that ensures the proper handling of multiple I/O requests.
• Streaming apps. We use the term “streaming” to define the situation when the big data volumes are sent in small packages rather than in a one big batch. We can see this process in audio and video streaming applications. Built-in modules supporting data streaming and enabling you to create writable and readable data streams make Node.js a perfect technology for building such apps.
• Microservices architecture. Microservices design model is a software development approach that implies building an app as a collection of small independant services communicating with each other with the help of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Node.js developers utilize Express and Koa frameworks to build flexible microservices modules. Besides, the lightweightness of Node.js and its minimal resource requirements, allows building microservices apps quickly and efficiently.

To sum up, owing to the versatility of this runtime environment, both aspiring startups and well-established businesses actively use Node.js for building a wide range of web products. Based on your specific business aims requirements, you can build a simple Node.js app or go further and develop complex single-page or streaming applications.

Current State of Node.js

So how popular is Node.js? To answer this question, we will resort to the results of StackOverflow Developer Survey 2022 offering valuable insights into the rapidly evolving software development landscape.

Image Source: Stack Overflow

Thus, the image above shows that for almost half of the professional developers surveyed, Node.js is the most commonly used technology along with React.js.

Statista provides similar data and positions Node.js as the most commonly used web framework for 47.12% of developers. However, here we should emphasize that it would be more correct to refer to it as a runtime environment rather than a web framework.

Image Source: Statista

In recent years, we have witnessed a huge surge in Node.js popularity. Its flexibility, extensive functionality, and scalability allowed this technology to become a real game-changer in web development.

Consequently, businesses investing in Node.js development have every chance to stand out from the competitors with robust and powerful solutions.

Famous Companies Using Node.js

Given the huge popularity of this technology, it comes as no surprise that many prominent names use Node.js to disrupt their industries with innovative and powerful solutions.

Check the list below to find out what companies benefited the most from Node.js app development and what results they have got:

• Uber. This international transportation company was one of the best businesses that experienced the advantages of Node.js development. Owing to faster processing speed, easy error and debugging provided by this technology, Uber was able to speed up the Node.js application development operations, process the larger amount of user requests, and fix any bugs almost immediately.
• Twitter. Twitter was searching for the ways to enhance the performance of their mobile website, which was a great source of traffic. Besides, the company gets the majority of ad revenue from mobile devices, so the fast loading speed was crucial for them. Investment in Node.js app development made the mobile website much faster. Now it loads in less than five seconds even on 3G connection.
• eBay. eBay, one of the largest global marketplaces, experienced issues with Java-based architecture they had been using long before turning to Node.js website development. The disparity between front-end and back-end code resulted in slow speed for users. The transition to Node.js allowed eBay to build multiple specific microservices without burdening its infrastructure.

The future of this technology looks very promising. Its popularity is growing steadily and does not show any signs of stopping. Therefore, we expect its even wider adoption among businesses over the next few years.

Node.js Benefits for Startups

We have already defined that Node.js is a powerful tool that helps businesses create different kinds of applications. But what about some specific benefits startup owners can derive from Node.js development? Check the chart below to find out.

Now let’s discuss each benefit of Node.js development in more detail:

Fast Delivery and Reduced Time-to-Market

Time is a decisive factor for your startup. The sooner you present your solution to the customers, the faster they will give you feedback regarding its quality. The early adopters will tell you which product features are great and which of them are simple waste of time and resources.

Besides, let’s not forget about your market rivals. Each day of delay offers your competitors extra opportunities to occupy a vacant niche and leave you behind.

If you want to shorten the time-to-market cycle, investment in Node.js development really makes sense. Since this technology is lightweight, you will need less time to build a Node.js app.

Besides, simple deployment will offer you instant feedback from the product environment.

Increased Scalability

Scalability is another solid reason for considering web development using Node.js. With this technology, you do not have to worry about increased workload. On the contrary, it will protect your software solution from potential downtimes and ensure its highest quality.

So what makes Node.js applications scalable? Basically, it is load balancing and the ability to handle multiple simultaneous requests.

Furthermore, backend development using Node.js ensures the support for vertical and horizontal scaling. In simple terms, it allows you to add both extra nodes or machines to your infrastructure and more power.

Mobile-Friendliness

The number of mobile users is growing by leaps and bounds. Statista predicts that their number will be staggering 7.49 billion in 2025. This data makes mobile friendliness crucial for businesses.

Node.js shows great efficiency when it comes to handling the increased volume of mobile traffic. Additionally, it helps avoid server crushes and enables Node.js programmers to build responsive websites in no time.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Node.js web development ensures a seamless performance of your software solution across multiple operating systems, be it Windows, Linux, or macOS.

Backend development with Node.js eliminates the necessity of writing platform-specific code. It also solves challenges related to handling multiple codebases. This way, the Node.js web development process is streamlined since the development team can focus their efforts on building a single application that will cover the needs of a broad audience.

Full Stack JavaScript Development

Previously, JavaScript could be used exclusively for client-side development. This way, businesses had to choose other programming languages for building the server-side of their web products. Consequently, they had to hire two completely different teams for front-end and back-end development.

The wide adoption of Node.js made it possible to use JavaScript for full-stack development. In this regard, the invention of this technology has increased the efficiency and speed of the web application development process.

Freedom in App Development

Other technologies, for example, Ruby on Rails, come with rules and guidelines suggesting that a software solution should be built in a specific way.

Node.js programmers, in turn, get more freedom to develop web products as they see fit. The un-opinionated nature of Node.js makes it possible to build every application feature from scratch and then tailor it to meet your specific business requirements. Besides, you can easily implement any new functionality with minimal restrictions.

Improved Response Time and Performance

A great number of input/output requests significantly influence the response time and performance of your application. This impact may be negative if your chosen technology is not capable of handling loads of requests.

That is not the case with Node.js development. Its high performance is achieved owing to the Chrome V8 Engine, which was developed to boost JavaScript performance.

The major benefits listed above make a strong case for using this technology for mobile and web development.

Limitations of Node.js

Despite all the advantages of Node.js, it should be noted that the technology is not flawless. Below you can see some of its limitations you should consider before investing in Node.js web development.

Issues with packages

Sometimes during the Node.js development process, problems may arise with packages for a certain framework, especially when it is not widespread or is relatively new. That is why it is crucial to find node.js developers with profound knowledge and experience who can choose the right tools for your project.

Unstable Codebase

If you decide to build a website with Node.js, be aware that its libraries can be incompatible with all Node.js versions. It may cause some challenges for the older projects if you need to update packages for the old project to the latest version.

Asynchronous programming model

The asynchronous nature of Node.js makes it reliant on callbacks, functionals running as soon as each task in the queue is completed. These callbacks may cause the so-called “callback hell”, which complicates the processes of understanding and maintaining the code.

High dependency on third-party modules

The vast majority of functionality offered by Node.js comes with different third-party modules. They may cause additional complications or risks to your project. Therefore, you have to be extra careful and evaluate their security when using them to build a website with Node.js. Additionally, you should ensure that the vendor offers ongoing support and updates for these modules.

Therefore, when you build apps with Node.js that require the highest level of security, you should either refrain from using third-party modules completely or conduct their audit to ensure that you are using the latest version.

Supercharge Your Startup’s Performance and Scalability With Node.js Development

We hope that this comprehensive guide on Node.js development helped you discover the power of this technology for building high-performing and scalable applications. Now that you know its main pros and cons and found out which applications you can build using Node.js, you can easily grasp whether this technology will make or break your project and which benefits Node.js development can offer to your startup.

OpenGeeksLab is a seasoned software development company that helps both established organizations and aspiring startups implement the latest technologies to uncover hidden growth opportunities. This digital transformation allows entrepreneurs to stay ahead of the competitors and scale their start business with ease.

If you are considering launching a Node.js project, feel free to contact us. We will help you to utilize this technology efficiently to transform user experience.