Reasons to Choose MEAN Stack Development for Your Next Project

The software development industry is rapidly growing and expanding. Sometimes it is quite challenging for engineers to stay updated with all the updates and changes happening in the IT world. However, developers need to know and understand the peculiarities and capacities of modern technologies and tools to use the right set for building this or that project. And here is when it will be useful to mention such a notion as a tech stack. In a very general sense, it can be explained as a combination of tools and programming languages to ensure the best results in project development.

Today there is a wide range of different stacks applied for achieving various goals, but in our article, we are going to focus on one of them, the so-called MEAN stack.

MEAN stack development is widely used for creating web products. And as well as any other stack, it has its pluses and minuses that we’d like to analyze in this blog post. If you plan to develop a web app, probably it’s worth considering an option to hire MEAN stack developers. Just keep reading to find out whether it is a good solution for your project.

What is MEAN stack development?

MEAN is an abbreviation of the names of the technologies that are included in the stack. You can see that this name is formed from their first letters as the MEAN development stack is comprised of:

• MongoDB
• Express.js
• Angular (earlier - Angular.js)
• Node.js.

MongoDB

In this stack, MongoDB is taken as a database solution. As it is a NoSQL database, it allows developers to use not only tables like SQL options do but also to deal with key-value relationships, documents, graphs, etc. It allows storing data in a format that is the most suitable for the expected requests, which means that apps can work faster. Moreover, thanks to mapping data structures exactly as in some programming languages, MongoDB helps to save coding time and reduce the risks of bugs.

Express.js

Express.js stands behind the “E.” It is applied for backend development. It is responsible for ensuring ties between the front end of your app and the database. Thanks to this technology, it can organize seamless data transfer from the database to users who send their Requests. Thanks to the minimalist nature of Express.js, MEAN stack developers can save a lot of time.

Angular

Initially, this set of technologies was fully powered by JavaScript. But at the end of 2021, the stack had a very important update as Angular.js was replaced with TypeScript-based Angular 2.0+. At that time, the Angular team at Google that largely supports this framework stopped supporting its previous JavaScript-base version. Today, Angular is the 4th most popular web framework in the world. It is extremely good for complex software solutions, including enterprise apps, as well as for SPAs (single-page applications) and PWAs (progressive web apps).

You can read more about the Angular framework and its benefits here.

Node.js

And finally, Node.js. Functions as a backbone of the entire stack and even Express.js was written purposely to be used on top of Node.js. Scalability is among the strongest sides of Node.js. What’s more, it can support a huge number of connections simultaneously. As Node.js has an inbuilt web server, MEAN stack developers have a feasible and simple way to conduct the deployment of the MongoDB databases on cloud platforms.

One of the main characteristics of this set of technologies is that it can be used for full-stack development as it covers all the aspects of the software development process: frontend, backend, and database development. Another reason the demand for MEAN stack development services is high these days is that it is fully open-source.

MEAN stack architecture

Let’s look at how this tech stack's components interact. As Angular works on the client-side, when a user sends a request, Angular will be the first one to get and process it.

Phase 2 presupposes the request being processed by the server-side Node.js. In phase 3, Express.js sends the request to a database.

When MongoDB gets the request made by Express.js, it processes the necessary data and sends it as a response to Express.js.

In turn, Express.js needs to respond to Node.js, which sends the requested data to Angular, and the user gets the desired result.

Advantages and disadvantages of the MEAN stack

As you can guess, the MEAN stack app development has advantages and disadvantages. Before considering this option for your project, you need to analyze them all, given the specificity and type of your software solution.

Let’s start with the benefits of the MEAN development stack.

• Simple code transfer and reusability. MEAN stack allows developers to transfer their code written in one framework to another easily.
• Easy testing. When your app is ready, you can easily test it in the cloud.
• Feasibility. When we talk about the number of MEAN stack developers who should be engaged in the project, it will be smaller than the total number of developers who work with other stacks.
• Cloud compatibility. MongoDB supports cloud functionalities for software solutions and allows reducing the required disk space.
• Open-source. This stack and all its components are fully open-source.
• High quality of user interfaces. As the stack supports Model view controller architecture (MVC), developers can build high-quality and fully user-friendly interfaces.

And now, let’s have a look at the disadvantages of this tech stack.

• Suitability for small and medium-sized projects. Despite all its benefits, MongoDB is not the best choice for large projects.
• Strong interrelation between app’s logic and server. The poor isolation of the business logic from the operations executed on the server is another serious issue associated with this tech stack.

When to use MEAN stack development?

Given the peculiarities of this tech stack, let’s summarize when you should turn to the services of a MEAN stack development company for building your solution.

MEAN stack is a good choice for cross-platform development of small and medium-sized web projects that presuppose the support of cloud functionality. This technology and tools are widely used for creating dynamic websites and apps.

Skills of a MEAN stack developer

If you are looking for MEAN stack developers for hire, it can be useful to learn what skills these experts should have to deliver high-quality solutions.

• Strong knowledge of HTML/CSS/JavaScript/TypeScript. These technologies are a must for web software development.
• Expertise in Angular, Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB.
• Understanding of databases. Full-stack developers should know how to build and set up databases following the peculiarities of different system requirements.
• Ability to design software architecture. This skill is extremely important as we are talking about full-stack development in the case of MEAN stack.
• Understanding of server-side and client-side processes and operations.

And as well as for developers who work with other technologies, knowledge of modern approaches to development such as Agile methodology and DevOps tools will be of great use for MEAN stack specialists.

Why use MEAN stack for your project?

The main reasons for this stack's popularity are its application's ease and the high performance of the apps built with these technologies.

The MEAN development stack ensures a wide range of innovative features that can help to facilitate and streamline the development process.

Thanks to that, you can save the time and money necessary for a team to develop your solution. Moreover, there are no issues implementing apps created with this stack. The apps are also cloud-friendly and can be easily expanded and updated. It is easy to transfer data and re-use the code if required.

The MEAN stack is a very modern approach to software development that is widely chosen by numerous companies worldwide. The stack is being actively developed and supported by the global community.

And there is another point to mention (maybe it will inspire you to opt for this stack). Such apps as Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and Netflix have been built with the MEAN development stack.

Wrapping up

If you are looking for seasoned, dedicated MEAN stack developers for hire, we will be happy to help you! At Geomotiv, we have access to a huge pool of the best experts. Share the details of your project with us. We will analyze your requirements and offer you the most feasible and innovative solution. Let’s boost the growth of your business together! Just contact us via our website.