Web Development Tech Stacks and Web Technology Usage Trends in 2023

Choosing the right tech stack for web development stacks is one of the crucial things to consider. After all, it will determine the software’s functionality, features, and interface and eventually impact numerous layers of your business.

You can spend hours digging into the vast current programming language trends, but first, you need to navigate through several high-end technologies. And even after long hours of searching, it still can be confusing for business owners. 

So let's clear things up and understand what a web development stack is and what tools and technologies power the software development process. Then, we will consider them from the point of view of their position in the software development anatomy. Eventually, that will enable us to shortlist the top trending programming languages in 2023.

What Is A Web Development Stack?

Say you’ve come up with a brilliant web app idea and know it will become the next big thing in your industry. You’ll need to get started with the development process that will be efficient, error-free, and quick so that no competitor is ahead.

To reach those objectives, the best way is to rely on a set of proven technologies that developers can use in tandem. That’s where stacks for web development come in handy.

Therefore, the tech stack is the combination of multiple underlying technologies used to develop the data architecture that helps run and deploy an application. Apart from affecting technical factors, the tech stack also aids in outlining essential business decisions.

Business owners can determine what skills they need to fill development teams based on a chosen tech stack. Besides, they can estimate the projected efficiency of the development effort and shortlist the pool of solutions they can bring to the market and users.

Different stacks for web development exist to help businesses create new pieces of software. They can cater to the two standard web development parts with varying areas of responsibility. Let’s have a look at them.

Web Development Anatomy

The best way to understand web development is to represent it as a two-way process:

• Client-side programming (a.k.a. front-end), which is a user-oriented side of a website or app. It consists of different parts that users can access, interact with, and modify. To become performant and reliable, an application’s front-end should comprise the following components:
  • User interface(UI): graphical representation of the data provided by the front-end part;
  • Markup language: an encoding system that controls and structures the data on a website or an application to deliver information to the end-user. Unlike a programming language, its markup counterpart is responsible only for setting the rules on how the textual parts of the content are displayed in a browser;
  • Programming language: a primary tool in top web development stacks used for delivering interactivity and engagement to the user interface.
• Server-side programming (a.k.a. back-end) relates to the part of a website or app that is not visible to end-users. It contains various processes that run in the background and provide a way to respond to HTTP requests and handle them according to pre-defined logic.

Both parts of web development should be taken into account to execute the project flawlessly. With them, your product will meet stringent market requirements and remain consistent with time.

The current technology landscape provides numerous types of stacks in web development, which can help implement common use cases. Some work best to ensure an application’s scalability, user-friendliness, and stability. Other technologies become parts of the best tech stacks for fast development, which helps decrease time-to-market and keep customers ahead of competitors.

As a result, every business can prefer web development technology stack components that solve business goals and necessities. However, some have become trendy and made it to the list of the best tech stacks in 2023. Let’s look at them. 

The Popularity of Web Development Technologies in 2022

Recent research data suggests that the most in-demand technologies to power web development include Javascript, Java, and Python. These are the most sought-after programming languages by recruiters in 2022, as cited by the novel CodinGame developer survey.

The Most Sought-After Programming Languages by Recruiters in 2022

According to another survey conducted by Statista, the most widely used languages among developers include:

• JavaScript
• HTML / CSS
• Python
• SQL
• Java.

The Most Widely Used Languages Among Developers

Another indicator that leads us to choose programming languages from the best tech stacks is their popularity on search engines. For that, we considered the top contenders in the regularly updated TIOBE and PYPL ratings. 

The TIOBE index denotes that the top contenders are Python, C, C++, Java, C#, Visual Basic, and JavaScript. As we can see from the table below, Python secured its leading position for the second year in a row. C++, however, showed the most growth in popularity in 2022. This programming language surpassed Java and made it to the top three of the TIOBE’s list. 

Top Programming Languages by TIOBE

According to the PYPL rating that analyzes the most trending programming languages and technologies, the top winners secured their positions through 2022:

Trending Languages by PYPL

Powered by the most recent research data, we can present the most in-demand programming technologies to use at different phases of the web development process and for other purposes in 2023.

Front-End Technology Stack Components

It is hard to imagine the work of a modern front-end developer without the most common technologies out there:

• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Sheet Styles). HTML helps to create the frame of each web page. Then CSS plugs in to transform the page and give it an attractive and competent look.

According to Stackoverflow 2022’s results, JavaScript is the most popular technology among professional developers. HTML/CSSoccupied second place in the list.

Stackoverflow

There are helpful frameworks that should be used for HTML and CSS. Among them, Bootstrap and Foundation are among the most popular ones by developers. Bootstrap helps reduce development time and create responsive websites rendered equally in all modern browsers. Foundation gives developers more flexibility when working on the interface. It offers an extended suite of tools that facilitate the creation of large corporate websites.

• JavaScript. It is a programming language that runs in the browser and adds interactivity and functionality to the web page.

As the current trends in programming languages adoption suggest, developers and employers maintain a strong interest in the technology. We can observe that from the data collected by the previously mentioned researchers (CodinGame and Stackoverflow): 

No Javascript tech stack is complete without special tool kits that help to accelerate the web development and provide a structured organization of the code. Among them, jQuery, Angular.js, React.js, and Vue.js are the most preferred frameworks out there. Each of them has its tasks to solve, and it is essential to know their features and application domains.

As for jQuery, it facilitates interactions between JavaScript and HTML and also fixes compatibility issues across browsers. Angular.js is Google's brainchild, which gets immense support from the tech giant and will be there for years to come. It is primarily used to build dynamic web apps and SPAs (Single-Page Apps).

React.js, meanwhile, was developed by Facebook and is recognized for its performance. Vue.js is a relatively new framework that is easy to learn and understand and requires some basic knowledge of HTML and JavaScript. It is worth noting that Vue is an independent open-source framework not tied to any prominent tech company. 

If we look at the survey conducted by StackOverflow, we can see that Node.js and React.js lead the pack as the broadly used framework for web development.

Web Development Frameworks

The image illustrates the percentage of respondents opting for a specific technology in 2022.

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Back-End Technology Stack Components

The back-end part consists of the following components:

• Programming languages
• Databases
• Servers

Programming Languages

Programming languages are used to provide interoperability between databases, servers, and the front end of a website or app.

Which programming languages are included in the world’s top web development stacks? Here are the most common mentions:

• Python s useful for complex app development powered by the Django, Pylons, Flask frameworks. It is one of the best programming languages in 2022 since it is considered one of the most demanded ones by employers. 
• NodeJS is a runtime environment used to create server-side apps. As it requires the knowledge of JavaScript, often used in stacks along with the JS front-end infrastructure.
• Java is a fast, scalable, and secure programming language. It is generally used with the Spring, Struts, and Hibernate frameworks.
• PHP is a widely adopted programming language, with Laravel as one of the most popular PHP frameworks.
• C# powers the Unity Game Engine and is vastly used on the .NET framework or any open-source platform.
• C++ is used to write fast programs for operating systems, browsers, graphics applications, banking apps, and many others.

Here’s how the top back-end technologies compare in terms of their positions in different ratings:

As we can see, the most trending programming language for the back-end part is Python.

Databases

Databases provide the permanent storage of the data. They can be either relational or non-relational. 

Let's refer to StackOverflow's survey once again. As it offers one of the most comprehensive coverages of trends among professional developers, we can find that the PostgreSQL database is the most preferred option.

Databases

The image illustrates the percentage of respondents opting for a specific technology. 

According to this data, PostgreSQL is at position number one worldwide, followed closely by MySQL. Anyway, MySQL has remained on top of the game as it offers an intuitive interface and batch commands that can reliably process vast loads of data. It's also free software, though it is regularly updated and improved in terms of security.

Servers

Servers receive and process requests from various user devices. Some of the most popular web servers as of now:

• According to the data collected by W3Techs, as of now, 34% of all websites use NGINX. In the majority of cases, the server is chosen due to its high performance and scalability. The solution is excellent for handling numerous concurrent sessions.
• Apache HTTP Server. The reasons behind its popularity are excellent documentation and comprehensive support from users.
• IIS. This web server is implemented on the Windows platform. Since all the settings are set up through a graphical interface, this server is suitable for those who don't like to configure files on the command line. For some, this is the reason to prefer IIS over Apache, which is configured through the command line.

Now that you know the standard components of web development let's proceed to full-stack solutions that dominate the industry. 

Full-Stack Tech Components

The most popular stacks are the following:

• LAMP
• MEAN
• MERN
• Python-Django

LAMP Stack

The LAMP stack is a suite of free, open-source software comprising Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP technologies. LAMP has become the standard of web development and has remained classic through the years.

The LAMP stack runs on any operating system and almost any Linux distribution. It handles dynamic pages, which allows developers to support projects that rely on ongoing content changes. Besides, its components are accessible to interchange and modify within the same generic stack. 

LAMP’s agile and reliable nature makes it a solid foundation for renowned platforms like Shopify, WordPress, and Drupal. It allows business owners  to create extensible and high-performance websites and applications.

MEAN Stack

MEAN is a term under which the three JavaScript frameworks (ExpressJS, AngularJS, NodeJS) and a document-oriented NoSQL (MongoDB) database are united. Since ExpressJS, AngularJS and NodeJS are written using JavaScript, the development of MEAN applications can only be written in this programming language. That is one reason why the tech stack remains popular, coupled with its advanced flexibility and accessible code transfer.

The MEAN stack consists of open-source technologies, which allows developers to create apps quickly at a fraction of the cost. It excels in delivering apps and websites that need to accommodate temporary traffic spikes. Companies use the MEAN stack to develop single-page applications (SPAs), streaming apps, news aggregator websites, and calendar and route-finding applications.

MERN Stack

MERN consists of MongoDB, ExpressJS, React/Redux, and NodeJS. It gained immense popularity for using ReactJS for the front-end and NodeJS for the back-end parts. It is widely used for creating high-performance off-the-shelf web applications.

The MERN stack’s underlying technologies make it easy to build and deploy social media platforms, news aggregation apps, websites, and to-do apps. Netflix and Uber leverage this web development tech stack for their needs.

Python-Django Stack

As the Python-Django stack is based on one of the most popular web development languages, it is likely to remain in the list of top web development stacks in 2023 and beyond.

Developers  generally combine it with the Apache web server, MySQL, and the Django framework for server-side development. Django is the right solution for any website because of the many third-party packages available. If you want to create a complex user experience, being  fluent in Javascript is required. 

Besides, the Python-Django tech stack enables companies to develop, deploy, and scale certain web applications quickly. Instagram, Disqus, and Piterest picked this full-stack solution because of its usefulness and the ability to compensate for growing user bases. Django makes it easy to handle rising volumes of traffic and API requests and meet changing business needs.

Summing Up

In this article, we focused on the landscape of tools that will power modern web development in 2023. We aimed to denote which tech stacks come forward and explain the reasons for their popularity. 

For more practical advice on choosing the right tech stack depending on the project size and complexity, go to the second part of our blog posts. You will overview the technologies that are driving the development of modern web apps. In our next publication, we also investigate the tech stacks behind successful projects. Stay tuned!