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Web development in 2018: server or client?

Web development in 2018: server or client?

By Fabien Paupier

Published: 23 April 2025

Web development has undergone successive revolutions since the creation of the Internet, mainly due to new uses offered by innovative platforms that exploit the latest available technologies. Since the 2000s, the proportion of client-side and server-side development has tilted cyclically in favour of one or the other. We have produced this comparison of frameworks with a view to understanding this evolution so that we can look ahead to the coming years and make the right technological choices.

Evolution of client-server development over the years

  1. Before 2000: Web 1.0. Personal computers were not very powerful and uses consisted mainly of reading HTML pages and communicating by email and chat. Development was mainly server-side.
    Uses: reading, browsing and email
    Websites: Yahoo, Lycos, Hotmail, Caramail
  2. 2000 - 2010: Web 2.0. Fixed and mobile terminals become increasingly powerful. Web browsers are capable of running SaaS applications with a high level of interactivity. This marks the development of client-side JavaScript frameworks.
    Uses: instant chats, video-conferencing, mobility, photo and video sharing, online software, etc.
    Websites: Facebook, Twitter, Salesforce, Airbnb
  3. 2010 - 2020: Enriched Web 2.0: The huge amount of data collected from users of Web applications gives rise to massive reprocessing of this data to feed algorithms. The computing power required for this reprocessing can only be provided on the server side.
    Uses: advertising retargeting, product recommendation, assistance, voice search, etc.
    Platforms: Criteo, Amazon, Google Home, Siri

What about the years after 2020? We seem to be heading for Web 3.0 or the Intelligent Web. Thanks to the mass of data collected from traditional terminals and connected objects, we are entering the era of assistance: we are no longer looking for things, we are being recommended all kinds of products and services. More concretely, Web services will soon be able to recommend things we wouldn't think of and assist us as a human with a wealth of knowledge would... on all subjects. From this point of view, server-side information processing is immense. The front end (client) retains its current role of capturing and retrieving information.

The role of development frameworks in building the Web

Given the extent of development required to design a modern Web application, a framework is essential.

Framework: definition

A framework is a framework that allows developers to structure their work using a set of tools, a structure and ready-to-use models. There are development frameworks for everything: creating e-commerce sites, mobile applications, web applications (SaaS), etc.

Best web development frameworks 2017

  • Django: Django is an open source backend framework developed in Python. It was specially created to build powerful, high-level websites. Here are some sites made with the Django framework. Examples of user sites :
    • liberation.fr
    • instagram.com
    • openstack.org
    • mozilla.org
  • AngularJs: AngularJs is an Open Source framework developed by Google in JavaScript. It offers a high level of interactivity that is particularly appreciated in the Front End development of Web applications (SaaS, comparators, interactive platforms). Examples of user sites :
    • netflix.com
    • upwork.com
    • Youtube on PS3
    • weather.com
  • React: React is created and maintained by Facebook. React is not a full-stack framework like the previous two. It only provides views and callback functions to render HTML code. Examples of user sites:
    • facebook.com
    • instagram.com (which also uses Django for the server side)
    • 6play
    • Airbnb (also uses Ruby on Rails)
  • Ruby on Rails (RoR): RoR is the most popular free MVC framework. This framework was designed to develop Web applications more quickly. It allows developers to create features with less code than other frameworks. Examples of user sites:
    • shopify.com
    • slideshare.com
    • github.com

Django, AngularJs, React, RoR: what's the difference?

The curve below shows the evolution of the number of topics opened on Stack Overflow since the creation of the platform on the 4 Frameworks Django, Angular, React and Ruby on Rails :


We can immediately see that Django has been a persistent technology since 2010 and that it has gained the trust of developers. There has also been an increase in exchanges about this framework since 2014. This trend is likely to continue. JavaScript frameworks literally exploded in 2013. They should remain at high levels, provided that new uses don't upset the apple cart. Lastly, Ruby on Rails had its heyday, but has been in gradual decline since 2011.

Advantages and disadvantages of these frameworks

Here are the key points of these development frameworks:

Advantages Disadvantages
Django
  • Full-stack framework (it's very easy to combine Django and React or Django and Angular)
  • Turnkey: templates, server side, admin panel for configuring a site without coding
  • Ideal for creating a powerful website
  • Using the Model-Template-View
  • Use of the Object Relational Mapper (ORM) to map objects to the database
  • Supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2 and others with additional drivers
  • Easy native migration between database engines (no rewriting required)
  • Supplied with its own development server
  • Very structured, even too much so for experts wanting more flexibility
  • Large code structures, even for small functions
  • AngularJS
  • Ideal for single-page applications and mobile applications
  • Use of the MVC model
  • Use of components that define what the page will look like (what, how, where)
  • All components can be linked together
  • Little or no compatibility with search engines (even Google). You need a third-party tool like Prerender
  • It's not a full-stack framework like Django
  • There is no migration between Angular 4 and Angular 1
  • React
  • Powerful tool for front-end (client) development
  • Ideal for Single-Page Applications and creating mobile applications natively
  • Re-rendering pieces of content that have changed instead of re-rendering an entire page (faster)
  • Use of a virtual DOM alongside the real thing
  • Everything is created using components
  • React cannot be considered as a framework in its own right. It needs to be complemented by many other technologies
  • It's very difficult to integrate complex designs created in Photoshop or Sketch into JSX files. UX designers suffer from this complexity.
  • Weak compatibility with SEO. However, it is possible to use isomorphism: the page rendering can be calculated both on the server side and on the client side.)
  • Ruby on Rails
  • Less code for the same functionality (rapid development)
  • Less configuration, more convention
  • Use of the MVC concept
  • Compatible with most relational and non-relational databases
  • Little configuration, more convention (this is also a disadvantage for some)
  • The level of expertise required to get started is a barrier to entry for beginners
  • Ruby requires greater server resources than Django and PHP frameworks.
  • Technology in decline

Tip: get professional advice
To get started on a Django project, ask an expert like Pilot Systems, who will be able to guide you towards the right service: architecture, support, fixed-price development or remote control.

Advantages and disadvantages of customer-oriented development

Client-facing web development offers a number of advantages. In 2017-2018, we can easily say that most development efforts are front-end oriented for the following reasons:

  • A lot of business today is client-side: browsing, data sharing, video communication, etc. Websites have become platforms where usage takes precedence, because it builds user loyalty and therefore captures a lot of data.
  • Front-end development offers a great deal of interactivity, hence the explosion in JavaScript frameworks.
  • Front-end development means that the same language (JavaScript) can be used on both the Web and mobile devices. This means better performance and less demand on the server (provided the terminal is recent).
  • By moving the business to the client side, you can harness the power of web browsers and modern terminals to quickly deliver information to the user. Avoiding exchanges with the server means you can be faster;
  • JavaScript technologies are developing fast. This means that there are many possibilities in terms of functionalities and many developers to implement them. A declining technology makes it difficult to recruit these profiles.
  • Browsers are becoming increasingly sophisticated (Chrome runs JavaScript particularly well, as do the latest versions of Firefox and Edge). They are designed for Web applications and SaaS.

On the other hand, here are a few disadvantages to note in client development:

  • Front-end development is heavily constrained by many external factors that cannot be controlled: availability of the Internet connection, browser plugins, heterogeneity of browsers, heterogeneity of terminal power, etc. It is therefore difficult to trust the client. All the more so as an experienced user can easily find ways of circumventing front-end security.
  • Client-oriented technologies have a short lifespan, as we saw above with the JavaScript versus Django frameworks. Being 'good at the front end' requires training and regular monitoring. It also takes time to remove and rebuild a legacy with more modern technology.
  • JavaScript frameworks are hardly compatible with SEO. They have to be backed up by third-party solutions that are no more than wooden legs in the face of Django or Wordpress sites.
  • Front-end development is more complex and therefore more expensive.

Advantages and disadvantages of server-side development

Server-side development offers greater simplicity and standardisation:

  • By centralising the business on the server side, development can be standardised. This is particularly the case when there are several fronts (web application, mobile application, offline software, etc.).
  • Moving the intelligence to the server side generally results in a simpler HTML front end, which is better crawled by Google bots. So it's a good SEO bet.
  • Above all, server development must make the most of the possibilities offered by APIs (Web services). It must enable a Web application to interconnect easily with other Web applications in complete security.
  • Data exchange between applications is a major trend. It allows you to concentrate on essential functionality and enhance it with third-party services.
  • Server-side development makes it possible to exploit the infinite possibilities in terms of data processing and reprocessing, thanks to the immense storage volumes and computing power of datacentres combined with cutting-edge algorithms and software.

Here are the disadvantages of web development focused mainly on the Back-End:

  • In 2017-2018, there is less and less business on the server side and more on the client side thanks to JavaScript and modern browsers. However, this trend could be reversed with Artificial Intelligence systems that will require less interaction with the user (apart from voice capture).
  • The exchange of data between client and server tends to slow down the user experience. However, end-users are used to fast experiences in all circumstances, and their expectations are very high indeed.

Conclusion

We have seen in this article that the evolution of client-side Web development in relation to server-side Web development is not fixed but cyclical. In fact, it is possible that server-side developments will regain importance thanks to Web 3.0, API rest and AI, although platforms will continue to use JavaScript frameworks for their interactivity. In order to keep pace with developments on the Web, you need a durable, flexible solution such as Django or a combination of Java and Angular, so that you can adjust your developments without finding yourself in a costly impasse.

Article translated from French