The internet has evolved so much since the past few years, to be honest, it is no longer about static pages or long loading time. We have moved from that to quicker, interactive, multi-windowed websites.
Over time, the internet has made a significant shift towards extended functionalities and an active user engagement with visually appealing and persuasive web applications.
A web application is just a standard computer application that works on the internet. Since the web is a home for all, developers are continually challenging themselves to conquer web applications’ dynamics and attract as many users as possible.
However, before you decide to opt for web application development services, it is essential to choose which web app architecture you will go for.
Making the right pic will outline the path to your success.
In this write-up, we’ll understand how a web application’s architecture works and its components, models, and types.
Then we’ll move on to some great tips you must follow to achieve all your goals.
What is a Web Application Architecture?
A web application architecture facilitates the interaction between databases, applications, and middleware systems on the web.
An application architecture shares the techniques and patterns used by a developer to build a well-structured application.
It is the elements that are put together and chosen based on the requirements and the features of the application.
Every application is built on two sides: the front and the back.
Also known as the client-side and the server-side, respectively.
Let’s understand this with a daily analogy.
When we go to see a movie, all that we see the action sequence, the dialogue that we here, the motion picture is all in the “front-end,” while all that we do not see like, the video editing, the scriptwriting, the cuts and camera roll is on the “back-end.”
In terms of an application, a great example can be of an e-commerce app.
When you build an e-commerce application, the back-end will deal with tasks such as exchanges, transfers, data management, and so on, while the front end will make sure it reaches your consumers.
How Does This Work?
As mentioned above, there are two sides to which two different codes run for any web application.
Client-side code:
The code used by the browser and responds to the user input.
Server-Side Code:
The code used by the server and responds to the HTTP requests.
A web application development firm developing your web app decides which server code will function flawlessly with the system in the browser. Languages such as C#, JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, Ruby Rails, etc. can be used to write the server-side codes.
Any code that fails to respond to HTTP requests can be run on the server. The server-side code can create the “user-requested” page and also stores various types of data like user inputs and user profiles.
Whereas, for the client-side, a combination of JavaScript, CSS, and HTML can be used to write the codes. The browser further passes this code. Unlike the server-side code, the client-side code is visible to the user and can also be modified if needed.
Simply, it reacts to the user input.
The client-side code can only communicate via HTTP requests and can not read files off a server.
Components Of A Web App:
We can segregate the components of a web application in the following elements:
UI/UX web app components:
These components include activity logs, statistics, notifications, dashboards, settings, etc. The components are not responsible for the operation of the web application architecture; rather, they are a part of the app’s interface layout plan.
Structural Components:
The two major structural components are client-side and the server-side:
- Client Component:
The client component exists within the web browser and is developed using JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. The element is simply the representation of the web app’s functionalities that the end-user interacts with.
- Server Component:
The component can be built using either one or a combination of multiple programming languages and frameworks like Java, PHP, NodeJS, Python, .Net, and Ruby on Rails. The components have a minimum of two parts: Database and app logic. The former is where all the persistent data is stored, and the latter is the main control center of the web app.
Types Of Application Architecture:
The application architecture is of two major types: Monolithic and Microservices.
- Microservices Architecture:
Using the microservices app architecture, your web app development firm can build up a web app with independent services, capable of functioning on their own memory space and scale freely over multiple machines.
In simpler words, they are a small group of services, running independently of each other, maintaining a proper communication with lightweight mechanisms like HTTP.
The purpose of using a microservices architecture is to develop a web application with components that are not interdependent. Therefore, if one component collapses, your whole application will not collapse, and the independent components keep on running, not ruining your application’s functioning.
This Architecture is the way to go if you have a long term goal because many developers can work on the same platform making the maintenance a pretty easy task to carry out.
Your developer can also efficiently update the weak nodes of your application, not just that the architecture is also quite affordable.
Advantages of Microservices App Architecture:
- It is better organized since each service is only concerned with the particular task it needs to do.
- It is easier to recompose and reconfigure services for different applications, all thanks to the “unconnected” functionality it has.
- Each element is independent of each other. Hence the performance of an application using microservices is enhanced.
- The chances of making mistakes are few, and even if you mess up a bit, it can be quickly fixed.
Many reputed companies such as Coca Cola, Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, and Uber use Microservices Architecture.
Monolithic Architecture:
Monolithic app architecture is built on one large unit consisting of a single code base used for all components. The application using this architecture is one single, unified unit. The architecture consists of three parts:
- Client-Side (HTML)
- Database
- Server-side
The server-side of the application is concerned with handling HTTP requests, executing it, and retrieving data from the database; it then generates the HTML views sent over to the browser.
In the monolithic app architecture, the front-end, back-end, and all the background jobs are established in a single colossal codebase.
If the web application development services you have opted for wish to change the code base, it’ll have to develop the whole stack all over again.
Although microservices are chosen over the monolithic architecture, it does not imply that the latter is of low value.
The app architecture is the best if you have a small team, and it’s difficult for you to split your team to cater needs of microservices.
Advantages of a Monolithic App Architecture:
- Since setting up the application is just a one-time thing, the architecture makes deployment easy.
- The architecture uses the shared-memory access, which is much faster than the inter-process communication used by the microservices. Therefore, you get a fast performing app.
- Using Monolithic architecture, you have fewer worries about the cost-cutting aspects. Since there is mainly no scope for cost-cutting, you can set a budget accordingly, and there are very few chances that it’ll go out of limits.
Reputed companies such as Amazon, eBay, and Netflix started with Monolithic architecture but moved on to Microservices.
Some Great Tips To Follow For An Excellent Web App:
There are millions of web applications out there on the net, and just the functioning factor of an app can not make it “the best.” To build an application that stands out, you need to tick-box all the aspects of web app development.
Your app must:
- Be able to scale up or down efficiently
- Say no to frequent crashes
- Be easy to use
- Log errors
- Have automated deployments
- Should not have even a single point of failure
- Solve the query in a uniform and consistent manner
- Support the latest technology
Use strengthened security measures to lessen the chance of unethical intrusions.
Conclusion:
Choosing the right architecture and the right technology is the core of web app development. Apart from the significant two parts, you must also consider taking some help from a web app development firm to increase your project’s efficiency and layout each factor in a uniformed and strategic way.
Developing a web application is not everyone’s cup of tea; hence, only an experienced professional can quickly achieve all your goals.
All you need to do is make a “to-do list” and carefully map out the plans to achieve them as soon as possible.
With some hard work and the right choices, you can build up a great web app for your audience.