According to Stack Overflow's survey, JavaScript was the most widespread programming language among developers worldwide in 2020. To be precise, 67.7% of software engineers used JS while working on various projects. The chances are the technology will keep its leadership in 2021 and beyond, taking into account its fast-growing demand and community.
The popularity of the language made it very attractive for startups. First, because it can be applied almost everywhere - in any industry and area. Second, more developers means lower rate, and, apparently, costs are crucial for startups. But if we take a deeper look, we’ll find a few more reasons from the development perspective.
Why do startups choose JavaScript?
Well, JavaScript stands out among other technologies thanks to the numerous frameworks, libraries, and tools that are constantly evolving within the JS universe.
A modern evergreen technology
From a browser language JavaScript has managed to become an enormous ecosystem of tools and extensions. It shows steady improvement towards perfecting the technology and offering new development opportunities. With JS and its frameworks, you are free to build anything you want, be it a website, a SaaS product, a social network, a mobile app, or a program for Windows, Mac, or Linux. Thinking about chatbots or IoT applications? JavaScript is at your service.
Thanks to its isomorphic nature, JS is especially welcomed in the entrepreneur community. And we are not talking about only reusable modules and pieces of code, which save time and money considerably. One of the main things that grab startup founders’ attention is using pretty the same coding on the server and client side.
Speed of development
Some codes can be excessively long. However, by choosing JavaScript technology for a startup you can reduce the number of lines significantly. Did you know that PayPal’s migration from Java to Node.js led to a 100% increase of requests per second?
Well, the speed of JS development is explained not only by its performance and simplicity but also by its numerous frameworks and libraries. By keeping modules handy and lines of code clear, you can save many hours on the development. Choosing JavaScript for a startup also allows you to use the same technology for both frontend and backend, which means faster communication.
And, sure thing, you’ve heard something about the “hot reload” feature, which allows debugging and changing the code at the time it’s already running.
Faster hiring and onboarding
JS is believed to be one of the easiest programming languages to learn with one of the smoothest learning curves ever known. Considering an impressive pool of developers worldwide, you can find the right team exactly for your project in any region.
In terms of JavaScript startup developers hiring process, there usually are three options: creating an in-house team, delivering tasks to freelancers, or outsourcing to a dedicated team. Although each option has its advantages and disadvantages, we would like you to take a deeper look into the last one. Since both expertise and price matter, outsourcing projects to a dedicated team is the most appropriate partnership model for startups.
Considering outsourcing JavaScript startup development to Eastern Europe, and to Ukraine in particular, you may expect a $35-55 hourly rate, while in the U.S. it would be around $75-100 per hour.
Universal full-stack team and knowledge-sharing opportunities
Working in one ecosystem, your team members can perform various duties in case of emergency, so you don’t need to hire additional staff — no matter what changes or enhancements are needed on the front-end or back-end sides. Senior developers can easily provide mentorship for the newcomers and enlighten them on advanced topics.
The JavaScript technology stack for startups normally comes as MERN or MEAN abbreviature, which means MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, and Node.js for the first one, and pretty the same, but Angular.js instead of React - for the second.
Interoperability on various projects
Apparently, reusable experience helps to move faster. When using JS, the same developer not only saves time but also ensures consistency of your product on various platforms:
websites and progressive web applications
native-like apps on iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS and Linux
solutions for IoT devices
clouds and server-side infrastructures.
Either you are building a REST API or microservices architecture, or just an app running on all popular devices, you are free to use the same modules, package manager, task runner, IDE, libraries, and all other stuff. There is no need to solve the same tasks for different platforms. Once written, your code can be reused further.
Third-party APIs
Thanks to third-party APIs, you will be able to use advertising iframes, video embeds, helper libraries, or certain social media functionality (for example, tweets from Twitter or comments from Facebook) right within your web application. Node.js, in particular, allows integrating almost any solution your project may need.
In many cases, an opportunity to apply third-party integrations is considered to be one of the main benefits of JavaScript for startups.
Reliable vendors to fit your needs and budget
At TechMagic, developers have years of experience and proven expertise in JS. This could be an outstanding advantage if you plan to find a reliable vendor to deliver a flawless app.
Besides, most vendors don’t want to support legacy apps. They prefer moving to cutting-edge technology, like JS, and focusing on delivering successful projects on the cloud with the JavaScript stack and AWS infrastructure.
The top 3 JavaScript startups
Uber
Uber is the world’s largest innovative taxi company. Its app needs to process a massive amount of data instantly and battle asynchrony, yet it is known for relatively clean code and initially low implementation costs.
Well, the secret of success is partially hidden in its technology based on JavaScript. Utilizing the same language on both front and back-end sides allowed creating a responsive isomorphic application for Uber users (both drivers and riders). Thanks to Node.js, Uber developers managed to build an event-driven environment where more than 2 million calls per second are processed properly.
Another great example is LinkedIn. After switching from Ruby on the Rails to Node.js the app demonstrated better performance and memory usage. In certain scenarios, it worked 25 times faster.
Moreover, front-end and back-end development began to run on the same language, which meant clear communication, rapid implementation, and cost reduction could now be performed by a single group. Also, the number of servers decreased from 30 to 3.
Skyscanner
Back in 2019, the Skyscanner team decided to redesign UI/UX. For this purpose, engineers created their own design platform called Backpack. Interestingly, Backpack was built on the React.js components, which added much more consistency and smoothness compared to the previous version.
Our experience
TechMagic’s developers have years of experience coding on JavaScript. We constantly upgrade our skills and knowledge base by creating SaaS, web applications, and cloud-based platforms connected to AWS, IoT, and other databases.
Our domain expertise varies from fitness and healthcare to finance and data science. Be it a small startup company or a large enterprise, we always provide in-depth analysis before the development in order to offer the best software for your demands.
If you are looking for a dedicated team of experts to build the best JavaScript startup solutions that can be both scalable and top-notch security, check out our case studies and get in touch!
Final Thoughts
Although JavaScript is over 25 years old, it is believed to be a modern language, which can be adapted to various systems and applications. Thanks to an impressive number of JavaScript frameworks for startups, its libraries, and third-party APIs integrations, JS is used everywhere.
But remember, choosing a tech stack is not about trends and hype. You need to take into account different factors, including a business domain, technical requirements, target audience, possible integrations, resources, etc.
If you are considering JavaScript for a startup, you are moving in the right direction. It doesn't matter will you hire JS developers with a tech recruitment agency, in-house or freelance. The most important is that investors want to see opportunities, and JS could be one of the main reasons to take you to the next round. Be it a cloud-based technology, a blockchain solution, or just a web application, the chances are your project will succeed if it is run on JavaScript.
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