Every single day, new people are gaining access to the internet, a new business is coming online, and believe it or not, someone is making their first Facebook account. And so it is safe to assume that web development isn’t a profession that is going to get extinct soon.
However, this does beg one question – Is Javascript relevant in 2020? Well, long story short – yes!
Related: Most Popular Javascript Frameworks
95% of all the popular web pages on the World Wide Web use JavaScript in one form or the other. And there is a good reason for this also. For the purpose of this read, we will be going through some of the TOP Advantages of JavaScript. But first:
A Brief Overview of JavaScript
As mentioned, nearly all websites employ HTML, CSS, and JavaScript as its primary building blocks. HTML handles the structure of the website whereas CSS takes care of the designing part. But the site is still static! JavaScript is the soul of the website which breathes life into it.
JavaScript is primarily a frontend web development language that was built as a gap between Java and Scripting Languages. However, it is not related to technical standpoints to the traditional Java Programming language. It is used to make a web page much more interactive and engaging, which results in better user engagement. In fact, without JavaScript, creating an interactive experience for your users can be quite tricky and challenging.
And even though CMS like WordPress and Joomla are making website creation much simpler for people setting up a blog, it still can’t substitute all the amazing things one can achieve with proper JavaScript know-how.
So without further ado, here are some of the Top Advantages of JavaScript in 2020:
Javascript Is Trusted
Your users may not know the first thing about programming or coding, but they know that Javascript is everywhere. All your users have seen the Java logo and used their products at some point. Plus, your users know that Java works well in all situations. You do not need to convince people that your site has been built well when you can show them that you are using Java.
You also must remember that your staff gets a break when they are using Java. This is a very simple system to learn, and it is especially simple for someone who works in coding every day. When you tell your staff that you are using Javascript to handle the majority of your programming, they will thank you for all the headaches that you have prevented. Plus, this means that you can participate in the build even if you are only a business manager. You can learn how Javascript works so that you can talk to your staff about the work they are doing. You do not need to be an expert.
JavaScript Works on the Client-Side
While using a website, when you intend on doing some interaction, say clicking on a button, you are sending a request to the server which gets processed, and in return, you get a response. If you link on a link inside an article in Wikipedia, the page will load, and you will be taken to a new Article/Read.
However, you must have also noticed that when you post a status update on Facebook, the entire page doesn’t load again. Or when you are filling up a form, you are sometimes immediately notified of some errors you have typed. All this is possible thanks to JavaScript.
JavaScript code snippets don’t require to be sent to the server side for being processed. This saves the load on the server side. The JavaScript codes in a website get processed using the resources on the user’s system.
Thanks to this server side processing, all the above-mentioned functionalities are possible. Furthermore, it makes the rendering of animations and similar behaviors much less time consuming and a smoother experience.
JavaScript is Platform Independent
Any JavaScript-enabled browser, which most browsers are, can easily understand and interpret JavaScript code. It is a free technology and doesn’t require you to go through any installation or configuration procedure. Just open your browser and you can start editing different areas of a webpage.
JavaScript is Easy to Learn
As mentioned, one of the things that threaten the careers of web developers are platforms such as WordPress and Joomla. However, we also stated that these platforms aren’t nearly as capable of overthrowing the necessity of web developers. In fact, all these new CMS have many limitations for which big companies are still hesitant to go on board with them.
So if you want a bridge between learning web developments along with ease of use, then JavaScript is your guy. It doesn’t take much time to understand how the language works, and how to use it to make useful dynamic events for a website. It has a very intuitive syntax which is quick to learn and hard to forget.
Now, we admit, learning is a never-ending process. However, there is still a degree of simplicity, and JavaScript is way below Rocket Science. Anybody, without any prior knowledge of computers, can start learning JavaScript and won’t many concepts that they can’t get their heads around.
We recommend checking out coding challenge websites where you can learn and practise your coding skills. What’s more, you can even find programming jobs there.
JavaScript has Powerful Frameworks
There is a laundry list of powerful frameworks built around JavaScript which boasts ready to use codes. All such codes are easy to understand as well as debug. Furthermore, depending on the framework in question, you will get access to plenty more features that will increase your productivity ten folds.
So if you are a guy who knows what he is doing, rest assured, there are plenty tools on the market to get your work done easily and most important – quickly.
JavaScript Codes are Triggered as per User Activity
JavaScript is an Event-Based Programming Language. This means different code segments are executed in response to a user clicking a button or hovering a mouse.
So all the code doesn’t get initialized at the time of loading the website. This makes sure that your website’s load time isn’t hampered, all the while loading your site with rich features.
JavaScript Offers Procedural Programming Features
Even though the language is easy to learn, it does offers all the procedure based features that is the making of a popular and powerful programming language. With JavaScript , if you have options to create branches, loops, initiate conditional checking, and much more, which in turn will make your website so much more fun to use.
JavaScript Can Help Run Multiple Tasks at Once
In technical terms, this is called concurrency. With JavaScript , you get an event loop module which can run several different sets of instructions at the same time.
Suppose you are going through a website on your browser and you have activated a JavaScript event. The moment it is triggered, JavaScript runtime stores the information in the message queue. Now if a callback function is executed which contains the stored information then it will be executed again within the loop.
Hence, as you can see, there is the possibility to handle multiple operations with a single thread. This helps the programmers from not having to indulge in additional (or redundant) programming for all the different applications.
JavaScript can Extend the Functionalities of Websites you Visit
Self-help is the best help. You must have often run into a website where you wished for a certain feature to be present, but unluckily it wasn’t. You start asking yourself, oh why did the developer or the owner through this simple feature off their checklist? Should I write an email explaining my concerns? Should I search for an alternative website which might be my dream website?
With a little JavaScript know-how, such problems will never happen. All you need is a third-party add-on on your browser like Greasemonkey. This will allow you to input your own JavaScript snippets into a website you visited which will run on that webpage for your system. So much power huh?!
Building Multi-Functional Websites Require JavaScript
We mentioned this before many times that Content Management Systems such as WordPress is gaining popularity as a platform for code free website building. Typical drag and drop website builders, no matter how convenient, are nevertheless limited by some constraints, whereas JavaScript’s limit is only with its developer. And since a WordPress theme will most likely employ these website builders, they also suffer in terms of limitation to customizability.
It will not be possible to create an application based website without coding knows how, especially without JavaScript. This is why, if you or your client wants to have a website which is unique and boasts standout features and functionalities, JavaScript will be the best way to implement them.
JavaScript is Still Growing
By the way, if you have been thinking that JavaScript is dying, think again. Stuff like games, automated controllers, all have integrated JavaScript into its making. JS even finds some devotees in the field of robotics.
Furthermore, with the ever increasing mobile market, the mobile web development arena has seen a tremendous rise in need of interactivity which can only be received from JavaScript at this moment. Here are a few common necessities which you will be able to easily accomplish with some JS:
- Creating interactive forms which detect mistakes in user input while a user is typing.
- Create Search boxes that can respond to user queries in real time.
- Create websites that constantly update with new information. A feature that you will find necessary for websites displaying stock prices, or scores of football games.
- JavaScript offers one of the simplest means to add animations on a website.
- And much more.
Javascript Helps You Cut Back On Overhead
Javascript will help you cut back on overhead significantly to the point where you do not need to spend as much time on each project. You are likely paying for hours and hours of work that can be cut out simply by using Javascript. This alone allows everyone in your office to work on projects because no one is confused. Plus, you do not need to hire outside help that costs more money, send more time checking over the coding, and spend more time trying to decide how you will implement all the design features you planned for.
Javascript is so simple that you will instantly see a change in your office workflow. Ask your staff how long it normally takes to complete a task, compare that with what happens when you use Javascript, and calculate your savings. If you save that much money every day, week, and month, you have recorded thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars of work.
Javascript skill is well paid
If you want to become web designer or web developer, javascript is a must skill! What’s great you will get paid very well. For example, in USA, javascript developer earns around 75 000 USD per year and you have senior experience you salary can go up to 110 000 USD per year.
Javascript advantages in conclusion
The best part of using Javascript is that you keep finding ways that it helps your business. You might have already invested heavily in Javascript because you read a top ten list, and all those things you read are true. However, you will also save a lot of money when you are using Javascript and free up your staff to get a lot more work done during the day. They will thank you, and your programming will improve with this simple change.
We hope now you understand why we still think JavaScript is still useful and has its share of advantages. Even in 2018, with comprehensive knowledge in JavaScript , you still can hope to land a job or start a stable freelancing career. There are plenty of online places where you can enroll yourself to learn the language.
Now if you are a JavaScript developer yourself, feel free to leave your take on the matter. Your fellow readers will love to see other benefits and advantages of the language, which we might have missed out from the list.
Author: Madan Pariyar, a digital marketing strategist helping clients to resolve their website woes. When not busy with all things, you may find me occasionally watching movies, traveling and spending time with my family.
We hope you’ve found great reasons why you should use javascript. In case you have any suggestions or feedback for Javascrpit advantages or benefits feel free to submit in the comment section below. We would love to hear from you.
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