The Complete Guide to Building Web Apps with MEAN Stack

There are 5.35 billion internet users worldwide, equivalent to 66.2% of the global population. This could be one of the reasons why it has become critical for businesses to make a shift to the digital world and establish a robust presence on the internet. When it comes to building an online business presence, there are a plethora of programming languages, libraries, frameworks, and software stacks (Ruby on Rails, LAMP/WAMP) available for web application development. Amidst all, MEAN Stack is ruling the web development realm for its flexibility, code reusability, versatility, scalability, cloud compatibility, and developer-friendliness. With a vast array of tools, libraries, and frameworks, MEAN allows developers to rapidly prototype, build, and deploy web applications. The rising popularity of the tech stack has fostered an active community that provides comprehensive tutorials, resources, and forums for troubleshooting and collaboration.

What is MEAN Stack

MEAN is an acronym for MongoDB (database system), Express.JS (back-end web framework), Angular (front-end framework), and Node.JS (back-end JS runtime environment). In other words, MEAN Stack is a robust suite of full-stack JavaScript frameworks that is extensively used by developers for building dynamic applications and websites. What makes MEAN an ideal tech stack is that it combines all the popular JavaScript technologies together and according to a reccent survey conducted by Stack Overflow, JavaScript remains the most popular programming language for the 11th year in a row.

Components of MEAN Stack

1. MongoDB

MongoDB is a powerful database management system (DBMS) that is used in the development of backend applications as it is capable of handling large volumes of data as JavaScript Object Notion (JSON) files. This document-based NoSQL database is renowned for its scalability both in terms of storage and performance. Unlike a conventional database, MongoDB facilitates users to update the data with ease. In other words, without reloading the entire table, MongoDB users can simply add fields to the database. As of September 2023, MongoDB remains one of the most popular database management systems globally with a ranking score of 439.42.

2. Express.JS

Express.js is a lightweight back-end web application development framework. This server-side JS structure simplifies the development process when used in tandem with Node.JS. With Express.JS, developers can write, secure, and execute modular web applications in a quick turnaround time since it prevents overwriting of variables. They can also connect it with popular databases such as MongoDB, MySQL, and Redis. Moreover, Express.JS can be integrated with an array of template engines namely EJS, Vash, EJS, etc. Web applications developed using Express.JS can be scaled quickly. Some top brands that are using Express.JS include IBM, Uber, Yandex, Myntra, Fox Sports, and more.

3. Angular

Formerly known as AngularJS, Angular is a popular front-end JavaScript framework that is utilized for developing dynamic web apps and single-page applications. Developed and maintained by Google, this open-source front-end web framework simplifies both the development and testing of web applications by offering a model–view–viewmodel (MVVM) and model–view–controller (MVC) architectures. Besides this, Angular promotes code reusability, handles dependencies, allows parallel development, facilitates faster application development, etc. Today, there are over 350,000 Angular customers worldwide and out of them, 4559 websites built with Angular receive high traffic volume.

Some of the leading brands that are using Angular in their tech stack include PayPal, Samsung, Forbes, iStock, Microsoft, UpWork, The Guardian, Deutsche Bank, and of course, Google.

4. Node.JS

Node.JS acts as a backbone in the MEAN stack. This open-source Javascript runtime environment is built on Chrome’s V8 Engine and is used for building high-performing and scalable web applications such as online video streaming sites, SPAs, and real-time applications. With Node.JS, it becomes simpler to build cross-platform applications, lower time-to-market, improve app response time, reduce the load time, and do much more.

What’s more interesting about NodeJS is that it is OS independent, which simply means that it can run seamlessly across all the platforms. The industry leaders that are leveraging the potential of Node.JS in their tech stack include Uber, NASA, Netflix, Twitter, eBay, Yahoo, Trello, GoDaddy, and to name a few.

Advantages of MEAN Stack Development

I. Budget-friendly App Development

When it comes to application development, cost plays a critical role since app development requires a great amount of investment. The good news is that MEAN stack development is proven lucrative for businesses since it uses one programming language i.e. (JavaScript) throughout the web application development.

Unlike LAMP stack development wherein it is imperative to hire experts having strong prowess in PHP, MySQL, and JavaScript, developing web applications through MEAN stack requires developers who are skilled in JS only. This simply means that there is no need to hire different specialists. Since a lesser number of developers are required for MEAN stack web development, the amount needed for hiring MEAN stack application developers will be significantly lower. MEAN stack is also open-source in nature, which means that a lot of funds that go into purchasing the license of the software would be saved. Besides this, MEAN Stack offers code sharing and reusability, which in turn, reduces both the development costs and time.

II. Quick MVP Development

Minimum viable product, commonly known as MVP, refers to a product having a preliminary set of features. With MEAN Stack, it is possible to develop an MVP in a quick turnaround time since it offers a host of reusable code modules, libraries, and additional frameworks. Being able to develop a product with a bare minimum of features in the shortest time facilitates testing of the product in the market. This, in turn, helps in developing and launching the best-in-class product.

III. High Performance

In MEAN Stack development, Node.JS acts as a core for improving the application performance by 50%. In various benchmarks, the web applications developed through MEAN Stack outperform the applications developed using other back-end programming languages such as Ruby on Rails, Python, and PHP.

IV. Easy Availability of Resources

MEAN Stack development primarily involves JavaScript and according to the Stack Overflow annual survey, JavaScript has been the most popular programming language for nine consecutive years. This indicates that JavaScript is in huge demand and developers are showing interest in learning this programming language over others. Simply put, hiring developers for MEAN Stack development is a cakewalk.

V. Ideal for Real-time App Development

The demand for real-time application development is surging with every passing day. Using MEAN Stack, it becomes simpler to develop real-time applications. In fact, many leading brands that are using MEAN stack for real-time applications include Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Paytm, Netflix, Tumblr, and to name a few.

Disadvantages of MEAN Stack Development

I. Security Issues

From the data security standpoint, MEAN Stack is considered a less safe framework for development. The reason being is that it has been around for years and is one of the key targets for hackers. By adhering to best practices and leverage security tools, web developers can thwart the risk of security breaches in MEAN stack applications.

II. Not Ideal for Developing Large-scale Applications

Large-scale applications developed with MEAN stack can be difficult to maintain. This framework is ideal for developing small applications, rather than developing applications that are huge in size.

III. Can’t Compete with the Potential of Relational Databases

MEAN stack doesn’t offer the same level of functionality as it is offered by relational databases. In fact, many industry leaders including Google and Facebook give the first preference to relational databases over MEAN stack.

Summing Up

MEAN in web development realm is making strong strides owing to the host of benefits it offers. Today, it has become the most coveted choice among developers for crafting web applications, mobile applications, single-page applications (SPAs), and real-time applications. If you are also planning to jump onto the bandwagon of MEAN Stack development, we recommend you hire seasoned professionals from the best MEAN stack development company. Connect with experts today.