Just as natural language is understood between humans, web programming languages are understood and interpreted by browsers. The browsers that understand them then display them for us to understand. We can separate two types of language: “frontend”, which dresses the page, and “backend”, which performs background tasks invisible to the user. For example, the visual design of a registration button is frontend; the backend handles creating your registration in the database once you click. Although we can separate them, note that some web programming languages, such as JavaScript, can handle both frontend and backend.
The Best Frontend Languages
On the frontend side, we can clearly see the visual difference in what the best frontend languages can offer. That being said, we will cite the programming languages used by the most beautiful websites in the world.
HTML / CSS
HTML and CSS are not what we call web programming languages, but rather computer languages. Like web programming languages, they are interpreted by the browser. Nevertheless, they do not allow you to “program”. HTML is what is called a markup language — it allows you to structure a web page. As for CSS, it is a style language for HTML; it allows you to style and modify HTML code.
They are essential in any website creation and are the simplest languages to learn. As for CSS (3), note that it can go very far on its own — such as creating animations, transforming elements into “3D”, and much more.
JavaScript
JavaScript should not be confused with the Java language — they have nothing in common! This web language can do an enormous amount of things, from backend form submission to the most complex frontend animations. Moreover, many “languages” come from it, called libraries or frameworks. It is the most essential of all programming languages.
WebGl / ThreeJs
WebGL is a programming interface enabling dynamic 3D rendering for HTML5 pages and applications, using a JavaScript API connected to OpenGL. More simply put, it allows 3D to be integrated into web browsers. Concretely, Google Maps uses it.
Three.js, as its name suggests, is indeed a JavaScript library (or framework…). In general, 3D sites are created in WebGL with Three.js (not forgetting HTML, CSS,…). These languages enable the creation of futuristic sites and are probably the best languages for creating the most beautiful websites in the world. Here are some examples of sites created in 3D:
• https://zen.ly/fr
• https://live.vanmoof.com/
• https://go.pioneer.com/cornrevolution
• https://github.com/home
• …
GSAP
GSAP is a fast, powerful, robust JavaScript animation library that integrates easily into any JS framework. In other words, GSAP is the super-powerful Swiss army knife of Javascript animation. It animates everything JavaScript can touch (CSS properties, canvas library objects, SVG, React.js, Vue.js, Three.js: whatever you need) and resolves countless browser inconsistencies, all at lightning speed (up to 20 times faster than jQuery). GSAP is totally flexible and can therefore be sprinkled anywhere.
If you loved 3D, GSAP is used in some of the most popular WebGL projects powered by Three.js.
Want to see some examples made with GSAP? Here are a few:
• https://takeboost.com/
• https://menudurable.ca/
• https://yolele.com/
• createur2site.fr
• …
JS Frameworks: React, Angular and Vue.js
In addition to the languages mentioned above, there are also very popular frontend frameworks that make it easier to develop interactive and dynamic websites.
Here are some of the most widely used frameworks:
– React: Developed by Facebook, React is a JavaScript framework for creating interactive user interfaces. It is widely used and appreciated for its flexibility and performance.
– Angular: Developed by Google, Angular is a comprehensive JavaScript framework for building web applications. It offers many ready-to-use features and makes project structuring and maintenance easier.
– Vue: Vue.js is a progressive and easy-to-use JavaScript framework for building user interfaces. It is known for its simplicity and gentle learning curve, making it an excellent choice for beginners.
These frameworks are very popular in the web development community and offer many advantages for creating modern, responsive websites.
The Best Backend Languages
There is no strictly “best” language on the backend side since it depends on what you need to build. There are thousands of programming languages, but here are the most widely used and the most flexible:
PHP
PHP is the best-known language for the backend — it is also the backbone of the WordPress CMS. PHP is becoming increasingly modern and is gradually moving away from a simple scripting language towards a versatile programming language. Moreover, it is a very good language for creating a great website. There are also many incredible PHP frameworks such as Laravel and Symfony.
SQL: MySQL & MariaDB
SQL is not technically a programming language since it is not comparable to versatile languages such as JavaScript. In any case, it is an essential computer language for any website creation. Its main objective is to serve as an interface with a site’s database. There are also database management systems such as MySQL or MariaDB (MariaDB is the best).
Ruby
Ruby is one of the best languages notably because it can be used on both frontend and backend (like JavaScript), but it is also easy to use, especially thanks to the Ruby on Rails framework. This does not prevent it from being widely used and doing its job extremely well. It is therefore a must-know language.
No-Code or Low-Code
If learning a language seems too painful, or if you do not know where to start, using a low-code tool is probably ideal. It will allow you to concretely see what you are doing, but you will also be able to write your own lines of code to perfect your creations!
