Which Programming Language You Should Use For Your Website in 2020?
There are a plethora of programming languages out there, some popular, some less popular, but all with their own set of shining moments and withering frustrations. As a business owner looking to outsource your website design process, you might need to have some basic information about the available programming languages to get the best out of the people you hire. That’s the goal of this blog. To give you a basic idea of three of the most used programming languages, and help you choose the right one.
JavaScript
JavaScript is primarily used as a front-end programming language. Front-end is anything that you see when you go to a website. That includes all the customer interactive, content, and visual elements. Say if you have an e-commerce site, where you need to have a lot of user engagement, then, your developer should definitely incorporate JavaScript elements. Alongside HTML and CSS, JavaScript is one of the core technologies of the internet. A survey conducted Stack Overflow says it was the most popular language among developers, in 2019, and it doesn’t seem to going to change this year.
Websites like Amazon, YouTube, and Google are built predominantly on JavaScript.
Pros
- JavaScript helps you develop the most engaging UX (User Experience) for your website.
- With JavaScript, you can get a good responsive web design, which means, the design can be adapted across multiple browsers, devices, and platforms, with the same codebase.
Cons
- Because of its flexibility and interactive elements, if you overuse it, the performance of your website might get low.
- It is also a little difficult to maintain, due to its dynamically untyped nature.
Python
11th grade students are learning Python now. That’s how common and popular it is. Although it’s not specifically designed for web development and applications, a wide population of web developers prefer Python over other languages, because of its easiness to learn and use, versatility, efficiency and reliability. It’s one of the most accessible and fastest-growing languages available.
Websites like Instagram, Netflix, Spotify, and Pinterest are written in Python.
Pros
- Python has good number of libraries and frameworks that simplifies the initial phases of development, thereby saving you a lot of time.
- It is very object-oriented, very clean and uncluttered.
- It has very strong integration features and control capabilities, and therefore has higher operating speeds.
Cons
- Python features and libraries are often not compatible and universal. So, adapting to other platforms and integrating with other programming languages takes more work.
- While Python succeeds in desktop and server platforms, mobile computing is an arena it hasn’t conquered yet. If your website is predominantly mobile-based, you might want to avoid this.
PHP
Saving the best for the last. Simply put, PHP is the popular kid of 2020. Around 80% of all websites worldwide use PHP in one form or another. PHP is THE best language for content management systems and websites. WordPress runs more than 30% of the internet, and it is written in PHP. So, you can imagine how potent and prevalent it is.
Other giant content based websites such as Facebook, Wikipedia, and Yahoo are written in PHP.
Pros
- PHP is compatible everywhere. It can run on any system and platform. It’s very simple, therefore extremely customizable.
- It has extensive libraries and frameworks, that comes with enormous perks and community support.
- It is robust and flexible at the same time, thereby meeting all the demanding needs of giant Content management systems.
Cons
- It is a little slower than other languages.
- Extreme customization capabilities makes it hard to debug.
Conclusion
Truth be told, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to web development. We all pick and choose what suits us, for different aspects of web design. So, when you’re going for the briefing sessions with your developers, bear this in mind, so that you can understand what they are talking about and why. Maybe, with more information, you can even collaborate on the process.
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