What is Vue.js and Why Is It Popular?

Vue.js is a JavaScript framework that developers treasure for its versatility and maintainability, among other traits.

In the State of JavaScript 2020 survey, results found that nearly half of respondents were using Vue.js, and the framework had a satisfaction rate of over 80%.

Labeled “The Progressive JavaScript Framework”, no doubt Vue.js has something enticing to offer the common developer.

Since that survey is a few years old now, you might reasonably wonder whether Vue’s appeal has faded. It hasn’t. Vue 3 is now the default version, and the framework has continued to grow, helped along by a loyal community and plenty of real production use.

Stay tuned to learn more about Vue.js and why it’s becoming more popular by the minute!

What Is Vue.js?

Vue.js is a model-view-viewmodel (MVVM) JavaScript framework for building user interfaces (UIs) and single-page applications.

The creator of Vue.js is former Google engineer Evan You, who quickly grew frustrated with using AngularJS on Google projects.

He decided to extract the best features of Angular and build something incredibly lightweight.

The MVVM architecture of Vue.js ensures the separation of presentation logic from business logic, which represents the view and model, respectively.

Then the view model acts as a mediator by reading data objects for presentation.

But architecture aside, the most notable feature of Vue.js is directives. Directives extend HTML with HTML attributes, giving increased functionality to HTML applications.

These directives are built in, but they can also be user-defined. Essentially, they allow manipulation of the document object model (DOM).

The DOM is an interface of sorts, specifically an API for HTML and XML documents, that instructs machines on how to structure text.

The concept of directives exists both in Angular and Vue.js, but you can plug Vue.js into any part of a server-side application and hand-tailor a more interactive experience for consumers.

In short, this feature permits HTML elements to encapsulate reusable code.

JavaScript frameworks like Vue.js encourage more organization when it comes to front-end development.

Vue.js can take a web page and break it down into reusable components, each with its own HTML, CSS, and JavaScript elements.

Other clever tools of Vue.js include Vuex and Vue-Router. They work with core Vue.js programming by providing the following:

• State management, where UI controls like text fields, OK buttons, and more may require managing outside the current page a user is visiting (Vuex)
• Routing is a process that occurs when you need to sync URLs to views in your application  (Vue-Router)

Although all of this still applies, modern Vue development typically leans on a few newer ideas.

Vue 3 introduced the Composition API, which gives developers a more flexible and readable way to organize logic. Some teams stick with the Options API because it feels clearer, and that tension between the two styles is part of Vue’s personality now.

Single-file components, written as .vue files, remain the most comfortable place to build everything from tiny widgets to large applications.

You may also see Pinia referenced more often than Vuex in the current documentation, since Pinia is the recommended state management library for new Vue 3 projects.

The same goes for Vite, which has replaced the old Vue CLI for a faster development setup.

What Is a “Progressive” JavaScript Framework?

When people ask what a “progressive framework” actually means, the answer is fairly simple. Vue lets you adopt it little by little.

You might start by enhancing a single form on an existing page, then later build out a full single-page application without rewriting your entire codebase. That incremental approach is one reason developers warm to Vue so quickly.

This flexibility may suggest that Vue is soft or minimalistic, but that isn’t really the case. The ecosystem has grown into something much fuller, with official libraries for routing, state management, and even server-side rendering.

It just doesn’t require you to commit to all of that on day one.

Core Concepts of Vue.js

A few ideas sit at the heart of Vue, and understanding them helps all the other pieces make more sense:

• Declarative rendering: You describe what the UI should look like based on your data, and Vue handles the rest. It feels refreshingly direct once you get used to it.
• Reactivity: Vue tracks changes to your data and updates the UI automatically. This has always been one of Vue’s main selling points because it removes a surprising amount of busywork.
• Components: Everything on the page can be broken into smaller, maintainable units. Even simple things like buttons or form fields may become easier to reuse.
• Directives: v if, v for, v model, and others add expressive behavior to plain HTML. Your original explanation of directives is still accurate, so this builds on that rather than replacing it.
• Single file components: Templates, script logic, and styles all live together in a single .vue file. It keeps related pieces close, which many developers find easier to reason about.
• The ecosystem: Vue Router handles navigation, Pinia handles state, Vite handles tooling, and Nuxt supports server-side rendering and static site generation. You don’t need everything on this list to get started, but knowing they exist can help you plan for growth.

What Is Vue.js Used For?

Vue.js is a versatile language, so you can use it for a variety of purposes.

First of all, Vue.js works well for any projects that involve HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. And this is why Vue.js is primarily used for building UIs and any web development undertaking.

But because Vue.js is lightweight, it’s also a good choice for rapid prototyping.

Say, you wanted to build a minimum viable product (MVP) for one reason or another. Vue.js would get it done in a jiffy.

Single-page applications (SPAs) are within the range of Vue.js’s expertise as well.

In an SPA, there is only a single page to view information. Users access new information as the website dynamically rewrites the page upon user interaction.

Like React Native, Vue.js has the capacity for native mobile app development. Developers can utilize NativeScript to build mobile apps on Android and iOS with shared JavaScript code.

It might help to know that global websites using Vue.js include the likes of Facebook, Netflix, and Google, which demonstrates just how powerful the framework is.

In practice, teams also apply Vue to dashboards, internal tools, admin consoles, or anything that needs frequent UI updates.

Nuxt has become an increasingly common choice for companies that care about SEO or server-side rendering, especially in content-heavy apps or customer-facing marketing sites.

On the other side of the spectrum, frameworks like Quasar and Electron allow Vue developers to target mobile and desktop if the situation calls for it.

So while Vue often starts small, it rarely stays that way.

Why Is Vue.js Popular?

Developers use Vue.js for a number of reasons. It’s clear that Vue.js is popular, but its true appeal lies in its technical astuteness. Here are some features representing Vue.js’s aptitude:

Lightweight Design

Vue.js is called progressive because it is designed to be incrementally adoptable. This means that programming in Vue.js means starting small and scaling up as you so desire.

As a result, Vue.js is fairly straightforward and doesn’t have the complexity of larger frameworks. 

Plus, it’s worth noting that the size of the Vue.js framework is less than 21 kilobytes. So rest assured, you won’t have to deal with the lag of heavy software on your business machines. 

Two-Way Data Binding

DOM manipulation is a bi-directional event. What happens in the view affects the model, and vice versa. 

While data flowing in a single direction might be less complicated on a cerebral level, one-way data binding hinders the development process. 

Changes to the model reflect on the view but not the other way around. Ergo, making UI changes means putting in extra work. 

DOM Rendering

Vue.js is a proud supplier of a virtual DOM. (Vue.js is free and open-source, so fees do not apply.) 

The virtual DOM is a means of holding a representation of the UI in memory. Through reconciliation, the virtual DOM syncs changes to the ‘real’ DOM at a later time. 

Virtual DOMs are advantageous because making updates to the ‘real’ DOM immediately can be tedious and slow.

By using a virtual DOM, developers can see the changes they make to the view without actually submitting those changes for permanent rendering. 

Component-Based

Every piece of a Vue.js application or web page acts as its own component. The advantage here is that you’ll get to reuse components as you like.

Overall, this approach to development lends to better code readability, since there will be less clutter. 
Easier unit testing is a secondary advantage, as you can check how the smallest parts of an application work on their own. 

Community Support

Although having eager developers on your side isn’t necessarily a technical asset, it can amount to virtually the same thing.

Vue.js is popular because it’s popular. It’s circular reasoning, but when a certain technology has a large community of support, you can expect it to always remain up-to-date.

Besides staying relevant, a large community also means you know where to look when you need specific advice about any Vue-related dilemma.

Last but not least, this community is filled with talented Vue.js developers, meaning it’ll be easy to find talent for your software development team. 

Vue.js vs. Other JavaScript Frameworks

Vue.js’s biggest competitors are other JavaScript frameworks, like React and Angular. You may want to see how they compare.

Vue.js vs. Angular

Angular is a TypeScript-based web application framework. It is cross-platform, meaning you can reuse TypeScript code for web, mobile web, native mobile, and native desktop use.

The framework also promises speed, performance, and useful tooling such as declarative templates and Angular-specific feedback for its editors and integrated development environments (IDEs).

But compared to Vue.js, experienced developers find that Angular is:

• Hard to learn
• Prone to jargon-y documentation

Some engineers also mention that Angular’s strong opinions can be comforting once you’re inside a large codebase, although that same rigidity may slow down teams that prefer a lighter touch.

Vue tends to feel more approachable for developers who want structure without committing to a fully prescriptive ecosystem.

Vue.js vs. React

React is a front-end JavaScript library for building UIs. Its component-based design makes it easy for developers to plug in UI components and make complex UIs without the need for state management. 

JSX is also a fundamental aspect of React. Similar to XML, JSX combines HTML, CSS, and JavaScript into one language. 

In spite of all this, developers who prefer Vue.js think:

• Using JSX makes code less maintainable 
• Important features like navigation and state management are lacking

These points usually come down to taste. Some people enjoy writing JSX because it keeps everything in JavaScript, while others feel more grounded using templates like Vue’s.

React’s ecosystem is enormous and sometimes overwhelming, which can be energizing for seasoned teams and confusing for newcomers. Vue offers a more predictable set of official tools, and that consistency is one of the reasons it continues winning over first-time front-end developers.

Use Vue.js on Your Next Project

Vue.js has so far been successful at silencing the issues of other JavaScript frameworks. For frustrated developers, this should be an enticing reason to adopt Vue.js. 

Businesses, as a rule, should put their faith in the technical leaders within their organization and internalize their frustrations. 

If you’re looking for a JavaScript framework to enhance your next software development project, it’s time to consult your technical team about choosing Vue.js. 

If you learn that Vue.js is right for you, but still need talented developers to get your project to the finish line, get in touch with Trio about hiring Vue.js developers!

Trio goes beyond providing exceptional software development insights; we connect you with the best South American developers. Discover our elite Argentine, Chilean, and Brazilian developers for your outsourcing needs.

As you explore your options, it might help to talk through your project goals with someone who has shipped Vue applications before.

Our team works with companies building dashboards, customer-facing apps, internal tooling, and a handful of more specialized interfaces that rely on Vue’s reactivity model.

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