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17 Comments

Front end framework for a new SaaS app?

Friends,

Which front end framework would you recommend for a new SaaS application? - Vue or Angular or React?

I'm planning to use Firestore as my backend.

TIA

  1. 4

    I recommend React. I built saas/websites with both Vue and React. While VueJS is easier and more fun to work with. React has better 3rd party components, at some point, you would want to add a calendar, date picker, search auto-complete, etc. With VueJS these components are usually poorly written or not supported, while with React you can find tons of options to choose from.

    You will save yourself a few days writing code with VueJS. But once you get stuck with custom components, you will lose weeks trying to adjust a poorly written plugin to your website.

    1. 4

      I have a different experience. I've been using Vue in all of my own projects and React as a freelance/in work for 4 years.

      I never had any trouble finding or using Vue plugins or custom components. I even think Vue has better UI frameworks than React, Vuetify, for example, is has more stuff and better overall than MaterialUI imo.

      In the end, both are very similar, and choosing either will not hinder your product/development.

  2. 1

    I recommend React.

  3. 3

    The one you know better

  4. 2

    Thank you all for your feedback

  5. 2

    I prefer Vue 2 for its simplicity & gentle learning curve. It also has a great plugin ecosystem around it for rapid development.

    React IMO has become too complicated. You can certainly make high fidelity UIs with it but most of the projects don't need that level of power.

  6. 2

    If you are getting started with front-end frameworks I would suggest Vue, as I believe is easier to pick up. But any of the ones that you mentioned will do just fine.

  7. 1

    For most SaaS apps, I wouldn't recommend any full-blown front-end framework. Just use something light like jQuery, Stimulus or Alpine. After you've proven the concept and have revenue, then worry about making something more heavy-duty.

    If you absolutely must pick between one of those three you listed, Vue would be the quickest.

  8. 1

    If you go with React, it's worth checking out NextJS and Vercel. You can get a React project with server side rendering, serverless API endpoints and auto deployment per branch setup in about 5 minutes.

    It's quite an opinionated framework, but it's super modern and works really well. I've used it on various projects, and am currently using it to build my SaaS product, without any issues!

    I'd recommend giving it a go with GraphQL, but that's getting very opinionated!

    You can use Vercel to deploy with other frameworks, but I have no experience with these!

  9. 1

    I've worked recently with Angular and React, and React is my goto for starting anything new. I think the modular component-based model where you have state management, styling, and JSX markup in the same file makes for the fastest prototyping experience. The documentation for react is great and you can find answers to just about anything on StackOverflow or blogs.

    I think Angular and Vue also have great documentation and are widely used, so really going with any mainstream framework will be fine.

    If you're planning on using Firebase as a backend for auth and datastore, you might be interested in checking out an open source project I started recently: https://staqjs.com. It's meant to take care of all the boring stuff for you: landing page, user auth, billing with Stripe. It's an npm library so you can integrate it easily and keep writing code on your core product. If you end up checking it out and it doesn't have something you need, shoot me a note and I might be able to add it this weekend :)

    1. 2

      Interesting. Let me check it out

  10. 1

    I've been using Vue for Nodewood, though it's a bit of a special case. Since Nodewood is closer to a framework than just my own app, I wanted to ensure I picked a front-end framework that was easy for anyone to learn, even if they didn't have experience with Vue or React or Angular or Ember or anything already. For my money, Vue is the easiest front-end framework to learn these days, and a lot easier to work within if you're just one dev. Plus, there's a lot of killer advances and features coming out with Vue 3 that are going to make it even lower-overhead and easier to work with.

  11. 1

    I used AngularJS in the past, and recently used Vue, then started using React. I found React pretty similar to Vue but harder to start. Eventually, it seems to me, React is more robust, so maybe it's worth a try.

  12. 1

    Doesn't matter. Go with whatever you have more experience with and whatever will allow you to build the fastest and easiest.

  13. 1

    I would choose Vue but that’s because I personally prefer it and have some experience with it.

  14. 0

    React create-react-app is probably the best choice in terms of productivity and features. I prefer React for it's larger ecosystem, although all three of those will work for pretty much anything.

  15. 0

    I don't see a reason why a particular framework would be better than another for a new SaaS app.
    In my opinion you should just pick the one you prefer or the one you are more experienced with.

  16. 6

    This comment was deleted 2 years ago.

  17. 1

    This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

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