Modern Web Development Survey Report: Insights on Languages, Frameworks, Tools, and Practices

Programming Languages

ES6+ and TypeScript have become the dominant JavaScript standards, selected by 88.4% and 77.63% of developers respectively. Nearly half of respondents still chose ES5, and among non‑JS languages, Python (12.75%), Go (11.11%) and Rust (7.35%) are the most common, while Java appears in the "Other languages" category (6.54%). Developers using Python, Go, or Rust tend to apply them to machine‑learning, tooling, or WebAssembly scenarios rather than traditional backend services.

Among CSS‑related technologies, Less (59.8%) and SCSS (55.72%) are the most widely used, reflecting their continued popularity in China. CSS Modules are adopted by 51.14% of respondents, and PostCSS follows with a 38.24% share. Styled‑components rank third at 34.31%, surpassing other CSS‑in‑JS solutions.

CSS Technologies

The initial questionnaire omitted "Utility Class / Atomic CSS" and Tailwind CSS, which were added later, so their results are not fully representative. However, WindiCSS (a Tailwind‑based tool) appears as the second‑most selected "Other open‑source technology" at 22%.

Less and SCSS dominate the CSS pre‑processor space, while CSS Modules and PostCSS also enjoy significant adoption. Styled‑components are frequently used alongside React (89.52%) and Vue (65.71%).

UI Technologies

React and Vue are the leading UI frameworks, chosen by 80.07% and 65.2% of developers respectively. TypeScript users favor React (87.63%) over Vue (63.54%). Developers not using Next.js, Umi, or CRA show a lower React adoption (69.11%) but similar Vue usage (66.17%).

Preact and Svelte have modest adoption at 4.08% and 5.07%. Among developers who still select ES5, the use of Vanilla JS rises from 11.11% to 15.14%.

Electron is the most popular cross‑platform technology, used by 17.48% of respondents.

Data Logic

Redux remains the primary state‑management solution (55.56%). Almost all Redux users also use React (96.76%). MobX is also heavily tied to React (93.89%). Vue developers predominantly use Vuex (77.69%) and increasingly adopt MobX (52.13%).

Hooks + Context is chosen by 51.96% of developers and often co‑occurs with Redux. RTK and Dva are used as higher‑level APIs for Redux, with Dva selected by 20.75% of respondents, many of whom also use Umi.

React Query, Recoil, and RxJS each have notable adoption, with varying overlaps with Redux and Hooks + Context. GraphQL and Apollo together match RxJS’s share (13.73%). State‑machine solutions like XState are still rare (1.8%).

Backend Development

Front‑end developers primarily need BFF (Backend‑for‑Frontend) services, with 73.53% selecting BFF (REST, WebSocket, or GraphQL) versus 17.16% for RPC‑style microservices. REST APIs dominate BFF implementations (66.18%), followed by WebSocket (30.56%) and GraphQL (14.38%).

Server‑side rendering (SSR) usage surpasses static and dynamic HTML, with 59% of HTML users also opting for SSR. Among SSR adopters, REST API usage drops to 61.69%, while framework adoption (Next.js, Nuxt.js, Umi) rises to 43.51%.

Koa (54.74%) and Express (49.51%) are the leading server‑side JavaScript frameworks; 36.42% of Koa users also use EggJS. Cloud functions are chosen by 20.42% of respondents, exceeding other language or framework options.

Engineering Technologies

Webpack remains the dominant build tool (94.28%). Nearly all Rollup users also use Webpack (99.56%). Vite and ESBuild have gained traction (35.62% and 22.71% respectively). Parcel, other open‑source, and custom build tools have modest shares.

Umi (25.33%) and Next.js (16.5%) are popular framework‑level solutions, with CRA at 10.62%. Users of these frameworks show higher REST API and SSR adoption rates.

Micro‑frontend and Monorepo architectures are also emerging, with adoption rates of 25.16% and 19.93% respectively.

Development Environment

VSCode is the overwhelming IDE choice (91.67%), while WebStorm accounts for 21.9%. Developers not using ES6+ or TypeScript are less likely to use VSCode (≈84%).

Prettier enjoys strong acceptance (42.97%), surpassing ESLint (39.71%); users of one tend to adopt the other as well.

Overall, the survey results align with Modern.js’s expectations and design goals, indicating that upcoming releases should continue to support the identified technology trends and developer needs.