Best web technologies and tools for 2015

ECMAScript 6

ES6 is the future of JavaScript and is going to bring many new features. The good news is that the feature set of ES6 is already frozen and browsers have already started implementing the features. Tools like Traceur already allow you to write code in ES6 and then transpile it to ES5 so that it works in Today's browsers. Furthermore frameworks like AngularJS and Ember are going to target ES6 in future releases. Given its feature set and popularity I think ES6 is definitely going to revolutionise JavaScript development.

AngularJS 2.0

Google's AngularJS is one of the popular frameworks for developing Single Page Apps. The good news is thatAngularJS 2.0 is under development and this time it's more powerful, better and faster. As Durandal, another popular SPA framework, is converging into AngularJS the combo is definitely going to make an impact. AngularJS 2.0 is also going to target ECMAScript 6 which means your JavaScript code is going to be future proof.

Update : Rob Eisenberg (Creator of Durandal) has left AngularJS. He blogged the following recently:

Several months ago the general direction of Angular 2.0 began to change in critical ways. I found myself fundamentally at odds with certain aspects of the proposed design. Still, I tried to keep an open mind and explore the various possibilities. Unfortunately, I haven't been satisfied with how things have progressed since then. — Rob Eisenberg Source

React

React, the UI library by Facebook, is a great tool for developing User Interfaces. As you may be aware there are certain challenges involved in running Single Page Apps. The major one is SEO. But this can be solved by creating isomorphic apps. One of the best things about React is that it can render on both client and server which makes it an excellent choice for creating isomorphic apps. React, when used with Flux pattern, is definitely a bliss for developers. Popular websites like Facebook, Instagram, Khan Academy, New York Times and many more are using React. Having talked about its benefits and growing popularity I think React is going to be one of the popular web technologies in coming days.

Meteor

Meteor is an open source platform for creating realtime JavaScript apps. One of the good things about Meteor is that you just build templates and the pages update whenever data in the database changes. So, you can say Meteor is something that can make your database (MongoDB) realtime. Meteor Development Group has also secured $11.2 million in funding which is definitely great for an open source project. I think Meteor 1.0 will be the cynosure of all eyes. You should also note that some apps have already started using Meteor in production.

Ionic Framework

Ionic is a platform that lets you create cross platform mobile apps using web technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript. Although Ionic is still in beta, developers have been actively using it to build mobile apps. It's one of the tools that has drastically changed the way we build mobile apps. With Ionic, anyone with front end development knowledge can start creating smartphone apps. I think this is pretty great and Ionic is going to see heavy demand in 2015.

Dart & AngularDart

Dart is an open source project by Google which aims to simplify web development. It can run on the web and server. Lately Dart has been getting developers' attention and it has been ported to AngularJS too.

Firebase

Firebase lets you sync and store data in realtime. It has binding for all popular programming languages and client side MV* frameworks. As we are seeing more and more JavaScript based apps, Firebase is definitely going to be a popular solution for realtime backend.

Parse

Parse is a complete backend for mobile apps. It has got everything you need in the backend for your next mobile app. You can store both files and data in Parse and also send Push Notifications using Parse Push. As the number of mobile apps is increasing exponentially you can't ignore Parse in the coming year.

Update: Best of Parse 2014 — A blog by Parse team showcasing the best apps built using Parse in 2014.

Socket.io

Socket.io is a Node module that allows you to create realtime apps easily. According to Socket.io website it's being used by products like Microsoft Office, Yammer, Zendesk, Trello etc. Realtime apps are definitely cool and these types of apps are gaining attention lately. Socket.io makes creating such apps easy and enjoyable. I think we will see more usage of Socket.io in following year.

Polymer

Polymer uses WebComponents to redefine web development. It allows you to build well encapsulated and reusable custom components that extend HTML. Component based development is definitely great and Polymer does it right. So, we can expect Polymer to grow and become developers' favourite in near future.