Top 5 Web Application Development Platforms
The web application development space is expanding. You’ll find frameworks with various features that are introduced every year. Some of the top web application development frameworks on the market today include…
Top Node.JS Web Application Development Frameworks
There’re many Node.JS frameworks available in the market. But which are the top ones? Here we introduce you to some of the best Node frameworks available in the market in 2021.
6 Things You Should Know Before Choosing Serverless Web Application Development
The serverless market is forecast to be at a CAGR of 22.7% from USD 7.6 billion in 2020 to USD 21.1 billion by 2025, according to Markets and Markets. The big four companies in cloud computing Google, Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft have already introduced many services and products in serverless technology that have the potential to radically change the way the software is developed.
Flutter vs React Native: Which One is Better for Mobile App Development?
React Native and Flutter are the two most popular cross-platform development frameworks for mobile app development. Which one suits your requirements? Learn more about the benefits of each one.
A Quick Look at the Characteristics and Benefits of Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
Progressive Web App or PWA is a set of modern web development techniques that combines the best of native apps and the web world.
Getting started with Angular Universal: How and Why?
Angular is designed to build powerful single-page web applications. In a Single-page application, normally we first bring the data to the client and then build the HTML that represents the data on the client-side.
Angular Universal allows us to run the Angular app on the server, thus enabling us to serve static HTML to the user.
Guidelines for Web Application Performance Optimization
Application performance can be defined in terms of response time ( How fast the application responds under peak load), resource usage (How many resources viz. CPU, memory, network the application use), and consistency (Does the application behave consistently over time, across browsers). An average user has no patience for websites or web application that takes too long to load. According to a study by Kissmetrics, a 0.1-second delay in the page load time of an application will cause a 7% loss in conversions, an 11% decrease in page visits, and a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction. In dollar terms, this means that if the site typically earns $100,000 a day, this year it could lose $2.5 million in sales. Similarly, a study by FastCompany shows that an increase of every 0.1-second load time of Amazon decreases its sales by 1%, and increasing page load time from 0.4 seconds to 0.9 seconds in Google decreases its traffic and ad revenues by 20%. A better and fast-performing site or application will have a better user experience, repeat site visits, will be indexed faster by search engines, and appear on top of SERPs which in turn leads to increased revenue. Several factors can affect application performance, but some of the most common ones are: Rich and interactive UI with too many plugins, images, or animations, application complexity, technology & framework, data handling mechanism, number of concurrent users, etc. The poorly optimized code causes potential bugs, performance & security issues, code complexity, and technical debts. Inefficient database design affects the application in production Incorrect and insufficient environment configuration while hosting Steps to Improve Web Application Performance Here we have categorized the steps for improving web application performance into 4 sections – 1)Application Design Optimization 2) Application UI Optimization 3) Database Optimization 4) General Recommendations 1. Application Design Optimizations Technology & Framework – Choose technology and framework that is appropriate for your application functionality. No concurrent users – If there are concurrent users using the application, the third-party controls chosen should be able to handle the load, else it can cause a performance issue. Data Handling Mechanism – Use proper DB, caching, etc. to make data loading on demand and on mobiles display required data only. Hosting Server – Check for the deployment environment, load balancer, and database partitioning, and use orchestration tools. Optimized code – Always do manual code review, peer review & automated code review. Avoid writing unwanted loops, use serialization techniques, make use of asynchronous calls, use service brokers in SQL, use reusable code, and use JavaScript appropriately. 2. Application UI Optimizations Simple and Lightweight – Make the application simple and lightweight by streamlining the number of elements on the page, using partial rendering, merging all JS & CSS, and minifying using YUI compressor, codekit, or JavaScript minifier. This will improve the page speed. Optimize images – Keep the images of the application as small as possible since oversized images take longer to load. Crop the images to the correct size, reduce color, and remove comments from images. Enable Caching – Enabling the browser cache is crucial for the application since it will store the page visited and next time will load the page without sending another HTTP request to the server. 3. Database Optimization Rewrite the queries – Rewrite the queries using looping queries, picking only needed columns and filtering rows correctly, and using indexes. Also, can use ORM tools. Change indexing strategy – Change the indexing strategy if a non-selective index has been picked while execution and use index hints. Use an external cache – Use of an external cache can reduce the database load. 4. General Recommendations Monitor & maintain page performance, web application speed, application performance management, etc. using various tools. Use partial-page-rendering. Minimize the amount of data requested per request Maximizing the usage of client-side components wherever possible Avoid 3rd party plugins unless absolutely required. Keep the 3rd party scripts at the bottom of the page and load on demand Encourage usage of CSS scripts Avoid iframes and redirects to the best extent possible Introduce caching at the server-side, database layer, and other possible integration layers Conduct usability studies and understand the expectations of end-user
Top Free Tools for Scanning Security Risks
Today’s internet is all about web apps and the advancement of web applications and other technologies that change the way we do business. Assuming that the network firewall that you have in place to protect your network will secure your websites and web applications won’t help. Ensuring security is about identifying the risks and implementing appropriate countermeasures. Below are some top listed tools used for identifying the common web application security risks Burp Suite A comprehensive solution for web application security checks. Netsparker A tool used for testing SQL injection and XSS. OpenVAS The most advanced open-source security scanner used for testing known vulnerabilities. Security Headers A tool to quickly report which security headers like CSP and HSTS a domain has enabled and correctly configured. Xenotix XSS Exploit Framework An OWASP tool that includes a huge selection of XSS attack examples, which you run to quickly confirm whether your site’s inputs are vulnerable in Chrome, Firefox, and IE. OWASP Zap The Zed attack proxy is an easy-to-use integrated penetration testing tool for finding vulnerabilities in web applications. OWASP SWF Intruder (Swiff Intruder) A first-in-case tool specifically developed for analyzing and testing the security of Flash applications at runtime. Subgraph Vega Vega can help you find and validate SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), inadvertently disclosed sensitive information, and other vulnerabilities. Browser Extensions Browser Extensions can also help in securing the web applications like: