Django vs. React - key differences

Intro

The contemporary world of technology evolves so quickly that it’s sometimes impossible to catch up with all the fresh features of browsers and modern devices. That’s why most frequently used software frameworks must always be up to date, not limiting developers but granting them additional powers.

Today, we’ll look at two of the most popular ones - Django and React.

What features do they offer, what projects do they work with best, and can they complement each other, finding common ground?

Here’s a thorough comparison of the two.

What is Django?

Django is programmers’ favorite because it’s highly efficient and facilitates the work with databases, creating scalable and easily maintainable applications. In addition, its ability to split many projects into various apps makes it even more unique and impacts the acceleration of the development process.

It has various features and can be used for projects of diverse sizes and purposes. To choose it wisely for a given task is best first to get a gist of the framework’s pros and cons. As every other solution covers a variety of handy functions, as well as some irritating nuances.

If you are a newbie check our article: What is Django and how to get started?

Benefits of Django

• Batteries included

Django is an excellent framework for speeding up the process of software development. Its own ORM layer (Object-Relational Mapping), used for database access, sessions, routing, and multi-language support, makes it a powerful and highly elastic tool.

• Security

Django can effectively save a project from many popular forms of cyberattack, such as cross-site request forgery or SQL injections.

• Python-based

As Django is from the Python family, it’s easier to grasp by developers who have already worked with these tools. In addition, it combines all of Python's best features, including vast support for external libraries and an efficiency boost.

• Flexibility

It’s a flexible and dynamic framework that can be configured according to developers’ and project needs. Due to a larger emphasis on explicit than implicit development, it’s a perfect solution for software products that require quick and seamless alterations.

• Fast prototyping

Django is also known for fast prototyping due to its excellent admin interface.

Disadvantages of Django

• Low speed

Django, combined with a poorly designed architecture, may cause slow website loading. That’s why an app created with this framework requires proper optimization and scalability.

• Not always suitable

Django is probably not the best pick for smaller websites. In the case of static one-pagers or microservices, it’s usually better to choose another, better-suited framework, e.g. Flask.

What is React?

React is a widely used, open-source JavaScript library released in 2013. It helps build fast single-page applications and UIs, requiring minimal effort and coding. It’s commonly applied by more than 40% of developers, and, as usual, it comes with a list of valuable pros and disappointing cons.

Benefits of React

• Solid community

A large community is one of the essential factors when choosing a proper library or framework for a project. Fortunately, React is used by millions of developers who support one another in locating and fixing certain bugs. Thanks to such an expanded community, a programmer can use plenty of third-party libraries and tutorials.

• Reusable components

React enables building reusable components, thanks to which developers can create smaller pieces of user interface and then put them in any place of the app. Then, the pieces can be combined to compose a larger UI.

• Virtual DOM

Thanks to virtual DOM, a React application can keep its abstraction and synchronization abreast with the real DOM, i.e., what we see on display. Thus, it enhances the app’s performance and speed.

• Rapid development

React can be used for writing both complex and less sophisticated code. The second option covers a quick creation of a small MVP app.

Disadvantages of React

• JSX

Some developers find the JSX syntax useful, while others think it’s one of React’s disadvantages as it may be too hard to comprehend, creating an impassable barrier to learning the library’s intricacies. However, it should be noted that the syntax doesn’t negatively impact React’s performance or UI capabilities.

• Ongoing development

Also, React’s constant pace of development can be seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the one hand, the library undergoes regular improvements adjusting to developers’ needs. But on the other hand, it requires a continued process of relearning how to use it in everyday work, which can sometimes be hard to keep up with.

• Documentation

Being connected to the above issue, the problem also lies in React’s documentation. As the library is constantly evolving, its educational documentation and resources are not always up to date and don’t cover many fresh updates and alterations.

Why is the combination of Django and React so efficient?

Before the appearance of solutions such as React, the business logic of various apps worked only on the server side, and the user interface displayed merely specific reactions to users’ requests.

Now, the construction of web applications has considerably changed, and user-server interaction has definitely become more complex.

A combination of React and Django came with a new level of user experience and allowed much smoother performance. Additionally, thus created applications are more scalable and facilitate the developers work.

Summary

As you can see, both Django and React are powerful tools indispensable in creating robust web applications. However, they both have pros and cons and can be used as a reasonably solid and usable combination.

It all depends on a particular project and its unique objectives. So, which one should you choose to smoothen up your next development process? It’s tough to say. We recommend taking a closer look at both solutions’ features and deciding which factors play a crucial role in your upcoming project.

Contact us

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Talk with us about hiring Python and Django developers and work with the best. Sunscrapers can help you make the most out of Python, Django, and other technologies to put your project to the next level.

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Read more

1. Where to put business logic in Django
2. The Ultimate Tutorial for Django REST Framework: Login and Authentication (Part 2)
3. Top 8 resources to learn React and JavaScript
4. Complete Guide to state management in React part 1

Articles mentioned in the post:

1. What is Django and how to get started?