A model of simultaneous interactions between components, databases, middleware systems, user interfaces, and servers in a web application is known as web application architecture. It is also known as the design that logically specifies the link between the server and the client for a better web experience.
Web application architecture in business perspective related to the process of creating web applications and planning for their needs in terms of speed, scalability, and security
Importance of web application architecture
Improving customer satisfaction: Investing in the software architecture of the web application, or in a solid blueprint for its operation, is necessary from a user experience point of view.
Being an important part of any web application development, it ensures that your design is efficient and scalable, meaning it will perform well in various conditions and avoid downtime. Otherwise, an enterprise application will irritate users with numerous bugs and drive them away from cooperating with it.
- Greater business results: The right web application architecture can save your company time and money in the long term, ensuring that your website performs at its optimal capacity and runs smoothly.In particular, web application systems architecture allows web developers to create web pages that scale well as traffic increases; It also provides features such as offline access (e.g. Google Docs) that are increasingly expected by today’s consumers.
- Better application performance: A robust web application architecture introduces a great degree of flexibility, that is, its ability to adapt to dynamic market fluctuations and customer demands.The overview of the overall structure makes it easier for developers to work on an application in multiple modules and introduce new features without interrupting the work of the web application.
- Greater application security: By conceiving a web application as a multi-block system, modern web application architecture protects each of its structural elements separately.This increases overall security, making the software development services resistant to all common security threats, such as malicious attacks. Thanks to its solid structure, adding new elements will not ruin the level of security achieved.
How does it work?
How exactly a web application architecture works differs by project, as many of its aspects are dictated not by technology, but by project needs and business objectives. In other words, web application elements can be adjusted or changed entirely without affecting the overall success of your web application.
At the same time, the typical communication process with the web application architecture is as follows:
- You, as a customer, type a URL in the corresponding field of the browser.
- The browser sends the request to the domain name server to recognize the IP address.
- If successful, the browser sends a request to the server to respond.
- The server directs the request to the data store to locate the page, and requests the display of the data.
- If successful, the initially requested data appears in the browser.
There are 3 main sides in the web application architecture process:
- Client side, or the frontend for user interaction.
- Database server, or an additional component to send data from the client to the server.
- Server side, or the backend that stores the business logic, processes requests and sends responses.
The web application architecture is made up of four distinct layers, each of which contains the components of the web application, and each layer performs a specific function. The four layers of web architecture are as follows:
Web Application Architecture Layers
Presentation layer
The user-centered presentation layer is what the user sees and interacts with. The presentation layer, often known as the client side, contains the specific user interface (UI) required for the display in question, as well as the logic responsible for browser communication and any code necessary to support user interaction. .
Business layer
The business layer represents the application logic, retrieves data from the persistence layer, and processes requests back to the presentation layer according to business rules; This data exchange layer is also known as the “logical layer” or “application layer” for this reason.
Persistence layer
Another logical level is the persistence layer, however, this only deals with accessing, writing or changing the database. The persistence layer, like the other layers, can be called the data access layer.
Database layer
The database layer, such as SQL Server or MongoDB, is where all the data in the database is stored. Changes to one layer do not affect other layers in a layered architecture, eliminating interdependencies and resulting in more resilient software. On the other hand, including layers in a basic application could increase coding needs and result in a more monolithic product.
Components of web application architecture
Applications differ in complexity and functionality, and the number of layers and components changes accordingly. An application may be so simple that it functions as a monolith that stores the entire web application design architecture in one place.
However, a typical web application will consist of multiple components (or tiers) that interact with each other. Typically, the two main groups of web application architecture are the user interface and the structural web components.
UI Components
This group of components makes up a visual interface and has no links to the architecture itself. As part of the interface design, the set of user interface components includes activity logs, analytics dashboards, and notifications.
Structural components of the web
- Client Components: The part of the frontend that appears in the browser and serves as a field to interact with a web application. Client components are developed with HTML, CSS, and Javascript and do not require an operating system or device connectivity to function. Simply put, these components are the representation of the web application.
- Server Components: The backend portion of the web application architecture that is built using Java, Python, .Net, NodeJS, PHP, and Ruby on Rails to create the app logic. In addition, the server components make up the database, that is, a control center for data storage.
Web application architecture comes in a variety of forms. Four main types of web application architecture are discussed here. Look at these!
Single page application architecture
Only relevant content is displayed in this web application architecture. To achieve this, it first loads the necessary web page and then dynamically updates the representation of its content with only the requested data.
In other words, it does not ask the server to load additional pages, but only the sections of the web page that are required.
Single page applications help improve efficiency and provide a more intuitive user interface.
Microservices architecture
Microservice architecture allows developers to divide a web application into smaller independent parts and execute them independently. This framework enables developers to increase productivity while streamlining and accelerating the development process. Moreover, this framework can be incorporated into programming languages.
Microservice architecture has gained popularity in recent years due to its flexibility and reliability, being adopted for the complex needs of companies such as Amazon, eBay and Netflix
Serverless architecture
To host a web application, developers collaborate with third-party service providers and cloud infrastructure services using a serverless architecture. This architecture eliminates the need to manage infrastructure, which is perhaps the most difficult task in the web application development process. All you have to do with serverless architecture is focus on functional development. Working on small functionalities in applications is possible with this type of web application architecture. Amazon and Microsoft, for example, are two service providers that help with server administration.
Progressive web app
The new most promising web applications from 2019 is Progressive Web Apps from 2019. Pwa provides an intuitive and effective user experience that can be accessed through a shared URL and from any browser and device
Variety of industries, including entertainment, finance and e-commerce use PWA. Its light weight, low cost, cross-device compatibility, ability to provide online navigation, and fully functional app experience are some of its major advantages
Web Application Architecture: Best Practices and Tools
Designing the architecture is the primary step of web application architecture. Your architectural strategies will determine your success. Don’t make the common mistake of replicating the strategies of other successful online applications. Because different custom software development services have different criteria, it won’t help you in any way. If you want your web application to be successful, make sure it has the following qualities in its architecture:
- High system flexibility and efficiency
- a well thought out coding structure
- Reuse of components
- Extraordinary scalability
- Application of security standards.
- Stability and reliability
There are sections to collect user information. Additionally, here are some tools that will help you give your visitors the best web application experience possible.
- IDE Tools: Cloud9, AWS, NetBeans, Github’s Atom, and Webstorm can help with productivity.
- Integration tools: io, JitterBit, Cleo and MuliSoft help provide a smooth and engaging user experience.
- Frameworks and Libraries: Django, Express, Veu, Python, Angular and React are the most popular frameworks for developing high-quality online applications.
- UX Builder Tools: Sketch, Figma and Invision are the 3 most popular tools for designing UX and improving user experiences.