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Welcome back to Optis Tech Talks, where we give the stage to some of our experts to talk about a topic they are passionate about. In this instalment, we’re taking a look at Remix, a popular new JavaScript framework. Why is it that Remix stands out from the many other frameworks out there? We are joined by Keshia Niemegeerts, one of our founders and managing partners, and Charlotte Van der Voort, one of our developers, to explain Remix’s exciting potential.
If you're a developer looking for the next big thing in JavaScript frameworks, you might want to take a look at Remix – if you haven’t done so already. You will probably have heard about it by now, since Remix is quickly gaining buzz among developers as the go-to framework for creating high-quality web applications. But what is the fuss all about? What, if anything, makes Remix so special compared to the many other frameworks in the JavaScript ecosystem? Let's take a closer look at its benefits and which projects it’s best used for.
There are many benefits to using Remix. In short, Remix is a fullstack JavaScript framework that uses server-side rendering and nested routing to ensure an optimised, resilient user experience. Let’s unpack what this means for developers and end users.
First, Remix is a fullstack JavaScript framework. This means that you can use it to create a website from start to finish, since it deals with both the front-end (the client side) and back-end (the server side) aspects of web applications. Fullstack frameworks are becoming increasingly popular as they offer a more complete, integrated solution for web development. As a developer, you will spend less time on switching files and environments, and more on actually developing.
Second, Remix uses server-side rendering. Server-side rendering is a process in which the server generates the HTML for a web page rather than the client. In other words, there is a separation of the source code from the content and data. This will improve performance as it separates the flow of sending requests for static assets (such as JavaScript and CSS files). The webpage will be able to function without those assets if needed as well. As a result, your application will load quickly, regardless of the device or platform your user is on.
Because the HTML file is generated by the server, there are also benefits for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Search engines will be able to already analyse your website’s content beforehand. If you used a framework that did not feature server-side rendering, they would have to fill in the content after the website has been loaded.
Remix is an excellent choice for developers looking for a fullstack JavaScript framework that offers superior performance and resilience
Nested routing is another one of Remix's key features. Using Remix, you can create routes that are nested within other routes, which allows your application to be broken down into smaller, more manageable pieces. This makes development easier, because you can focus on one part of the application at a time. Nested routes also make loading and transitioning pages almost instant. Remix can get the required data and assets by analysing the URL, so it does not need to run any code beforehand.
Remix also chooses a low-level, old-school approach to development. As we like to put it: Remix works with the foundations of the web, not against it. For developers, this means that your elementary knowledge of browsers, and HTML will not go to waste. It also makes it easier to use actions to react to functions, like an HTTP call. From the user’s perspective, Remix uses JavaScript to augment their experience by emulating browser behaviour.
Thanks to dynamic reloading, Remix is also extremely fast and easy to use. Remix automatically updates your application in real-time as you make changes, so you can be sure that you're always working with the latest code. This makes Remix a great choice for developers who want a fast, responsive development experience.
Dynamic reloading means that coding errors will be less frequent, but Remix’s characteristics also help to make it less prone to errors. Since it is a fullstack framework, there is less risk of manual errors or compatibility issues when switching environments. Because the HTML file is rendered by the server, errors are less likely to happen when transmitting data.
Remix is built on top of the latest web technologies and standards, which means that it has been tested and optimised for compatibility with the latest browsers. And when errors do happen, they are easier to solve. Remix's error boundaries help to prevent unexpected errors from crashing your entire application.
While using Remix offers many benefits, it is certainly not a one-size-fits-all solution. We’ve made quite a few web applications with it, and we think it definitely has its uses. We would recommend Remix for small to mid-sized applications where the user experience (UX) makes the difference. Some great examples of this are webshops and other web applications that have to handle a lot of data.
In general, Remix’s server-side rendering capabilities make it a great choice for projects that require high performance and fast loading times. Its parallelised loading means that website components can be loaded and shown to your users much quicker. And of course, Remix shines for websites with many pages that rely on dynamic data, such as the webshop example above.
All in all, Remix is an excellent choice for developers looking for a fullstack JavaScript framework that offers superior performance and resilience. It may be just one of the many frameworks out there and especially popular at the moment, but it certainly has both staying power and a promising future thanks to its many benefits for developers and users alike. And with adapters in development, you should also be able to use Remix with other web frameworks like Svelte or Vue in the future. We’re excited to see where Remix is heading next!
October 5, 2022
