12 Best Web App Development Books

Today, modern web applications can be compared to the multi-billion industry. Practically every month, existing programming languages are updated while new frameworks are being developed. Simultaneously with that, the process of understanding how to construct a web app is becoming complicated. Developers have a variety of tools and technologies that they can use. So it can be very complicated to choose the right ones for the software projects. Plus, the entire process of web development is very time-consuming, so developers have to think twice before picking the set of programming languages before they can go and commence the learning process.

Thus, to assist developers in determining the right tech stacks and frameworks for web application projects, our start up web and app development firm compiled a list of the 12 best books to learn web development. Some are entirely new. Others are old but have vibrant and insightful information that a lot of similar books miss. Without further ado, let’s take a look at each book on web development.

This is one of the web development books for beginners. The book covers everything from the web application development fundamentals to more advanced topics such as security protocols, web optimization, frameworks, libraries, etc. This modern web development book covers various aspects that every developer should know: the structure, tables, forms, CSS3 styling, the box model, and even search engine optimization. With several diagrams and infographics, you’ll never get frustrated, and it is an excellent choice for all beginners in web application development.

The author of this book offers various insightful tips she has learned during four years of "trial and error" in React development. And she shows just that in this self-published website development book. The author’s insights will assist you in making better decisions about the architecture of your web app. The React world is brimming with lots of development options, which can easily feel overwhelming. Therefore the author will make sure that her notes and suggestions will help you make the right decisions about the tools and architecture of your app. The following topics are discussed: folder structure, packages, state management, deployments, hooks, and performance.

Each recipe that the authors provide in this book includes very detailed code examples, which are accessible online for experimentation. And as the React ecosystem evolves, this best web development book will be regularly updated whenever a new React version appears.

Surely there are a lot of books for web developers that can cover every essential process of a web app. However, this entry on our list is a bit on a higher level than the other books on web development. This is a very practical guide to developing quick web apps via FlaskKey features and key extensions. There you can easily investigate the toolkit made out of Python and Jinja Template engine. Additionally, you will be able to observe the interactions between Flask and JavaScript and CSS. There are even modules that detail the process of developing and delivering RESTful apps using Flask. This web programming book walks the reader through the entire process of constructing web applications with Python and its most powerful microframework, Flask.

With this book, you'll be able to learn more about the current state of full-stack development and how to utilize new web technologies to create production-ready React.js applications. And after reading it, you can easily deploy them on AWS. Furthermore, you’ll be able to recognize React's and single-page applications' architectures. So wait no more. Go ahead, read it, create a modern Web API for your SPA with Node.js, Express, and GraphQL, and gain a firm grasp on how to develop a complete full-stack application. This is one of the advanced web development books, and it is the industry-standard framework for developing high-performance client-side web applications.

Svelte is the newest JavaScript framework to create waves in the digital world of today. At the same time, it is one of the best books for learning front end web development. It is code-light and thorough at the same time. Svelte offloads much of the work that other frameworks such as React and Vue manage in the browser to a compile phase, resulting in a very structured, and organized JavaScript module that speeds up your project.

As one of the best books for front end web development, it shows how one can easily utilize Svelte with Sapper. Svelte is a framework that reduces application size by server-rendering and loading only the visible part of JavaScript. Additionally, it simplifies page navigation, offline support, and code-splitting. As a result, your productivity will increase significantly, and the apps you design will be more efficient, sleek, and user-friendly.

Vue.js is considered one of the most popular frameworks there due to its flexibility and ease of use. However, back in the day, the language lacked proper guidelines or even tutorials on how to build a web application. Thanks to this web app development book, now every intermediate and advanced user familiar with JS fundamentals can learn everything they want to know about Vue.js.

This web development book offers strong assistance towards exploring and subsequently mastering the entire Vue.js framework. It provides a solid foundation, best practices, and many useful tips for you to build a perfect web application with this JavaScript framework. Moreover, if you are holding or you want to buy this web application development book, then be ready to get a lot of real-world examples and exercises that cover most of the development processes. By the end, you'll surely become an expert in creating various elements, such as forms, calendars, or even fully functional shopping carts. That is truly one of the full stack web development books for beginners.

This is another popular book among JS developers. And as one of the javascript web development books, it is the ideal companion for anyone interested in understanding JavaScript. This web development book is appropriate for both beginners and expert users who wish to progress beyond the fundamentals and become proficient JavaScript developers.

For more than seven full years, this book has been a best-seller, with the most recent edition - 2020. It covers every single essential that a young developer-padawan should be aware of: classes, modules, iterators, generators, async/await, and metaprogramming. Some of these concepts are covered in the chapters of the new edition. Additionally, it includes several coding examples, making it an ideal coding book for your practice. It is one of those web programming books that will always have your back whenever you need it.

In this book, software developer Frank Zammetti demonstrates how to construct entire modern online applications using React, Node.js, TypeScript, Webpack, and Docker.

The author discusses the benefits of each tool individually and how they all work together. You'll learn how to kickstart a project and create two real-world applications that you can install on your own server. As one of the best web dev books, you'll have a firm grasp of how to create cutting-edge applications and how to optimize and arrange your code for deployment, and how to wrap it in Docker. More than that, the topics include constructing a user interface with Material-UI, utilizing WebSockets for real-time client-server connection, and developing a REST API with Node and Express as another method of the client-server communication.

Transform your app concepts into fully functional prototypes with the assistance of Mendix partners' expert advice and best practices. Among other web developer books, here you can understand the demand for digital solutions without writing a single line of code. Create applications that are high-availability and low-cost in comparison to those produced using a typical software engineering approach. Utilize real-world scenarios to learn about Mendix from product design to delivery.

As one of the web application books, it enables developers of diverse expertise levels to create online and web applications through a graphical UI by utilizing drag-and-drop components and model-driven logic. Mendix is one of the growing platforms that connects low-code enthusiasts with their ideas without writing much code. So building low-code apps with Mendix will guide you through the process with practical examples. The book begins with an introduction to Mendix, followed by a discussion of why you should use this platform and its tools to build your first app.

The majority of security publications for Java concentrate on cryptography and access control but neglect critical topics such as coding techniques, logging, and risk assessment for web applications. This one, however, focuses on learning web app development. Safe Java: For Web Application Development encapsulates security requirements for web development within the Java programming platform, describing how to incorporate secure programming and threat modeling into a secure software development lifecycle. From risk assessment to proof of concept, the book describes the process of developing a secure web application.

The authors provide detailed implementation recommendations and best practices for web application development's access control, cryptography, logging, secure code, and authentication and authorization.

In most cases, cloud computing is related to backend development and DevOps. However, as the era of serverless technologies is rising, a new generation of frontend and web developers can develop powerful apps. Each might include production-ready capabilities such as authentication, API gateways, and AR scenes. As one of the practical books for web development, it walks you through the process of developing a complete stack application utilizing React, AWS, and GraphQL. You'll learn how to design and integrate services into client applications along with best practices, deployment techniques, managing rich media, and continuous integration and delivery.

"Ruby on Rails"” has become one of the must-read books for web developers who want to learn how to develop RoR apps. Ruby on Rails is a popular framework for building fast apps, and it is used by a wide variety of companies. The list includes GitHub, Shopify, Airbnb, etc. However, when you pick it up, it might be hard to understand the language and operate it. However, whether you're new to web development or just starting out with Rails, this web development textbook will give you the answers that you are looking for.

The book contains a lot of tutorial examples and puts a huge accent on the fundamental web development principles. This edition has been upgraded to include all essential Rails 6 updates. It is truly a useful resource that includes a lot of practical training for Rails and for Ruby, HTML, CSS, and SQL, which are also required for web application development.

All in all, there is no doubt that there are a lot of best books for web developers. Even when frameworks or programming languages are being released, there is a shortage of excellent books on core subjects of web development. All web development books are suited for developers with each specific level of experience. You need to add some of the best web development books we've covered in this article to your bookmarks and begin learning new frameworks or programming languages.