Modern enterprise web applications commonly include various functionalities from simple buttons or basic layout elements to advanced data management and scheduling components that help business people to achieve their goals. Implementing such tools in apps from scratch can be tedious, thus web developers frequently utilize ready-made UI widgets to speed up the development and avoid unnecessary bugs.
If you want to develop a business app and look for a proper auxiliary development tool, here is a review of eight commercial JavaScript libraries comprising feature-packed UI widgets that can aid you in creating an efficient solution with minimum time and effort.
DHTMLX Suite
DHTMLX Suite is a JavaScript widget library for developing interactive and data-intensive web apps with the use of modern technologies. It includes such business widgets as grid, tree grid, calendar, charts, form, etc.
The main advantage of DHTMLX Suite is its ability to easily process large amounts of data, which makes it a perfect fit for CRM, ERP, and other data-heavy applications. It is lightweight (893KB only) and, thus, it will contribute to a high performance of complex web apps.
DHTMLX Suite possesses a number of essential features for advanced applications like inline editing of data, keyboard navigation, drag-n-drop, dynamic loading, and XML processing.
The design of Suite UI widgets is based on Material style. Flexible customization capabilities allow you to easily change the appearance of any available controls via CSS using special helpers like the CSS manager. The library also supports TypeScript and has built-in type definitions to write clean and stable code much faster.
DHTMLX Suite provides integration samples of all UI widgets with React, Angular, and Vue.js. In addition, it is possible to play around with all Suite components, edit them on the fly, save, and share with your team using the DHTMLX code snippet tool.
Number of UI widgets: 20+
Integration with JS frameworks: Angular, React, and Vue.js
Trial version: DHTMLX Suite
Price: free version under GNU GPL v2 license; commercial licenses start from 799$ (from 1 up to 5 developers) up to 3,499$ (for an unlimited number of developers)
DevExtreme
DevExtreme is a suite of enterprise-specific UI components intended for creating standard web and mobile apps. Here you gain numerous ready-made solutions such as grids, interactive charts, maps, editors, and other touch-optimized UI widgets that support all modern browsers. The DevExtreme library is commonly provided in pre-defined bundles, but you can also opt for more compact DevExtreme modules to get only the functionality that is needed for your project. It is possible to configure widgets using Typescript.
DevExtreme comes with a range of built-in themes that can also be customized via the ThemeBuilder tool. The availability of templates and built-in icon library enhance your styling capabilities. Using the keyboard navigation, you can conveniently switch between widgets. DevExtreme allows you to localize messages and numerical data (dates, currencies).
The DevExtreme documentation covers all important aspects related to the library’s common features and their implementation. In addition, you can employ tech demos for numerous use cases vividly showing how UI widgets can be used with various JS libraries and technologies.
Number of UI widgets: 65+
Integration with JS frameworks: Angular, React, Vue, jQuery, ASP.NET MVC
Trial version: DevExtreme
License and price: free non-commercial DevExtreme version; $499.99 - $699.99 per developer
Ignite UI
Ignite UI is a full-fledged toolset of enterprise-grade JavaScript UI widgets designed by Infagistics that help you develop a responsive web app for your business objectives. The most popular Ignite UI components are grids, charts, grid board navigation, and dock manager. The last one is an exclusive feature that enables you to split elaborate layouts into more manageable panes.
Infragistics proposes two instruments to simplify the work with Ignite UI components: HTML5 Page Designer allows you to start designing and coding your business app using a drag-n-drop feature, while the Ignite UI CLI (Command Line Interface) tool makes it easier to utilize component libraries with multiple dependencies. All the components are rendered properly across different browsers since they are 100% compatible with all modern and old browsers. Utilizing predefined and custom themes, you can tailor the style of Ignite widgets to your liking.
Online documentation as well as sample apps help to shed light on how to apply Ignite UI components with different web technologies.
Number of UI widgets: 100+
Integration with JS frameworks: ASP.NET (Core and MVC), Blazor, jQuery, Angular, React, Web Components
Trial version: Ignite UI
Price: $849 - $1,099 per developer
Kendo UI
Kendo UI is a collection of popular and configurable JavaScript UI components that facilitate the development of modern web apps. These UI controls allow you to enrich your application with data grid components, various charts, editing tools, and other user interface elements. Kendo UI also provides a predefined architectural design pattern named MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) that has some useful features and supports data binding. Besides, it is possible to leverage Kendo UI Templates that allow you to use plain templating syntax making UI components more performant.
Built-in themes (including Material and Bootstrap) help to adjust the style of the widgets to your design requirements. Moreover, the online ThemeBuilder App makes it possible to modify standard themes or create new ones. Thanks to the support of WAI-ARIA and other related standards, you can deliver fully accessible apps with an intuitive UI for users with disabilities. Various internationalization and localization options make Kendo-based apps adaptable to different cultures.
Lack of prior experience with Kendo UI won’t be a problem, as the library comes with all-inclusive documentation, demos, and video tutorials to help you get started without delay.
Number of UI widgets: 70+
Integration with JS frameworks: jQuery, Angular, React, and Vue.js
Trial version: Kendo UI
Price: a free version under Apache license; $999 – $2,199 per developer
Sencha - Ext JS
Originally designed as an extension of Yahoo! UI library, Sencha Ext JS has eventually transformed into a separate JavaScript library for developing complex web apps and interfaces using various techniques (DOM, DHTML, Ajax). It provides a wide range of fully-fledged UI widgets such as grids, 3D adapter, exporter, etc. aimed to extend the feature set of your app and accelerate the development process. There are also hundreds of user extensions provided by the Sencha community.
The library helps to increase your coding productivity by supplying a range of advanced tools. For instance, you can create Ext JS apps with drag-n-drop, customize themes without additional coding, debug your app, and much more. Ext JS includes MVC/MVVM architecture and supports OOP concepts as well as SPA (Single Page Applications) development.
Sencha Ext JS comes with a collection of learning resources including docs, examples, webinars to help you in utilizing Sencha UI widgets and other tools in your project.
Number of UI widgets: 140+
Integration with JS frameworks: React, Angular, Web Components, GWT
Trial version: Sencha Ext JS
Price: a free Community edition; from $1,295 per developer
Syncfusion Essential JS 2
Syncfusion Essential JS 2 is a modern UI controls’ library that is written in TypeScript from scratch as a tool for delivering commercially-oriented web apps. The library includes a pack of modular and responsive JavaScript widgets that are typically required for creating business apps including calendars, grids, and data visualization tools.
All the components provide full support for touch screens devices and render well on screens of different sizes. When it comes to the look and feel customization, the library offers a range of built-in themes that can also be modified using an online Theme Studio. Different locales and culture settings make your app available to a larger audience from all over the world.
Information-packed learning resources such as documentation and demos reveal core aspects of Syncfusion components. The source code for all UI widgets and other related materials can be found on the GitHub page.
Number of UI widgets: 65+
Integration with JS frameworks: Angular, React, Vue, Blazor
Trial version: Syncfusion Essential JS 2
Price: starting from 995$ per developer
Webix UI
Webix is an enterprise JavaScript library that provides multiple UI widgets with adaptive layouts for cross-platform application development. You can customize all UI components or create new ones, and rearrange elements added to the current layout on the fly. Styling changes for a specific widget or its elements can be introduced via standard CSS. The main package of UI components is supplemented with a range of third-party UI integration extensions and complex UI widgets such as Kanban and File Manager that allow you to add extra functionality to your app. Such features as paging and dynamic loading help to guarantee high performance when dealing with large datasets.
Webix also offers several free tools that help simplify the development process: UI designer for making interface prototypes, Webix Jet framework for creating SPA apps, Form Builder for producing web forms, Skin Builder for working with UI styles and templates, and Webix live coding tool. The library adheres to the WAI-ARIA standards for enhanced accessibility and meets the HIPPA and GDPR rules to protect private data.
Webix documentation, interactive tutorials, and demo materials present a convenient way to discover all ins and outs of this JavaScript library.
Number of UI widgets: 100+
Integration with JS frameworks: jQuery, AngularJS, React, Vue.js
Trial version: Webix JavaScript UI framework
Price: free version under GNU GPLv3 license; from $499 (one project/one developer) to $9,499 (unlimited number of projects and developers)
Wijmo
Wijmo is a JavaScript library with a large set of UI controls developed by GrapeCity, inc. in accordance with the ECMAScript 5 standard for building data-driven business applications. It contains grids, charts, gauges, input elements as well as some data management utilities. The library has a flexible API with a short learning curve. You can configure all UI components without extra code manipulations using the Wijmo design tools (Wijmo designer and VSCode designer extension for Angular).
Wijmo controls rely on CSS when it is required to modify the look and feel of a particular widget and change its size or position. Moreover, you can apply animations to make your app more visually appealing. Web applications based on Wijmo controls support modern desktop and mobile browsers. Wijmo also fully complies with the CSP security standard to protect the app from various types of code injection attacks.
If you decide to use the Wijmo library for your project, you can get a full picture of its controls and their features via the documentation page, demos, and videos and utilize their functional capabilities to the fullest extent.
Number of UI widgets: 100+
Integration with JS frameworks: Angular, AngularJS, React, Vue, Ionic, Web Components
Trial version: Wijmo
Price: $1,195 per developer
Final Words
These were eight JavaScript widget libraries for developing enterprise-level web applications. They differ in a number of UI widgets, integrations available, and licensing and pricing options. Feel free to add other JS UI libraries to this list in the comments below!
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