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CUSTOM WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT

Web Application Architecture

[Complete Guide & Diagrams]
Web application architecture sets the foundation for all of the development work.
Get it right and you will benefit from improved scalability, enhanced security, better
performance, easier maintenance, and increased flexibility. Get it wrong and you’ll be
suffering the Disadvantagesequences long after the software launches.

But designing the right web app architecture isn’t easy, especially when you’re part
of the 70% of organizations that manage five different application architectures at
once! That’s why we are providing a complete guide to web application architecture
along with sample architecture diagrams to help you design an architecture that best
addresses the needs of your web app.

Table of Contents

 Web application basics

 What is web application architecture
 Why is web app architecture important
 Types of web applications
o Server-side rendered application (SSR)
o Single-page application (SPA)
o Progressive web application (PWA)
 Types of web application architectures
o Monolithic architecture
o Micro Services architecture
o Server less Architecture
 How to choose the right web application type & architecture
 Visualizing web application architecture with diagrams
o 5 steps to create a architecture diagram for a web application
o What to include in a web application architecture diagram
 Conclusion

Web application basics

A web application, or web app, is software built using technologies such as HTML,
JavaScript, and CSS. They are typically accessed via a web browser and can be used
to perform a wide range of tasks, from shopping and banking to streaming media
and managing finances.

It’s important to understand that a web app is not a website. While the line might
appear blurry, they are, in fact, different. Web apps and websites have different uses,
user needs, and expectations. Websites are typically designed to provide users
information or accept basic inputs from users. Web applications, on the other hand,
are designed to be more interactive and dynamic.

What is web application architecture?

Now that we know what a web app is, let’s talk more specifically about web
application architecture. Essentially web app architecture is how a web app’s
components are Constructed and connected to each other.

Modern web application architecture is typically implemented with a 3-tier structure:

 Presentation layer: This is the user interface of the web application. It is

responsible for the visual aspects of the web application, such as the design of
the user interface, the layout of the screens, and the navigation.
 Application layer: This is the business logic layer. It is responsible for the
logic and processes that the web application needs to perform. This includes
the processing of user input, data manipulation, and the execution of business
rules. One or multiple web servers live within the application layer.
 Data layer: This layer is responsible for the persistent data storage and the
retrieval of data when needed. It is typically composed of a database and
other data stores such as files and web services. It’s worth noting that the data
layer could have one or multiple databases, depending on the exact
architecture.

The 3-tier structure is important because it helps to separate the different elements
of a software application. By separating these components, the application can be
designed to be more efficient and secure. It also makes it easier to maintain and
extend over time.GET A FREE QUOTE

Factors of Web Application Architecture Importance

It’s important to focus on getting the web application architecture right before any
web development begins. Doing so will help to ensure that your web app is set up to
provide a great experience for the end user and meet the demands of the business
today, as well as for the future.

A well-designed, modern web application architecture will ensure your web app is:

 Scalable: Every web app should be designed to accommodate changes in

traffic and user needs over time. A well-designed web application architecture
will ensure such changes in capacity are handled appropriately with no
degradation in performance or reliability.
 SEO-optimized: A well-designed web application architecture can help with
SEO by optimizing the structure of the website to ensure that search engine
crawlers can easily access and index the content as well as help ensure that
the website is loading quickly, which can help improve overall rankings and
visibility.
 Secure: A well-designed architecture will keep web application components
isolated from each other, helping to reduce the attack surface as well as help
to protect data by providing secure authentication and authorization
mechanisms.

On the flip side, if you don't take the time to build a good web app architecture, you
may run into a lot of problems down the line. Without a solid architecture, your web
application may have difficulty scaling, have poor performance, and be difficult to
maintain. Additionally, you may find it difficult to ensure your application is secure, as
it may be vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Overall, architecture development should be
an intentional part of building web applications.

Types of web applications

We’ve talked about the basics of web app architecture and looked at why it's
important. Before we dive into specific web application architecture models, let’s take
a step back and look at the main types of web applications themselves. Web apps
come in a variety of types in order to meet the needs of a wide range of end-uses,
from ultra-basic to highly complex, enterprise-level services.

We are going to focus on three of the most common types of web applications in
this article, starting with server-side rendered applications.
Server-side rendered application (SSR)

Server-side rendered applications (SSR) are web applications that are rendered on
the web server instead of in the browser or client-side. This means that the
application code is executed on the one web server and the HTML is sent to the
browser, which then displays the content to the user.

SSR applications provide a better user experience, faster page loads, and better SEO
performance than client-side rendered applications. Furthermore, this type of
application is more secure and can be scaled more easily than client-side rendered
applications.

Advantages:

 Easily indexed by search engines

 Fast to develop using tools like Django Admin or ActiveAdmin

Disadvantages

 Hard to implement complex UI functionality

 Slower initial reload times for complex views

SOME POPULAR SSR TECHNOLOGIES

Django: An open-source, Python programming language - based web application

framework, Django is one of the most popular technologies used for server-side
rendered applications. It provides a powerful and intuitive framework for building
complex web applications quickly and efficiently.

Next.js: A React-based JavaScript framework, Next.js is a popular and powerful tool

for SSR web application development. It provides an intuitive and powerful
framework for building modern web applications quickly.

Single-page application (SPA)

A single-page application (SPA) is a web application that interacts with the user by
dynamically rewriting the current page rather than loading entire new pages from
the server. The page is updated in real-time and is designed to provide a smoother,
more responsive user experience.

Advantages:

 Easy to implement complex UI functionality

 Requires more upfront development time and cost

Disadvantages:

 Higher development costs

 On low-end devices, users may experience delays with some UI interactions

POPULAR SPA TECHNOLOGIES

1. React: React is one of the most popular technologies used for SPA. It is an
open-source JavaScript library developed by Facebook. React is used to create
user interfaces, especially for single page applications.
2. Vue: Vue is another popular technology used for SPA. It is an open-source
JavaScript framework created by Evan You. Vue is designed to be simple, easy
to learn, and highly performing.

Progressive web application (PWA)

Progressive web apps (PWAs) are web applications that use modern web
technologies to provide a user experience similar to that of a native application.
PWAs are designed to be fast, reliable, and engaging.

Progressive web app architecture provides a rich, immersive experience for users,
allowing them to access the application from any device with a web browser, without
having to install a native application.

Advantages

 Easy to save to user’s phone home screen

 Can be used offline

Disadvantages

 Complex to develop and maintain

 Higher development costs

POPULAR SPA TECHNOLOGIES

Next.js: Next.js is a popular framework that allows developers to create progressive

web apps quickly. It has built-in server-side rendering, routing and automatic code
splitting.

Types of web application architectures

Now that we’ve broken down the three types of web apps, it’s time to turn to the
different types of web application architecture. Apps can be architecture in a
multitude of ways to suit the needs of specific business and use cases.

However, with that being said, there are three main categories of web application
architecture that most apps will fall into:

Monolithic architecture

We’ll start with the most basic, traditional model: monolithic architecture. This web
application architecture relies on a single, unified Code base for all web application
components. This means that the code base contains all of the application’s code,
including the user interface, business logic, and database access logic. Additionally,
all components of the application share the same runtime environment.

The main benefits of monolithic architecture are that it simplifies development, since
all the code is housed in a single location. This makes debugging and
troubleshooting much easier, since all the code is in one place. Additionally, the code
can be modified quickly and easily, as there is no need to update multiple
components.

Monolithic architecture is not a good choice for large, complex applications that
need to scale up to handle a large number of concurrent users.

Advantages

 Single Code base makes development and maintenance easier.

 Low complexity due to fewer moving parts.
 Easier to debug and deploy code.
 Improved performance due to fewer network requests.

Disadvantages

 Difficult to scale individual components.

 Not well-suited for rapid development or frequent changes.
 Lack of modularity can make it difficult to reuse code.
 Not designed to handle large traffic loads.

Micro Services architecture

Micro Services architecture is a modern, web application architecture that breaks

down a large, complex application into smaller, independent services. These services
communicate with each other using APIs and are independently deployable.

In a Micro Services web application architecture, each service is designed to perform

a specific task. This helps to keep the Code base maintainable, as each service can be
managed and modified independently of the other services. Services can also be
deployed, scaled, and managed independently. This allows for more granular control
over the application’s performance and enables developers to quickly and easily
make changes.

Additionally, Micro Services architecture allows for faster deployment and delivery of
new features, as changes can be made and deployed to individual services without
affecting the entire web application. Micro Services architecture is a great choice for
complex web applications that demand flexibility and scalability or require the
involvement of multiple, independent development teams.

Advantages:

 Small, focused teams that can work independently

 Highly scalable and resilient
 Allows for the use of different technologies for different services
 Fault isolation and better resilience

Disadvantages:

 Increased complexity in system design

 Network problems and latency
 Difficulties in developing and testing
 Potential for data integrity issues due to multiple databases.

Server less Architecture

Server less web application architecture leverages cloud-based services to deploy a

web app without having to manage the underlying infrastructure. It is a way of
building and running applications and services without having to think about the
web servers.
With Server less web applications, the cloud provider can automatically scale the
application to meet demand, removing the need to provision additional servers. It is
a great choice for web apps that require quick scaling and low latency, such as web
apps that need to handle large amounts of traffic

Typical use cases for Server less web application architecture include web
applications that require high levels of scalability, such as e-commerce, gaming, and
streaming applications. Additionally, Server less web applications are ideal for
applications that require low latency, such as real-time analytics and machine
learning applications.

Advantages:

 Low operational cost

 No need for web server management
 Highly scalable and Easy to deploy, maintain
 Flexible event-driven architecture
 Focus on code rather than infrastructure

Disadvantages:

 Cold starts may cause latency

 Limitations on certain types of applications
 Limited support for debugging
 Vendor lock-in
 Potentially higher costs for high usage

How to choose the right web application type &

architecture
We’ve looked at the various types of web applications as well as the architectures
you can use to build them. But how do you choose the right one for your project
factors to Disadvantages, including:

 Main use or functionality of the app

 Complexity of the app, including the number of screens and features
 End users’ needs, expectations, and requirements
 Levels and fluctuation of user traffic
 Tolerance for ongoing maintenance and support
 Experience and skill of your web developers
 Development budget
 Maintenance budget

Once you have a sense for the above factors, you can begin to thoroughly evaluate
your options. Use the below chart as a guide for finding the right type of web
application for your project:

Type of web application

Server-side rendering  If you have a small budget for up-front development costs
(SSR) application
 If your app’s UI will be simple with minimal features

Single-page application  If your app’s UI will be moderately or very complex, and

(SPA) you can accept medium-level up-front development costs.

Progressive web  If your app’s UI will be moderately or very complex, and

application (PWA) you can tolerate expensive up-front development costs
 If you require the fastest load time speeds, high
performance, and reliability
 If you need your app to work in offline mode

Below chart as a guide for finding the right web application architecture for your
project:

Web application architecture

Monolithic  If you want to simplify the application structure and reduce development
architecture costs
  If you are working with a single development team and your application is
low to medium complexity

Micro Services  If you can tolerate more complex and costly development in exchange for
architecture easier debugging and long-term reliability
 If you are initially building a simple app but intend to scale it in the near
future

Server less  If you want to significantly reduce server and maintenance costs
architecture
 If you don’t mind being locked into a server vendor

Visualizing web application architecture with diagrams

A web application architecture diagram is used to visually represent the structure of a
web application, the relationship between its components, and the flow of data. This
type of diagram can help teams:

 Provide developers important high-level context for the application they will
be working on.
 Identify potential problems in the application architecture, and help in finding
solutions to those problems before implementation begins.
 Gain stakeholder alignment on the web application software development and
implementation plan.

5 steps to create an architecture diagram for a web application

Creating a web application architecture diagram is often the responsibility of the

application architects or technical leads. But if you haven’t created one before, it can
be difficult to know where to start. Let’s break it down into 5 basic steps:

1. Gather requirements: Review the existing system and understand the

requirements of the web application. Consult all stakeholders to gain a
comprehensive understanding of the business logic and technical limitations that the
web development architecture needs to be designed within.

2. Identify components: Identify all of the web app components that will be used,
taking into account both client and server sides. Make sure to include components
such as web servers, cloud storage, external data storage, data access layer, and
client-side UI.

3. Design the architecture: Design the architecture of the web application by

drawing arrows that represent relationships between the components. Consider
including visual aids such as colour coding different architecture layers or adding
notes to provide greater context.

4. Review and refine: Review the web application architecture diagram with
stakeholders and refine it if necessary to make it more understandable or to fix any
errors.

5. Finalize the diagram: Finalize the diagram by adding the name and version
information of the components and other necessary details before sharing the
diagram with management or client representatives.

What to include in a web application architecture diagram

The level of detail of your web app diagram depends on your team’s individual
needs, but in general, your diagram should include the following web application
architecture components:

 User: This should notate where the user will interact with the application or
the “input” of the application. Sometimes this detonated as “mobile” or “web”
to show more succinctly the user and front-end together.
 Front-end/UI: Some web architects opt to break the user and the actual
front-end down in their diagrams. If you do so, use this to denote what the
user sees and interacts with.
 Database: This is where all the data is stored, such as user accounts,
messages, and products.
 Cloud storage: It’s important to note specifically if data is stored in the cloud
and where it connects into the application.
 Load balancer. If applicable, use this to notate any load balancing or
distribution of traffic.
 Firewall. Security measures like a firewall can be helpful to include in your
web architecture diagram.
  Services/business logic. You can either include this as one icon indicating a
series of services or business logic, or you can list out a sample list of services
to provide readers more context.
 Servers: You may have one server or multiple servers. Either way, make sure
to include them and indicate how they connect into your web application.
 APIs: These are the tools that allow the web app to communicate with other
services or databases. Note any key APIs in your diagram.

Technical Architecture Diagram

Conclusion
The right web application architecture can set up your web application development
project for success. On the other hand, a poorly designed architecture can leave you
vulnerable to security threats, limit the app’s ability to scale, and make it difficult for
developers to maintain.

Understanding the different types of web applications and architectures available can
help teams design the right architecture for their project. Additionally, as we’ve seen,
web application architecture diagrams can be used to spot any potential problems in
the architecture as well as provide developers and other stakeholders important
information before implementation begins.