Everything You Need to Know About Web Application Architecture

The web application architecture mainly represents relationships and interactions between components such as user interfaces, TP monitors, databases, and others. The main goal is to make sure that all the elements work together correctly.

The logic is pretty simple: when the user enters a URL in the browser and presses enter, the browser makes a request to the server. The server responds and then displays the requested web page. All of these components create the architecture of the web application. Check our guide web application, to get more details.

What Is Web Application Architecture?

First of all, remember that a web application and a website are two different things. Web applications, like sites, run in a browser, but they have a number of distinctive features:

• interactive, like a desktop application;
• solves a specific problem, even if just looking for information;
• has a content management system.

Whereas a website is just a combination of statistical (less often dynamic) pages.

Users use different devices (PC, smartphone, etc.) - this is the client of the application. Another component of the application architecture is the server side, which provides the requested data. The interaction of these parts constitutes the client-server model on which all application work rests. This is the basic model for how web applications work, the main differences are in the details.

The web app architecture defines the interactions between applications, middleware systems, and databases to enable multiple applications to work together.

Thus, the architecture of a web application includes all subcomponents and external application exchanges for the entire application. This fulfills the specific goals and needs of the application. In addition to fulfilling user requests, the application architecture deals with the scale, security, and efficiency of applications.

All web applications of different sizes and levels of complexity (even cloud based web apps)  follow the same architectural principle, but the details may vary.

How Does Web Application Architecture Work?

Any web application includes two parts - server (back-end) and client (front-end). Clients interact with the front-end part directly, evaluating the interface and its convenience, and the client code reacts to all user actions. You should create an architecture diagram, before starting work.

The user cannot see the web server architecture, but they feel its work because it is the back-end that processes HTTP requests and manages all business logic.

Thus, the architecture of the application looks like this: credentials are entered on the client side, and after pressing Enter, the server side starts working, which processes your request.

Components of Web Application Architecture

The architecture of a web application includes several different components, divided into two main categories: UI application components and structural components.

UI Application Components link directly to web pages that are responsible for settings and configurations. Their key components are UI and UX, from the look of the app to the display of notices.

While the structural components are just responsible for interacting with users. This also includes data storage and database control.

If we go deeper and consider in more detail, then the components can also be attributed:

• DNS (Domain Name System) - it helps to find IP addresses and domain names.
• Load Balancer - Its main task is to scale horizontally.
• Web application servers - they are the ones who process the user's requests, sending him a response in the browser in the form of a document in a suitable format.
• The database is entirely responsible for collecting and organizing data, as well as updating and deleting them.
• Caching Service - It provides storage for all data and also organizes searches. This allows further requests to be processed faster.
• A CDN (Content Delivery System) is responsible for sending HTML files, CSS files, JavaScript files, and images.

Models of Web Application Components

There are several basic models of application components.

They are directly related to the number of databases and services that are used for the web application:

One web server and one database

The least reliable model, as any server problems lead to application problems. A single server/database model is used to run test projects, but not for full-fledged web applications.

Multiple web servers and one database

The main feature of the model is that it does not store data. When sending a request to a web server, it processes and transfers it to the database, but the data is managed outside the server. This model has a name - stateless architecture. It requires at least two web servers, but any database problems will cause the application to crash.

Multiple web servers and multiple databases

The most reliable and efficient model. You can store data in all web server databases at the same time, or evenly distribute them by saving the application.

App services

Since application services are usually flexible (both microservices and serverless), it is much easier to scale and update them. Using this model allows you to split web servers into smaller ones (services in microservices and functions in serverless applications).

Types of Web Application Architecture

Architectural patterns, like design algorithms, are independent of the language you write in (Node js web, architecture Java or architecture PHP).

You also can use architecture cloud storage. In the architecture of web applications, there are five main types of web applications. Let's consider them in more detail.

1. Single Page Application (SPA)

There are only content elements on the same page. This format provides great UX with dynamic interaction. This server architecture type provides interactive and more convenient access to a single page for the user.

2. Multi-page application

This is the best choice for large sites. This type of solution reloads the website page to download or send data to/from the server architecture directly through the users' browsers.

3. Microservices architecture

Microservices architecture focuses on the back end of the application. The release on microservices takes a little longer, but in case of problems with any part of the application, the rest of it will not be affected.

4. Serverless architecture

In this case, developers can work not with an internal server, but with a third-party infrastructure. This helps a lot with the implementation of the web application.

5. Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

Such solutions work like native applications on mobile gadgets. They provide offline access, push notifications, and the ability to install the app on the home screen.

Web Application Architecture Best Practices and Trends

The main goal of web applications is to make the web application development and maintenance of web applications simple and efficient.

Thus, the architecture of web applications should include the following aspects:

• Seamless problem solving
• Fast testability
• Scalability
• Flexibility
• Efficiency
• Decrypted code
• Reusability.

At this point, it is possible to create a robust web application architecture for any digital solution.

The two most popular trends in web application architecture are:

1. Rendering on the client side

In this case, only a request is created on the server to load the base skeleton of the application. All other content is dynamically generated using JavaScript.

2. Server side rendering

In this case, the request is sent directly to the server, and after processing it, the browser receives the JavaScript, CSS, and HTML files. After that, the user is shown the entire content of the page.

How To Design Architecture For Web Application

When you start developing a web application architecture, you should immediately think about the main points:

Scope and function of the web solution

• Budget
• Target platforms
• Terms of development
• The target audience
• The purpose of architecture.

This will allow you to clearly understand what resources you need and how to implement it.

Next, we will focus on the technical side.

1. Database

Databases have various functions. For example, NoSQL is used for large scale projects. You can also opt for more traditional SQL or use a replicated database for better load handling.

2. Backend

The platform should be dynamic and statistically optimal for the domain. The language and the web application server should also match perfectly. Cloud solutions can become an alternative to microservices and servers.

3. Frontend

When choosing between a single page application and a model view controller, try to consider all the options. Angular, Vue, React, etc. are fine for front-end web application development.

 4. API

API is another important design factor that relies on GET, REST and POST. These APIs handle HTTP requests quickly and easily. You can also use GraphQL, which will increase the throughput of your application.

Summary

The success of a web application directly depends on its architecture. The more precise the architecture of native web applications, the faster and safer access the user will get. 

For your web application to work well, you need to assemble all the necessary structural components under the supervision of an experienced developer. Only in this case the application will function correctly, attract the right audience and provide all the benefits.