JavaScript is a powerful, versatile programming language used to build web applications. Plenty of JavaScript libraries make that work easier by shipping ready-made features: event handling, animation, talking to servers, and so on.
This article presents 20 JavaScript libraries worth trying in 2023. They are sorted by category to help you find the one that best fits what you need.
Libraries for event handling
- Zepto.js : a lightweight JavaScript library with an API close to jQuery’s, but a much smaller footprint. You can find it here: https://zeptojs.com/
- Hammer.js: a JavaScript library for handling touch and gesture events on touch devices. It is particularly useful for mobile applications and responsive websites. You can find it here: https://hammerjs.github.io/
Libraries for animation
- Anime.js: a JavaScript library for building high-quality animations on your website. You can find it here: https://animejs.com/
- GSAP: a high-performance JavaScript library for professional-grade animation. You can find it here: https://greensock.com/gsap/
Libraries for talking to servers
- Axios: a JavaScript library that makes HTTP requests to a server straightforward. You can find it here: https://github.com/axios/axios
- SuperAgent: another JavaScript library that makes HTTP requests to a server straightforward. You can find it here: https://visionmedia.github.io/superagent/
Libraries that extend the language
- Lodash: a JavaScript library offering a broad set of utility functions for handling and transforming data. You can find it here: https://lodash.com/
- Underscore.js: another JavaScript library offering a broad set of utility functions for handling and transforming data. You can find it here: https://underscorejs.org/
Libraries for form handling
- FormValidation: a JavaScript library for validating HTML forms easily. It is highly flexible and lets you customise the validation rules and the error messages. You can find it here: https://formvalidation.io/
- Parsley.js: a JavaScript library for validating HTML forms easily. It is highly flexible and lets you customise the validation rules and the error messages. You can find it here: https://parsleyjs.org/
Libraries for dates and time
- Moment.js: a JavaScript library for working with dates and time easily. You can find it here: https://momentjs.com/
- Luxon: another JavaScript library for working with dates and time easily. You can find it here: https://moment.github.io/luxon/
Libraries for notifications
- Toastr: a JavaScript library for building good-looking notifications on your website. You can find it here: https://codeseven.github.io/toastr/
- SweetAlert: another JavaScript library for building good-looking notifications on your website. You can find it here: https://sweetalert.js.org/
Libraries for charts and data visualisation
- D3.js : a JavaScript library for building high-quality charts and data visualisations on your website. You can find it here: https://d3js.org/
- Chart.js : another JavaScript library for building high-quality charts and data visualisations on your website. You can find it here: https://www.chartjs.org/
Libraries for data tables
- DataTables: a JavaScript library for building and customising data tables on your website with little effort. You can find it here: https://datatables.net/
- Handsontable: another JavaScript library for building and customising data tables on your website with little effort. You can find it here: https://handsontable.com/
Libraries for charts and data visualisation
- D3.js : a JavaScript library for building high-quality charts and data visualisations on your website. You can find it here: https://d3js.org/
- Chart.js : another JavaScript library for building high-quality charts and data visualisations on your website. You can find it here: https://www.chartjs.org/
Libraries for maps
- Leaflet: a JavaScript library for building and customising maps on your website with little effort. You can find it here: https://leafletjs.com/
- Mapbox: another JavaScript library for building and customising maps on your website with little effort. You can find it here: https://www.mapbox.com
Conclusion
There are plenty of JavaScript libraries out there to help you build solid web applications. We have covered 20 of them worth trying in 2023, sorted by category so you can find the one that fits your needs. Do go through them and try them out in your own projects to see how they can improve your code.
