Disadvantages of using AngularJS for Development

Disadvantages of AngularJS

It goes without saying that although AngularJS has it's strengths, it also has it's downsides. It is the predecessor to Angular after all and if there were no downsides, Angular needn't have been created. That being said, Angular still has some of the following downsides despite being a more modern version. 

Here we look at the key disadvantages to using AngularJS for web and mobile application development.

Performance Issues -

Two-way data binding and the digest cycle within AngularJS can lead to performance issues and slow loading time particularly in large applications.

Time to learn the framework -

Comprehensive framework with a lot of concepts to learn making it challenging for beginners.

Limited SEO Capabilities -

Single-page applications can struggle with SEO, requiring additional workarounds like server-side rendering.

Large File Size -

The AngularJS core library can be large which can in turn, negatively impact on initial load times.

Migration Challenges -

It is not backward compatible with Angular which makes migrating from AngularJS complex and time consuming.

Excessive Boilerplate Code -

Often requires a lot of boilerplate code which can make the codebase complex and harder to maintain.

JavaScript Dependency -

Heavy reliance on JavaScript which can be problematic if the client's browser has JavaScript disabled.

Security Concerns -

Susceptible to client-side security issues such as XSS, requiring careful input/output sanitisation.

Debugging Complexity -

Debugging can be challenging due to the abstractions of the framework and the complexity of the digest cycle.

Documentation Gaps -

Inconsistent or incomplete documentation can be problematic, especially as community focus has shifted to Angular. This is also unlikely to change as future growth and support for AngularJS are only going to decrease.

To Conclude

As we can see from the above list, AngularJS has a number of nuances that may influence your decision as to whether to use it for your web applications. Whilst some have been addressed through the more modern, Angular, others are still prevalent in the newer framework as well. You may wish to continue using AngularJS for existing web applications if the cost and/or complexity to change outweighs the concerns you have. However, you should clearly assess your current environment and the outcomes you want to achieve with a new web application before choosing to use AngularJS to develop it.

Further Reading

What is AngularJS and why is it used?