The Best Java Frameworks for Web Development in 2025

Quick Go-Through: A Java framework is the body of predefined codes used by programmers to develop applications on the web. These frameworks in Java development are classes and functions that control hardware, process input, and communicate with system applications. Java frameworks contain pre-written codes and libraries that help the developer build an application without writing all the code individually. But deciding which Java framework to use can be a little stressful. Don’t worry! In this blog, you’ll learn some of the best Java frameworks for web development.

Spring, Grails, Google Web Toolkit - do these remind you of something? If yes, then you have an idea about the different frameworks in Java. But what are Java frameworks exactly? These Java frameworks are a body or a platform of pre-written codes. Java developers use these Java frameworks for web development. In other words, the Java framework is a predefined class and function set to control hardware devices, process input, and communicate with system applications.

The most popular frameworks in Java act like a skeleton and help the developer to build an application by writing their code. Verified Market Research’s report shows that the global Java web development frameworks market is expected to value around USD 9,034.10 Million by 2030. Woah, it’s enormous!

Now, there’s nothing to wonder how important the frameworks for Java are!

So, as a business, if you’re looking forward to adding Java top frameworks to your arsenal of web development tools. Well, congratulations! This blog post is for you and will help you with valuable insights.

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Whether for your business or your personal use, knowing and understanding more about Java development frameworks is always a great idea. Java has been considered one of the most popular coding languages for web programming experts. While comparing Java with Python, it is the third most popular language. To benefit from its excellent strength, investigate the best Java frameworks one can use in 2025 to stay ahead of the competition.

But first, the basics, of course.

What is a Java Framework?

Before directly diving into the top frameworks for Java development, we must understand that Java is a backend technology, and developers can experience and employ several Java frameworks for backend development. A website’s server side is known as the backend.

It maintains data, organizes it, and ensures the website’s client-side functions properly. It is the website area you cannot access or view. And to implement this, developers utilize leading backend technologies was the crux of the Java framework. Now let’s understand what are java frameworks.

A Java framework is the body of predefined codes used by programmers to develop applications on the web. These frameworks in Java development are classes and functions that control hardware, process input, and communicate with system applications. Java frameworks contain pre-written codes and libraries that help the developer build an application without writing all the code individually. At the same time, the latter is open source.

Java frameworks are also called libraries and APIs.

Why Use Java Frameworks?

Java frameworks help to provide structure when developing applications. The development of frameworks for testing, online applications, and ORM (object-relational mapping) is one way that programmers can automate various tasks and produce reliable outcomes. In summary, java web development frameworks include Java front-end frameworks and Java frameworks for backend development. It makes developers’ lives easier and lets them concentrate more on business logic than generic code used throughout a domain or application. Do you want to learn more about front-end vs backend? Read our article and get an in-depth understanding.

Benefits of Using Java Frameworks for Web Development

Following are some of the best benefits of using the best frameworks for Java development:

1. Code Simplification

Dedicated developers use frameworks in Java for simplification of the code. They ensure that the generated codes are marked down to a great extent with the help of preset codes and libraries embedded in them. Now, one might wonder what it means by simplified codes. Simply put, it means there is no need to write all the codes individually using Java frameworks.

2. Multiple Development Options

Apart from simplifying the code, frameworks for Java development offer diverse options and features to their developers. Java web development framework provides a platform that allows its users to develop responsive applications very efficiently since it has built-in standards and rules that developers should follow.

3. Security and Reliability

A Java web development framework provides Java security libraries and reliability to the web applications they have been programmed to work on. Since they are created with the help of various intricate methods and algorithms that are secure, reliable, and adaptive, the framework will always perform 100% of its intended purpose without causing any disruption or damage to your web applications.

4. Better Support

These frameworks for Java development have large forums or extensive support groups. With their help, people can have their problems addressed, solved, and their questions answered. They also provide a good documentation part where one can understand the Java web development framework.

5. Enhanced Efficiency

An everyday task can take several hours or even days to finish with multiple lines of code. However, when utilizing the best frameworks for Java, you can complete the tasks effortlessly with the help of predefined functions. The overall web development process becomes more accessible, quicker, and efficient.

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Let’s now move to the heart and soul of our blog and learn about some of the best and most popular frameworks in Java development.

12 Popular Java Frameworks

Now let us look at the top Java frameworks for 2025. These Java frameworks for web development are the top choices for dedicated development teams worldwide.

1. Spring

Spring is an open-source lightweight Java web development framework. It provides infrastructure support to develop Java applications. As one of the most popular Java Enterprise Edition (JEE), Spring can help developers create high-performing applications using plain old Java objects.

Best Features of Spring

• Admin Features
• Properties Files
• Type-Safe Configuration
• Web Development
• Application Listeners and Events
• Externalized Configuration

Advantages of Spring

• You can use Spring for application testing alongside the backward compatibility
• Java Spring framework helps to establish JDBC connections
• These frameworks are compatible with XML configurations
• It helps to fire up web apps without any actual web server

2. Google Web Toolkit

Google Web Toolkit (GWT), like Spring and other frameworks for Java development, became one of the favorite frameworks for software developers. This is the best Java web UI framework with a popular open-source community that ensures many applications are developed using GWT. The framework is extremely lightweight, making it easy to integrate.

Best Features of Google Web Toolkit

• Simple RPC Mechanism
• Provides Full-Featured Java Debugging Support
• Unit Testing Integration
• Reusable and Dynamic UI Components
• Browser History Management
• Support for Localization and Internationalization

Advantages of GWT

• It is significantly developer friendly
• Google Web Toolkit creates and manages complex JavaScript app development
• GWT provides cross-browser portability
• It supports a wide range of APIs for seamless development

3. Hibernate

Hibernate is amongst some of the most popular frameworks for web development, which provides some sort of abstraction layer. The programmer does not have to worry about the implementations since Hibernate does the performances for you internally. For instance, establishing the connection and writing a query to perform operations like CRUD; that is why it is at the top of the Java frameworks list.

Best Features of Hibernate

• Object Relational Mapping (ORM)
• Lightweight
• Caching
• High-Performance
• Hibernate Query Language (HQL)
• Auto-Generation

Advantages of Hibernate

• Hibernate enhances maintainability and efficiency
• It is entirely open source
• ORM enables better coordination between database management and application
• Hibernate supports Persistence APIs

4. Struts

Struts is one of the best frameworks for Java development based on a set of technologies, such as JSP, JSTL, XML, etc. Struts framework provides an implementation of MVC architecture as a Java MVC framework and offers a ready-to-use validation framework. Strut power lies in its model layer, which can be integrated with other Java top frameworks such as Spring, Hibernate, JDBC, etc.

Best Features of Struts

• POJO Based Actions
• Integration Support
• Various Tag Support
• Template and Theme Support
• Configurable MVC Elements
• AJAX Support

Advantages of Struts

• It minimizes the overall development time
• The documentation is based on active web developers
• Struts provide XML type of files for a centralized configuration
• It follows application development based on MVC

5. Play

Play is a robust open-source framework for Java web development and one of the best Java REST API frameworks. This Java web development framework provides type-safe RESTful Web Services (using Scala) and a web profiler, such as a web server and an application server. The Scala programming language helps to carry out the development process.

Best Features of Play

• Robust Build and Console Tools
• Built-In Testing Tools
• Hit Refresh Workflow
• IDE Support for IntelliJ IDEA and Eclispe
• Type in Safety
• High-Performing App Developments

Advantages of Play

• Play is fault-tolerant and highly flexible
• Supports Hot Coding and Convention over configuration method
• Sustains ability to provide error texts and notification
• Supports non-blocking input and output functionalities

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6. Grails

Grails is one of the top open-source frameworks in the Java world that allows you to create dynamic web applications using Java, Groovy, and SQL. It is a robust framework that helps to develop dynamic websites and applications quickly with less effort by using groovy language. This framework is the leading development platform for building enterprise applications, dynamic websites, and mobile applications.

Best Features of Grails

• Spring Boot Foundation
• Optimum Reloading Agent
• Plugin Library
• Seamless Java Integration
• Built-In Testing Framework
• Groovy Lineage

Advantages of Grails

• Grails allow code reusability for better productivity
• It provides the most superficial documentation
• Provides Object-Mapping features for seamless development
• Supports cross-platform IDE support and customized plugins

7. JavaServer Faces

JSF (JavaServer Faces) is an open-source face-paced technology that allows you to develop rich user interfaces using Java. It is one of the best Java web UI frameworks that provide components for designing user interfaces. JSF is an acronym meaning JavaServer Face, a framework that works with the Java Servlet API and the JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology.

Best Features of JavaServer Faces

• Built on Top of the Servlet API
• Automatic State Management
• Reliable and Stable Java Framework
• Component-Based Architecture
• Follows MVC Software Design

Advantages of JavaServer Faces

• Provides greater reliability
• Enables cross-browser compatibility
• Supports multiple output formats and graceful degradation
• The relatively lower learning curve for developers

8. Dropwizard

Dropwizard is an open-source framework for Java development that allows you to build RESTful services (REST). The framework is based mainly on Hibernate, a simple and powerful data access layer that provides object database functionality. Dropwizard uses a client API to access the database and provides an HTTP-based API to secure communication between the application and the database.

Best Features of Dropwizard

• Utilizes Hibernate Validator API
• Instead of War File, it Packages Every App as a Jar
• Supports Monitoring Using Metrics Library
• Utilize Logback and SLF4J for Logging

Advantages of Dropwizard

• Dropwizard allows for rapid application prototyping
• It also supports the creation of Microservices architecture
• Dropwizard consists of the Quick Project BootStrap
• Supports external and open-source libraries

9. Vaadin

Vaadin is also among the best open-source Java frameworks for web development. It allows you to create rich and fully featured web applications which are cross-platform compatible. It is written in Java programming language, so it supports cross-platform compatibility. Vaadin uses the Java Swing components to create web applications and provides a UI builder that allows designers to create UI layouts.

Best Features of Vaadin

• Two Built-In Themes: Material and Lumo
• Style Alternatives from Java
• Navigation without Whole Page Reloading
• Java-Only Type-Safe Web Development
• Java-API for Web-Based Elements
• Supports Deep Linking and Back Button

Advantages of Vaadin

• The most significant benefit of Vaadin is its support for JVM
• Uses web socket to establish client-server communication automatically
• Vaadin supports Data Binding via MVP and MVC
• Provides router with a nested route

10. Wicket

Wicket is one of the top open-source frameworks in the Java world that enables you to create full-featured Web-based applications using Java programming. Wicket is used to build many web applications, e.g., desktop, tablet, and mobile. It is fully compatible with J2EE containers like Glassfish, Geronimo, Tomcat, and JBoss EAP.

Best Features of Wicket

• Configurable MVC Components
• AJAX Support
• Various Result Types
• Theme and Template Support
• POJO based Actions
• Integration Support

Advantages of Wicket

• It follows a component-oriented structure
• Wicket follows the POJO model, i.e., Plain Old Java Object
• It’s easier for Java developers to use it as it based on JSP
• Wicket is lightweight and highly agile

11. Blade

The Blade is one of the best frameworks for Java development. It is also the lightest and most performance-packed MVC architecture-based Java web development framework. This framework is widely used for full-stack web application development. Moreover, the Blade framework is also based on Java Version 8.

Best Features of Blade

• Modular Approach
• The RESTful Style Routing Interface
• Support Plugin Extension Mechanism
• Embedded Template Engine and Jetty Server Support
• Lightweight
• Supports jdk1.6 and Other Higher Versions

Advantages of Blade

• Proficient in developing miniature MVC applications
• The Blade allows for Web JARs and Plugin extensions
• It also consists of Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
• Blade also offers support for multiple file configurations

12. ATG

ATG is a web commerce platform written in Java. It is a configurable and customizable Java web development helpful framework for eCommerce websites. Oracle owns ATG and supports both B2B and B2C applications that are huge and complex. However, for small-scale applications, it could be a bit expensive. So, if you are opting for eCommerce website development, ATG is an ideal framework to learn and will help you enhance your technical skills and domain knowledge.

Principles of Continuous Deployment

• Personalization Capabilities
• Data Anywhere Architecture
• Payment Integration Support
• Application Server Support
• ATG Content Administration Tools
• Provides ATG Merchandising Concepts

Advantages of ATG

• Includes both B2B and B2C offerings
• It allows owners to maintain and sell complex services and products
• Personalization available for a better client experience
• ATG offers customizable campaigns, sites, and content

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ConclusionThis part has seen some of the most popular Java frameworks for web development in Java programming language. These frameworks are ideal for building applications that need to run on servers. Radixweb’s professional backend developers can help you with your Java development projects by providing a high-performance Java web application framework.Our experts at Radixweb utilize some of the world-class, futuristic tools and leading technologies. They can also help you build your web application functionalities by customizing your choice of technology.So, what are you waiting for?The Radixweb team is eagerly waiting to help you. So, get in touch with our expert Java developers to discuss your project’s requirements and start working on it together.