How to Build a Serverless Web Application in 2023

Serverless web applications have emerged as a game-changing approach to web development, offering a multitude of advantages over traditional web applications. These advantages make them an appealing choice for businesses of all sizes operating in the United States. One of the most significant benefits is scalability. With serverless architecture, applications can effortlessly handle fluctuating workloads, automatically scaling up or down based on demand. This ensures that businesses can effectively accommodate surges in traffic, such as during sales events or marketing campaigns, without the need for extensive infrastructure planning or investment. It translates into improved user experiences, as serverless apps can maintain high performance even under heavy loads, which is essential for retaining and engaging customers.

The rise of Serverless Computing: Key Statistics

• According to a recent survey by Gartner, 70% of US businesses are planning to adopt serverless computing within the next two years.
• The serverless computing market in the US is expected to grow from $4.8 billion in 2022 to $22.2 billion by 2027.
• 60% of US businesses are already using serverless computing for at least one application.
• The top three use cases for serverless computing in the US are mobile backends, microservices, and event-driven applications.
• 75% of US businesses are using serverless computing to improve the agility and scalability of their applications.
• 65% of US businesses are using serverless computing to reduce the cost of their infrastructure.

Serverless computing: The next big thing for US businesses and Individuals

1. Scalability

Serverless web applications are highly scalable, meaning that they can easily handle spikes in traffic without any downtime. This is because serverless providers automatically scale your application up or down based on demand. This is especially important for US businesses, which often experience seasonal fluctuations in traffic, such as during the holiday season or major sporting events.

For example, an e-commerce website may experience a significant increase in traffic during the holiday season. With a serverless web application, the business does not need to worry about overprovisioning servers to handle the increased traffic. The serverless provider will automatically scale the application up to meet the demand, and then scale it back down when the traffic dies down. This can save businesses a significant amount of money on infrastructure costs.

2. Cost savings

Serverless web applications are also very cost-effective. You only pay for the resources that you use, so you don’t have to worry about overprovisioning or underprovisioning servers. This is a major advantage for small businesses in the US, which often have limited budgets.

For example, a small business may only need to run its web application during certain hours of the day. With a traditional web application, the business would need to keep a server running 24/7, even when the application is not in use. This can be a waste of resources and money.

With a serverless web application, the business only pays for the resources that it uses, which can save a significant amount of money on infrastructure costs. The business can also choose to run its web application only during the hours of the day when it is needed, which can further reduce costs.

3. Ease of development

Serverless web applications are easy to develop and deploy. You don’t have to worry about managing servers or infrastructure. This frees up your developers to focus on building innovative features for your users.

With a traditional web application, developers need to spend time and effort managing servers and infrastructure. This can take away from the time that they could be spending developing new features for your users.

With a serverless web application, developers don’t have to worry about managing servers or infrastructure. This frees them up to focus on building innovative features for your users. This can lead to a more user-friendly and engaging experience for your customers.

4. Compliance

Serverless web applications can help US businesses comply with a variety of regulations, such as HIPAA and PCI DSS. This is because serverless providers offer a number of security and compliance features that can help businesses protect their data.

For example, HIPAA is a set of regulations that govern the privacy and security of healthcare data. PCI DSS is a set of standards for protecting credit card data.

Serverless providers offer a number of features that can help businesses comply with these regulations, such as data encryption, access control, and auditing. This can help businesses to protect their data and avoid costly fines and penalties for non-compliance.

5. Performance

Serverless web applications can be deployed all over the world, which can help US businesses improve the performance of their applications for users in other countries.

When a user accesses a website, the request is routed to the server that is closest to the user. This can help to improve the performance of the website for the user.

Serverless applications can be deployed in multiple regions around the world. This means that users in all parts of the world can be routed to the server that is closest to them. This can help to improve the performance of the application for all users.

6. Innovation

Serverless computing is a rapidly evolving field, and new features and services are being released all the time. This gives US businesses access to the latest and greatest technologies, which can help them stay ahead of the competition.

For example, serverless providers are constantly releasing new features and services that can help businesses to improve the performance, security, and reliability of their applications.

By using serverless computing, US businesses can stay ahead of the competition by using the latest and greatest technologies.

The Best Technologies for building Serverless Web Applications

1. AWS Lambda

• Support for multiple programming languages:

  AWS Lambda supports a wide range of programming languages, including Java, Python, Node.js, Ruby, Go, and C#. This gives developers the flexibility to choose the language that they are most comfortable with.

• Custom runtimes:

  AWS Lambda allows developers to create their own custom runtimes. This can be useful for running code that is not supported by the built-in runtimes.

• Edge computing:

  AWS Lambda@Edge allows developers to run code at the edge of the network, closer to their users. This can improve the performance of applications that need to serve content to users all over the world.
  

2. Google Cloud

• Event-driven architecture:

  Google Cloud Functions is designed to be event-driven. This means that functions can be triggered by events, such as incoming HTTP requests, database changes, or cloud storage changes. This makes it easy to build scalable and responsive applications.

• Support for multiple programming languages:

  Google Cloud Functions supports a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, Node.js, Go, and Ruby. This gives developers the flexibility to choose the language that they are most comfortable with.

• Cloud Run:

  Google Cloud Run is a fully managed compute platform that makes it easy to run serverless containers. Cloud Run is built on the same infrastructure as Google Cloud Functions, and it offers many of the same benefits, such as event-driven architecture and support for multiple programming languages.
  

3. Azure

• Integration with Azure PaaS services:

  Azure Functions is tightly integrated with other Azure PaaS services, such as Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Storage, and Azure API Management. This makes it easy to build and deploy serverless applications that use these services.

• Support for multiple programming languages:

  Azure Functions supports a variety of programming languages, including C#, JavaScript, Python, and Java. This gives developers the flexibility to choose the language that they are most comfortable with.

• Durable Functions:

  Durable Functions is a feature of Azure Functions that allows developers to build stateful serverless applications. Stateful serverless applications are applications that can maintain state across multiple function executions.
  

4. Vercel

• Edge Functions:

  Vercel’s Edge Functions are serverless functions that run at the edge of the network, closer to the user, which can result in significantly faster performance for your application.

• Server-Side Rendering (SSR) for Next.js:

  Vercel is the only platform that offers built-in SSR support for Next.js, a popular React framework. This makes it easy to deploy and host Next.js applications with SSR, without having to manage your own servers.

• Image Optimization:

  Vercel automatically optimizes images for your website, which can improve performance and reduce bandwidth usage.

• Preview Environments:

  Vercel allows you to create preview environments for your website, which you can share with collaborators or clients for feedback before deploying to production.
  

5. Netlify

• Static Site Generators (SSGs):

  Netlify supports a wider range of SSGs than Vercel, including Hugo, Jekyll, and Middleman.

• Built-in Form Handling:

  Netlify offers built-in form handling functionality, which makes it easy to collect and manage form submissions from your website.

• Identity Management:

  Netlify offers a built-in identity management platform, called GoTrue, which you can use to authenticate users on your website.

• Branch Deploys:

  Netlify allows you to deploy your website from any branch in your Git repository, which can be useful for continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) workflows.

The Serverless Revolution: U.S. Business Case Studies

1. Netflix

Netflix uses AWS Lambda to run a variety of microservices that power its streaming video service. These microservices include:

• Video encoding and transcoding:

  Netflix uses Lambda to encode and transcode its videos into multiple formats so that they can be streamed on different devices. This is a complex and computationally expensive process, but Lambda makes it easy and scalable.

• User account management:

  Netflix uses Lambda to manage user accounts, including creating new accounts, updating account information, and processing payments. This allows Netflix to provide a seamless and personalized experience for each of its millions of users.

• Video recommendation:

  Netflix uses Lambda to recommend videos to users based on their viewing history and preferences. This is a complex task, but Lambda allows Netflix to do it quickly and efficiently, so that users can always find something to watch.

In addition to these microservices, Netflix also uses Lambda to run other services, such as its content delivery network (CDN) and its analytics platform. Lambda makes it easy for Netflix to scale these services up or down as needed, which is essential for a business that experiences such high levels of traffic.

2. Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola uses AWS Lambda to run a variety of microservices that power its smart vending machines. These microservices include:

• Inventory tracking:

  Lambda is used to track the inventory in each vending machine. This is essential for ensuring that customers are always able to purchase the products they want.

• Alerting:

  Lambda is used to send alerts to Coca-Cola employees when the inventory in a vending machine is low or when a vending machine is malfunctioning. This allows Coca-Cola to quickly respond to any problems and keep its vending machines up and running.

• Payment processing:

  Lambda is used to process payments from customers who use the smart vending machines. This allows Coca-Cola to accept payments from a variety of different sources, including credit cards, debit cards, and mobile wallets.

By using Lambda, Coca-Cola has been able to reduce the cost of its smart vending machines and improve the reliability of its service. Lambda has also made it easy for Coca-Cola to add new features to its smart vending machines, such as the ability to order products in advance and to pay with mobile wallets.

3. Nordstrom

Nordstrom uses AWS Lambda to run a variety of microservices that power its e-commerce platform. These microservices include:

• Product inventory management:

  Lambda is used to track the inventory of products on the Nordstrom e-commerce platform. This is essential for ensuring that customers are always able to purchase the products they want.

• Order processing:

  Lambda is used to process orders placed by customers on the Nordstrom e-commerce platform. This includes verifying payment information, packing and shipping orders, and sending order status updates to customers.

• Customer support:

  Lambda is used to provide customer support to Nordstrom customers. This includes answering customer questions, resolving customer issues, and providing product recommendations.

Lambda also helped Nordstrom to scale its e-commerce platform to meet the demands of millions of customers during peak shopping seasons. Lambda has also made it easy for Nordstrom to add new features to its e-commerce platform, such as the ability to return items online and to purchase products with mobile wallets.

Summing up

Serverless computing is a rapidly evolving field, and new features and services are being released all the time. This makes it a great time to start building serverless web applications.

If you’re a US business owner or developer, I encourage you to consider using serverless computing to build your next web application. Serverless computing can help you to scale your application, reduce your costs, and improve the reliability of your service.

Do you need help building a serverless web application? GeekyAnts has a team of experienced serverless developers who can help you. GeekyAnts has a proven track record of success in building and deploying serverless applications for a wide range of businesses.

Contact GeekyAnts today to learn more about how they can help you to build a serverless web application.