15 Top Web Application Design Patterns with Real Examples

Web application design patterns are a set of guidelines for designing web applications that help developers create applications that are easy to use, maintain, and scale. These patterns are based on best practices and common solutions to common problems that developers face when building web applications. By following these patterns, developers can ensure that their applications are consistent, reliable, and scalable.

Web App Design Patterns

There are many different types of web application design patterns, including user interface patterns, architectural patterns, and behavioral patterns. User interface patterns focus on the design of the user interface, such as the layout, navigation, and interaction elements. Architectural patterns focus on the overall structure of the application, such as the separation of concerns and the organization of code. Behavioral patterns focus on how the application responds to user input and other events, such as error handling and data validation.

At their core, web application design patterns are about creating applications that are easy to use and maintain. By following these patterns, developers can create applications that are consistent, reliable, and scalable, which in turn leads to a better user experience and a more successful web application. In the following sections, we will explore some of the most common web application design patterns and how they can be used to create better web applications.

Web Application Design Patterns Overview

Application Architecture Patterns

Pattern	Description
Model-View-Controller (MVC)	Separates an application into three interconnected parts: model, view, and controller.
Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM)	Separates the graphical user interface from back-end logic. Data bindings are used to connect the two.
Model-View-Presenter (MVP)	The presenter is responsible for handling all UI logic. Suitable for web applications where a large amount of interaction is required.
Single Page Applications (SPA)	Works inside a browser and requires only a single page load. All further interaction with the server happens through AJAX.
Microservices Architecture	An application is structured as a collection of loosely coupled services. Each service corresponds to a business capability.
Serverless Architecture	Developers focus on writing the application code, while the infrastructure is managed by a third-party service.
Representational State Transfer (REST)	A software architectural style used in web services development, where the client can directly interact with the server.
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)	Services communicate with each other across different platforms and languages. Services are made available to other applications through a protocol.
Event-Driven Architecture (EDA)	Focused on the production, detection, consumption of, and reaction to events. Used in applications dealing with real-time data.
Layered (n-tier) Architecture	Organizes the web application into separate layers, each performing a specific task.

MVC

The Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern is a popular architecture for building client-side applications. It divides the application into three interconnected components: the model, the view, and the controller. The model represents the data and the business logic of the application, the view is responsible for rendering the user interface, and the controller acts as an intermediary between the view and the model. React is a popular JavaScript library that uses the MVC design pattern to build user interfaces.

Pros of MVC:

• Separation of Concerns: MVC provides a clean separation of concerns between the model, view, and controller, making the code easier to maintain and understand.
• Parallel Development: Due to the decoupling of components, multiple developers can work on different components (model, view, controller) simultaneously.
• Code Reusability and Modularity: With MVC, views can be reused for multiple models and a change in one component does not necessarily affect others, promoting code reuse and modularity.
• Efficient Data Management: The model component manages the data, logic and rules of the application. This centralized management facilitates efficient data handling and manipulation.

Cons of MVC:

• Complexity: For small, simple applications, the MVC pattern can add unnecessary complexity with its multiple layers and strict separation of concerns.
• Overhead: The MVC pattern can introduce overhead in terms of data transfers between the model, view, and controller components.
• Potential for Increased Development Time: Due to its structured approach, developing an application using MVC might take longer initially, especially for teams unfamiliar with the pattern.
• Difficulty in Handling Large-Scale Applications: For large applications, managing the interactions and dependencies between models, views, and controllers can become complex and challenging.

MVVM

The Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) design pattern is a variation of the MVC pattern that is used to build data-driven user interfaces. In MVVM, the view is bound to the view model, which acts as an intermediary between the view and the model. The view model is responsible for handling user input and updating the view, while the model represents the data and the business logic of the application. Angular is a popular JavaScript framework that uses the MVVM design pattern to build dynamic web applications.

Pros of MVVM:

• Two-way Data Binding: MVVM’s two-way data binding between view and ViewModel means changes in the view are automatically reflected in the model, and vice versa. This reduces the amount of boilerplate code needed to keep the view and model in sync.
• Separation of Concerns: Similar to MVC, the MVVM pattern promotes a clean separation of the user interface code from the business logic, enhancing code manageability and readability.
• Testability: MVVM improves testability by allowing developers to easily test the business logic without involving the user interface.
• UI Agility: The decoupling of the view and model allows developers to make changes to the UI without affecting the model or business logic.

Cons of MVVM:

• Complexity: MVVM can add unnecessary complexity for simple applications due to its three-layer structure and data-binding mechanism.
• Performance Overhead: Two-way data binding can lead to performance issues if not managed correctly, as constant checks are needed to synchronize the view and ViewModel.
• Steep Learning Curve: MVVM can be challenging for developers who are unfamiliar with it. Understanding and implementing two-way data binding can be difficult.
• Less Control Over the UI: With MVVM, the UI is declaratively linked to the ViewModel. This can sometimes result in less control over the UI for developers

Model-View-Presenter (MVP)

The Model-View-Presenter (MVP) pattern is another variant of the traditional MVC design, primarily used for building user interfaces. In this pattern, the model represents the data and the business logic, the view is responsible for rendering the user interface, and the presenter takes on the responsibility of managing all user interface logic. It communicates between the model and the view, handling all interactions between them. Frameworks such as Moxy for Android development are known for implementing this pattern.

Pros of MVP:

• Clean Separation of Concerns: The presenter in MVP ensures a clear-cut separation between the view and the model. This decoupling leads to more maintainable code and allows easier testing.
• Improved Testability: With the separation of concerns and user interface logic placed in the presenter, testing becomes more straightforward, especially when compared to traditional MVC.
• Flexibility: Changes in either the view or the model do not affect each other directly, making the application more adaptable to changes.
• Enhanced Control Over UI Logic: The presenter in MVP provides developers with more control over the UI logic compared to MVVM and MVC patterns.

Cons of MVP:

• Increased Complexity: MVP can add unnecessary complexity in simple applications due to the strict separation between the model, view, and presenter.
• More Code Required: Due to the clear demarcation between responsibilities, the amount of code to write might be more compared to other design patterns.
• Presenter Dependency: The view and the model both depend heavily on the presenter, creating a potential single point of failure.
• Potential for Overly Complex Presenters: If not managed well, presenters can become bloated and complex, making them difficult to maintain.

Microservices Architecture

Microservices Architecture is a design approach where an application is composed of small, independent, and loosely coupled services. Each service corresponds to a unique business capability and can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently. This pattern has gained significant popularity in recent years due to its scalability and flexibility. Examples of this architecture can be found in large scale web applications such as Netflix, Amazon, and Uber.

Pros of Microservices Architecture:

• Scalability: With Microservices, each service can be scaled independently based on demand, making this architecture highly scalable.
• Independent Deployment: Each service can be deployed independently of others, allowing for more frequent updates and minimizing the risk associated with deployment.
• Technology Stack Flexibility: Each microservice can be written in a different programming language and can use different data storage technologies, allowing the choice of the best technology stack for each service’s requirements.
• Fault Isolation: If one service fails, the others can continue to function, thereby improving the overall resilience of the application.

Cons of Microservices Architecture:

• Increased Complexity: Managing multiple services can be more complex than managing a single monolithic application, requiring sophisticated methods for service communication and data consistency.
• Data Management: Each service has its own database to ensure loose coupling, which can make data management more complex.
• Network Latency: Communication between services over a network can introduce latency and security challenges.
• Requires DevOps Expertise: Implementing a microservices architecture requires a high level of operational sophistication and a mature DevOps culture.

Microservices Architecture is particularly suitable for large, complex, and evolving applications due to its scalability and flexibility. When implemented correctly, it results in systems that are easier to scale, maintain, and understand. However, it’s worth noting that the additional complexity it introduces might not be suitable for small applications. From an SEO perspective, the ability to deploy and update services independently can lead to more frequent updates, better performance, and ultimately better visibility in search results.

Software Engineering Design Patterns

Software engineering design patterns fall into three categories: creational, structural, and behavioral. Creational patterns concern object creation mechanisms, striving to create objects in a manner suitable to the situation. Structural patterns deal with object composition, ensuring the parts fit together seamlessly. Lastly, behavioral patterns focus on communication between objects, their interactions, and roles. Each of these categories breaks down into many different patterns that address specific problems.

Want to dig further into software engineering design pattern? We’ve written a complete series on the topic. It includes descriptions, examples and real code implementations.

Click here for our software design patterns learning series.

Pattern	Type	Description
Singleton	Creational	Ensures a class has only one instance and provides a global point of access to it.
Factory Method	Creational	Defines an interface for creating an object, but lets subclasses decide which class to instantiate.
Abstract Factory	Creational	Provides an interface for creating families of related or dependent objects without specifying their concrete classes.
Builder	Creational	Separates the construction of a complex object from its representation, so the same construction process can create different representations.
Prototype	Creational	Specifies the kind of objects to create using a prototypical instance and creates new objects by copying this prototype.
Adapter	Structural	Allows classes with incompatible interfaces to work together by wrapping its own interface around that of an already existing class.
Bridge	Structural	Decouples an abstraction from its implementation so the two can vary independently.
Composite	Structural	Composes objects into tree structures to represent part-whole hierarchies.
Decorator	Structural	Attaches additional responsibilities to an object dynamically, providing a flexible alternative to subclassing for extending functionality.
Facade	Structural	Provides a unified interface to a set of interfaces in a subsystem. Facade defines a higher-level interface that makes the subsystem easier to use.
Flyweight	Structural	Uses sharing to support large numbers of fine-grained objects efficiently.
Proxy	Structural	Provides a surrogate or placeholder for another object to control access to it.
Chain of Responsibility	Behavioral	Avoids coupling the sender of a request to its receiver by giving more than one object a chance to handle the request.
Command	Behavioral	Encapsulates a request as an object, thereby allowing users to parameterize clients with queues, requests, and operations.
Iterator	Behavioral	Provides a way to access the elements of an aggregate object sequentially without exposing its underlying representation.
Mediator	Behavioral	Defines an object that encapsulates how a set of objects interact.
Memento	Behavioral	Provides the ability to restore an object to its previous state.
Observer	Behavioral	Defines a one-to-many dependency between objects so that when one object changes state, all its dependents are notified and updated automatically.
State	Behavioral	Allows an object to alter its behavior when its internal state changes.
Strategy	Behavioral	Defines a family of algorithms, encapsulates each one, and makes them interchangeable.
Template Method	Behavioral	Defines the skeleton of an algorithm in an operation, deferring some steps to subclasses.
Visitor	Behavioral	Represents an operation to be performed on the elements of an object structure without changing the classes on which it operates.

Observer Design Pattern

The Observer design pattern is a behavioral pattern that is used to establish relationships between objects. In this pattern, an object (the subject) maintains a list of its dependents (the observers) and notifies them automatically of any state changes. The Observer pattern is commonly used in web application development to implement user notification systems, dropdown menus, and other interactive UI elements.

Decorator Design Pattern

The Decorator design pattern is a structural pattern that is used to add new functionality to an existing object dynamically. In this pattern, a decorator object wraps itself around the original object and provides additional functionality without changing the original object’s structure. The Decorator pattern is commonly used in web application development to implement dynamic UI elements, such as tooltips and popovers.

In conclusion, client-side design patterns are crucial for building modern web applications that are scalable, maintainable, and user-friendly. Whether you are building an application with React, Angular, or any other programming language or framework, understanding these design patterns will help you build better applications.

Singleton Design Pattern

The Singleton Design Pattern is a creational pattern that ensures that a class has only one instance and provides a global point of access to it. This pattern is useful when we need to maintain a global state across the application. For example, we can use the Singleton pattern to maintain a log of all the requests made to the server. Instead of creating a new instance of the log class for each request, we can use the Singleton pattern to ensure that there is only one instance of the log class throughout the runtime of the application.

Strategy Design Pattern

The Strategy Design Pattern is a behavioral pattern that defines a family of algorithms, encapsulates each one, and makes them interchangeable. This pattern is useful when we need to implement different payment methods for a web application. For example, we can create a base class for payment methods and then implement different payment methods such as credit cards, PayPal, and so on, using the Strategy pattern. This allows us to separate the payment method implementation from the rest of the application logic and makes it easier to add new payment methods in the future.

When designing server-side web applications, it is important to consider the separation of concerns. We should separate the application logic from the database layer and use SQL to interact with the database. This helps to improve the maintainability and scalability of the application.

In addition to design patterns, we should also consider the architecture of the application. We can use a monolithic application architecture or a microservices architecture depending on the requirements of the application. We should also consider using JavaScript frameworks such as Play or React to build the frontend of the application.

In summary, when designing server-side web applications, we should consider using design patterns such as the Singleton Design Pattern and the Strategy Design Pattern. We should also consider the architecture of the application and use separation of concerns to improve the maintainability and scalability of the application.

Design Patterns in Action

When it comes to web application design, design patterns are essential. They help us build applications that are easy to use, scalable, and maintainable. In this section, we’ll take a look at some of the most common design patterns in action and see how they can help us build better web applications.

Logging

Logging is an essential part of any web application. It helps us keep track of what’s happening in our application and troubleshoot issues when they arise. One design pattern that can help us with logging is the Logger pattern. This pattern separates the logging code from the rest of the application, making it easier to maintain and test.

With the Logger pattern, we can create a logger class that handles all our logging needs. We can then use this logger class throughout our application to log messages. This makes it easier to change the logging implementation in the future, without having to change the rest of the application code.

Filters

Filters are another essential part of web application design. They help us process incoming requests and outgoing responses. One design pattern that can help us with filters is the Filter pattern. This pattern allows us to define a chain of filters that can process requests and responses in a specific order.

With the Filter pattern, we can create a chain of filters that can perform different tasks, such as authentication, validation, and logging. Each filter in the chain can modify the request or response as needed, and pass it on to the next filter in the chain. This makes it easier to add or remove filters from the chain, without having to change the rest of the application code.

User Interface

The user interface is one of the most critical parts of any web application. It’s what users interact with, and it’s what makes or breaks the user experience. One design pattern that can help us with user interface design is the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern.

With the MVC pattern, we can separate the user interface into three parts: the model, the view, and the controller. The model represents the data and business logic of the application. The view represents the user interface, and the controller handles user input and updates the model and view accordingly.

By separating the user interface into these three parts, we can make it easier to maintain and test our application. We can also make changes to the user interface without having to change the rest of the application code.

In conclusion, design patterns are essential for building scalable and maintainable web applications. Logging, filters, and user interface design are just a few areas where design patterns can make a significant difference. By using these patterns in our applications, we can create applications that are easy to use, easy to maintain, and easy to scale.

Best Practices for Web Application Design Patterns

When designing web applications, it is important to follow best practices to ensure that the application is flexible, well-structured, and easy to maintain. In this section, we will discuss some of the best practices for web application design patterns.

Flexibility

Flexibility is an important aspect of web application design patterns. A flexible design pattern allows for changes to be made easily without affecting other parts of the application. Here are some best practices for flexibility:

• Use modular design patterns that allow for easy modification of individual components.
• Avoid tightly coupling components together, as this can make it difficult to modify one component without affecting others.
• Use design patterns that allow for easy swapping of components, such as the Strategy pattern.

Structure

A well-structured web application is easier to maintain and modify. Here are some best practices for structure:

• Use a consistent naming convention for components, such as Model-View-Controller (MVC).
• Use design patterns that promote organization and structure, such as the Observer pattern.
• Use design patterns that promote separation of concerns, such as the Decorator pattern.

Production

When designing a web application, it is important to consider production factors such as performance and scalability. Here are some best practices for production:

• Use design patterns that promote scalability, such as the Singleton pattern.
• Use design patterns that promote performance, such as the Flyweight pattern.
• Use design patterns that allow for caching, such as the Proxy pattern.

By following these best practices for web application design patterns, we can create applications that are flexible, well-structured, and easy to maintain.

Real-World Examples of Web Application Design Patterns

When it comes to web application design patterns, it’s always helpful to look at real-world examples. In this section, we’ll explore some popular web applications and the design patterns they use to provide a great user experience.

Twitter

Twitter is a social media platform that allows users to share short messages called “tweets.” One of the design patterns that Twitter uses is the infinite scroll pattern. This pattern allows users to keep scrolling through their timeline without having to click a “next page” button. Instead, new tweets are loaded automatically as the user reaches the end of the current page.

Twitter also uses the flyout menu pattern for its navigation. This pattern allows users to access different parts of the application without having to leave the current page. When a user clicks on the “hamburger” menu icon, a menu slides out from the left side of the screen, displaying links to different sections of the application.

Spotify

Spotify is a music streaming platform that allows users to listen to millions of songs. One of the design patterns that Spotify uses is the card pattern. This pattern is used to display different types of content, such as playlists, albums, and artists. Each card contains a thumbnail image, a title, and some additional information, making it easy for users to quickly scan and find the content they’re looking for.

Spotify also uses the search pattern for its search functionality. When a user types a query into the search bar, a dropdown menu appears, displaying suggestions for different types of content, such as artists, albums, and playlists. This pattern makes it easy for users to find what they’re looking for without having to type out the entire query.

Dashboard

A dashboard is a web application that displays data and metrics in a visual format. One of the design patterns that dashboards often use is the grid pattern. This pattern is used to display different types of data in a grid-like format, making it easy for users to compare different metrics and see trends over time.

Dashboards also often use the filter pattern for their filtering functionality. This pattern allows users to filter the data displayed on the dashboard based on different criteria, such as date ranges or specific metrics. Filters can be displayed in a dropdown menu or as a set of checkboxes, depending on the complexity of the filtering options.

Overall, these real-world examples demonstrate how web application design patterns can be used to provide a great user experience. By using well-established patterns and conventions, we can create applications that are easy to use and navigate, making our users happy and satisfied.

Conclusion

In this article, we have explored some of the most commonly used web application design patterns. We have seen how these patterns can help us to build scalable, maintainable, and user-friendly web applications. By following these patterns, we can ensure that our applications are well-structured, easy to understand, and easy to modify.

One of the key benefits of using design patterns in web application development is that they allow us to separate our business logic from our presentation logic. This means that we can focus on building robust, reusable components that can be used across our application. By doing this, we can reduce code duplication, improve code quality, and make our applications more modular.

Another important benefit of using design patterns is that they can help us to build more secure applications. By using patterns such as the Singleton pattern, we can ensure that our application only has one instance of a particular object. This can help to prevent security vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and cross-site request forgery.

Finally, design patterns can help us to build more responsive and user-friendly applications. By using patterns such as the Observer pattern, we can build applications that respond to user input in real-time. This can help to improve the overall user experience and make our applications more engaging.

Overall, by incorporating design patterns into our web application development process, we can build better applications that are easier to maintain, more secure, and more user-friendly.

Design Patterns in PHP Learning Series.

This article is part of our series of design patterns in PHP. We are going through all of the patterns and showing how they can help you build better applications. Browse through our full list of patterns below.

• What are Design Patterns in PHP?
• Books on Design Patterns
• Builder Design Pattern
• Strategy Design Pattern
• Factory Design Pattern
• Prototype Design Pattern
• Singleton Design Pattern
• Adapter Design Pattern
• Bridge Design Pattern
• Iterator Design Pattern
• Composite Design Pattern
• Decorator Design Pattern
• Facade Design Pattern
• Flyweight Design Pattern
• Proxy Design Pattern
• State Design Pattern
• Observer Design Pattern
• Momento Design Pattern
• Mediator Design Pattner
• Chain of Responsibility Design Pattern