This article was originally published at: https://www.blog.duomly.com/types-of-applications-you-can-build-with-node-js/

Node.js is a runtime environment for executing JavaScript code. It's a powerful tool that you can use to build all sorts of applications. In this blog post, we'll take a look at some of the different types of applications you can build with Node.js.

1. Real-Time Chat Application

Node.js is particularly well suited for high-performance applications that do much I/O work, such as real-time chat servers. It was challenging to build a web-based chat application without using a third-party plugin in the past. 

However, with node.js, this is no longer an issue because Node's primarily I/O model allows you to move time-intensive operations outside of the main JavaScript thread. This means your Node server can dedicate all of its resources to handling requests from other users in the form of chat messages without impacting your main JS thread and causing lags in your UI.

2. Social Media Platform

Another usage for node js is a social media platform. You can have nodejs applications that deliver content to your subscribers while also allowing them to submit new content and then distribute it across the network.

3. IoT (Internet of Things)

Node.js applications are perfect for IoT due to Node being event-driven. Node.js can handle all of the heavy liftings of connecting and communicating with your IoT device while leaving your main thread free to handle other events like UI updates.

4. Streaming App

Node.js has great support for HTTP streaming, making it perfect for building live data streaming applications like live sports tickers or news applications that need to push real-time updates.

5. Online Payment Processor

Node.js is scalable and supports real-time communication and high-traffic websites, so it's no surprise that node.js is often used to build online payment processors like PayPal or even subscription services that bill users monthly.

6. Remote Collaboration Tool

Node.js is great for building real-time applications with collaborative features, like chat systems or remote desktop-style tools. You can even use node.js as a web-based terminal emulator to remotely access your system from anywhere in the world.

7. CRM Tool

Node.js is great for building scalable customer relationship management (CRM) tools that need the ability to interact with a lot of data and users at once. Node.js can handle all sorts of user interactions and doesn't crush easily like some other languages might, making it perfect for CRM applications. 

8. Single-Page Application

Node.js is great for building fast and scalable front-end applications like single-page applications (SPAs). Node.js has many features that make it really easy to handle requests without needing to refresh your web app every time you make changes, making node.js perfect for SPAs.

9. Advanced Fintech App

Node.js can be used to build both simple and advanced fintech applications that require a lot of data processing real-time communication. Node's scalable features make it perfect for this kind of application.

10. Content Management System

Node.js is perfect for building high-traffic and straightforward content management systems (CMS) due to Node's scalable nature. Node.js scales effortlessly, so this means Node can handle both small or large amounts of traffic on your website without slowing down or crashing.

11. E-Learning Platform

Node.js can be used to build a node js e-learning platform. Node.js is scalable and can handle large amounts of traffic, making Node perfect for online courses or training portals that need many people accessing the website at once without any slowdowns or crashes.

12. E-Commerce Platform

Node.js is used to build e-commerce platforms because node.js can handle a lot of traffic and scale without causing any slowdowns or crashes on your website, making node perfect for high-volume e-commerce websites.

13. Ridesharing App

Node.js is great for building node js ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft. 

Node.js is perfect for real-time ridesharing because it can communicate with all of your users without causing any slowdowns or crashes, making Node a perfect choice for this kind of application.

14. Project Management Tools

Project management tools are extremely popular, and Node is the perfect solution to building node js project management apps. Because Node allows you to build servers that can communicate with all of your users without crashes or slowdowns, Node makes the perfect back end for managing projects of any kind.

15. Location-Based App

This is another popular type of app you can build with Node.js. Using Node, you can quickly create a location-specific application that allows users to find what they are looking for near their area. This functionality is perfect for business owners, who can attract new customers by adding Node.js functions to their site.

16. Online Publishing Platforms

Node is perfect for building online publishing platforms like Medium or Devto. Using Node, you can create new accounts on your platform with just a few lines of code, allowing Node to scale perfectly to account for large numbers of users.

17. ERP Tool

ERP systems are used in all sorts of industries, and Node is the perfect way to build ERP tools. Node is the ideal way to create an ERP tool because it can handle many users simultaneously without issues. This type of app can be used by any industry that needs a powerful tool for managing transactions and sales.

18. Websites With Server-Side Rendering

Rendering HTML on the server-side is a good idea for websites that have primarily static content. Rendering the HTML on the server-side means that the Node can do all of this work before sending a response back to the client and allows users to view content immediately rather than waiting for node.js to render everything in JavaScript after receiving a request from the client.

19. FastCGI Servers

FastCGI is an interface standard that describes how a web server communicates with external applications (like node.js). It's very common for hosting providers to use Node as the backend application when serving dynamic web pages created using PHP (like many WordPress sites are served by node servers).

20. Command Line Tools

Node.js is actually one of several that can be used to build command-line tools. While Node is usually associated with websites and web apps, Node is also great for building command-line tools. Whether you want to automate a repetitive task or build a tool that requires blocking operations (such as a file downloader), Node provides a lot of power at the command line.

21. API Servers

Node doesn't only work on the back end - you can also use Node as an API server to serve content from your website without creating separate API servers. In addition to using Node as an API server, Node provides powerful functionality that allows you to optimize memory usage for improved performance when dealing with large data sets or high loads.

22. Desktop Apps

In recent years, Node has been used to build desktop applications. Node-WebKit is an app runtime based on Chromium and node.js that gives developers the ability to use Node as a backend for their desktop programs. Node-WebKit uses a modified version of Node's V8 engine, so you can also create other types of chrome apps - not just stand-alone node.js apps.

23. Backend for Mobile Apps

While Node can be used as a backend server for mobile apps, it usually is a good idea only when mobile phone networks are fast enough to handle large amounts of data from node servers without causing lags in your UI or draining your battery more quickly than usual. 

24. Server Management Services

Node servers are uber-performant when serving static files (like images, videos, and audio) - Node's only real disadvantage is that node servers can't handle heavy processing very well. If you're using Node for your site but still need to process payments or process video/audio clips in your web pages - node servers might not be the best choice. 

Still, some developers use Node to create background services that they call from their main node server with requests made via HTTP GET/POST requests.

25. Notification Centre

You can use node js for creating a notification center on windows desktop. It will work as a background windows service, periodically checking any URL you want. If it finds any notifications, it will popup that notification in a popup message or tray icon balloon. 

26. Custom DNS Server

Node.js is not limited only to servers written in JavaScript with Node core APIs but can also be used to create custom DNS servers with the node-DNS module. 

Node DNS allows node.js to be used as an authoritative DNS server, a meaning node can resolve its own domains and serve them with Node's HTTP API. Node DNS also allows Node to be used as a caching DNS resolver (meaning it can cache requests for other domain names). If you're already using Node on your website, it could be pretty easy to create your own custom DNS service too.

27. Static Site Generator

Static site generators can build websites and blogs like this one. 

Node's file system API provides a powerful way to manage files. The Node can make building your own static site generator pretty simple. Static site generators work by reading in text files (like markdown and textile), creating HTML from those files, and then outputting the HTML as a bunch of HTML, CSS, js, png, jpg, etc. 

28. Game Servers, Game Clients

Node has become a popular language for game development in recent years thanks to its speed at handling I/O requests and its efficient event-driven programming model. 

If you need help building an application with Node.js, don't hesitate to contact us. We have a team of experienced developers who can help you build anything you need.

www.labs.duomly.com

Thank you for reading,
Radek from Duomly