Java for Frontend Development – Is It Still Relevant in 2025?

Are front-end developers still using Java in 2025? Even though JavaScript frameworks are more popular, Java is still useful for enterprise systems, type safety, and server-driven user interfaces. This article talks about Java’s legacy, modern UI frameworks, Java-to-JS/WebAssembly tools, performance, SEO, and industry trends.

Evolution of Java on the Client Side

From Applets to JSP & JSF

• Java Applets: Applets, which came out in the late 1990s, let small Java programs run in the browser’s sandbox. Even though they seemed useful at first, applets quickly lost popularity because they were hard to keep up with and relied too much on plugins.
• JavaServer Pages (JSP) & JavaServer Faces (JSF): Server rendered JSP and component based JSF frameworks were used by businesses in the 2000s. These technologies made HTML on the server and sent fully rendered pages to the browser. They were an early form of “Java frontend” that didn’t have problems with plugins.

The Rise (and Limits) of Compile to JavaScript

• Google Web Toolkit (GWT): In 2006, Google Web Toolkit (GWT) was the first to offer compile to JavaScript. This feature let developers write client logic in Java, which GWT then turned into optimized JS bundles.
  
• Limitations: Many teams went back to native JavaScript development because of the large initial payloads, steep learning curves, and troubleshooting issues.
  

Why Old Ways of Doing Things Lost Their Appeal

• Browser Compatibility: Native JS is faster and more reliable now that modern browsers have standardized JavaScript engines.
  
• Developer Preference: Full JS stacks became more popular as the ecosystem around Node.js and npm grew quickly.
  
• Performance: Native JS frameworks kept improving their render pipelines, which made the performance gap smaller.
  

New UI Frameworks Based on Java

Vaadin Flow & Hilla

Vaadin Flow has a server driven UI model where Java code defines browser based Web Components that show up as parts. In 2025, Vaadin keeps adding:

• PWA Support: Service workers can be integrated and apps can be packaged right out of the box.
  
• Experience as a Developer: Tight integration with an IDE for type safe UI definitions and hot reload.
  
• Ecosystem: A library of growing components that includes forms, grids, and charts.
  

When you talk about this approach, make sure to stress that it’s a real Java front end solution that doesn’t require writing raw JavaScript.

Hilla, which used to be called Vaadin Fusion, adds to Flow by creating type safe APIs from Java back end models and a client layer that is based on TypeScript.

Thymeleaf and HTMX

For architectures that combine server and client:

• Thymeleaf is a new server side template engine that focuses on using natural HTML templates.
  
• HTMX lets you add AJAX, CSS transitions, and WebSocket support right to HTML attributes, so you don’t have to use as much JavaScript.
  

You can keep the business logic in Java and make rich, interactive UIs with Thymeleaf templates and HTMX.

Spring MVC, JSP, and JSF

Even in 2025, some teams still make simple, form centric apps with Spring MVC using JSP or JSF:

• Simplicity: You don’t need a client side bundler or transpiler.
  
• Maintenance: Uses Java skills that are already available.
  
• Problem: It’s not as interactive as SPA frameworks.
  

Beyond JavaScript: Compile to JS & WebAssembly

Google Web Toolkit (GWT) Again

Even though not as many teams use GWT now, it has been improved:

• AOT Compilation: Makes bundles that are smaller and easier to predict.
  
• Code Splitting: Lazy loaded modules make the first download smaller.
  
• Pluginless Dev Mode: To debug, you don’t need any special plugins on modern browsers.
  

TeaVM, Bck2Brwsr, CheerpJ

• TeaVM: Focuses on tree shaking and modular outputs.
  
• Bck2Brwsr: Tries to work as well as a native app in the browser.
  
• CheerpJ: In pure JS, it mimics the Java runtime APIs.
  

These projects fill in gaps for developers who want to use existing Java libraries in new ways on the client.

Java to WebAssembly (WASM) Toolchains

WebAssembly lets browsers run almost as fast as native code. Even though WASM JVMs are still in their early stages, early projects like Bytecoder and Wasm4J show promise for running Java directly without translating it to JS.

Integrating Java with Modern JS Frameworks

JHipster & Full Stack Blueprints

JHipster scaffolds can be used for all of the following:

1. Back End: Spring Boot with business logic written in Java.
   
2. Front End: You can choose to make code in React, Angular, or Vue.js.
   
3. Shared Types: Shares Java DTOs and TypeScript interfaces to make sure types are safe.
   

This mixed method takes into account that popular JS frameworks and Java for the front end can work together, with Java being used on the server and JS being used on the client, where it does its best work.

Best Practices and Interoperability Patterns

• REST vs. GraphQL: Make contracts clear and generate clients with OpenAPI/Swagger.
  
• Sharing Models: Tools like MapStruct or Lombok cut down on repetitive work for DTO translation.
  
• Versioning: Keep APIs backward compatible so that front end upgrades can be made in small steps.
  

How to Make Progressive Web Apps in Java

How to Package PWAs in Vaadin and Other Tools

Frameworks like Vaadin automate the most important parts of a PWA:

• Service Workers: Offline caching and update strategies.
  
• Manifest Creation: Icons, splash screens, and metadata.
  
• App Store Packaging: Tools that let you make APKs for Android or iOS.
  

Experiences Like Being Native

Java defined components let you access hardware integrations (camera, sensors), push notifications, and background sync. This makes the gap between web and native apps smaller.

Speed, SEO, and Bundle Optimization

• AOT vs. JIT on the Client Side of Java
  
  • AOT (Ahead of Time): Precompiles code to JavaScript or WASM, which speeds up parsing at runtime.
    
  • JIT (Just in Time): Needs to ship the JVM or bytecode interpreter, which adds download and startup costs.
    
  • Conclusion: On the front end, AOT toolchains always provide faster initial loads.
    
• SEO Considerations with Server Side Rendering (SSR)
  
  • Vaadin and Thymeleaf render full HTML on the server so that crawlers can see all the content.
    
  • Pre Rendering: SPAs can be captured before deployment by tools like Puppeteer.
    
  • Meta Handling: Java libraries like Spring Meta help you manage dynamic titles and social sharing tags.
    

Community, Ecosystem & Job Market in 2025

Popularity Trends & GitHub Activity

• GitHub Repos: Since 2023, the number of stars on Vaadin Flow has grown by 25%, which shows that businesses are interested in it.
  
• StackOverflow Tags: “vaadin” questions stay the same, but pure “gwt” queries go down every year.
  

Demand for “Java Frontend” Roles

• Job Listings: In May 2025, LinkedIn and Indeed both had about 1,200 open jobs looking for people with “Java frontend” or “full stack Java” skills.
  
• Salary Benchmarks: Senior Java front end developers get paid about the same as React specialists, reflecting enterprise budgets.
  

Pros and Cons of Using Java Frontend Today

When You Should Use Java for Frontend

• Existing Ecosystem: Code reuse and unified development teams.
  
• Enterprise Needs: Strict compliance, type safety, and long term support.
  
• Server Driven Logic: Java’s robustness helps with very complicated forms or data flows.
  

Common Mistakes and Other Options

• Learning Curve: The compile to JS and WASM toolchains don’t always have polished IDE support.
  
• Ecosystem Size: Fewer community made UI components than mature JS ecosystems.
  
• Alternative: Consider Kotlin/JS or Scala.js as languages that sit between Java and JS.
  

Future Outlook: What’s Next?

• Mature WebAssembly: Widespread JVM in WASM could allow pure Java clients to work without transpilation.
  
• Micro Frontends: Java modules that work with JS microservices, enabling gradual migration.
  
• Reactive Java UIs: Projects like JRebirth and KVision want to make declarative APIs in Java that work like React’s.
  

As these trends become more established, teams that want full stack type safety may start to think about using Java for front end development again.

Conclusion

In 2025, does Java for Frontend Development still make sense? Yes, but only in certain situations. Pure JavaScript frameworks are most common in apps that users see, but businesses that have Java back ends, strict security needs, or server driven UI requirements will still use Java front end solutions. Java is still a good choice for client side projects thanks to new frameworks like Vaadin Flow, hybrid approaches like Thymeleaf+HTMX, and growing compile to JS/WASM toolchains.

FAQs

1. Can Java be used to build the front end of a website?

Yes, you can write all of your user interface in JavaScript even though most browsers use JavaScript. Frameworks like Vaadin Flow and Hilla let you do this, and then they compile it down to standards based Web Components and JavaScript. This method provides full type safety, unified tools, and smooth integration with Java back ends.

2. In 2025, what are the best front end frameworks for Java?

These are the best choices for 2025:

• “Vaadin Flow” (server driven UI with lots of parts)
  
• Thymeleaf + HTMX (hybrid SSR + progressive enhancement)
  
• Hilla (full stack React, TypeScript, and Java)
  
• TeaVM (compiled AOT Java to JavaScript)
  

Pick the enterprise features, PWA support, or lightweight bundles that work best for your project.

3. How do I use Java to make single page apps?

To turn your Java code into optimised JS modules, use a compile to JS tool like GWT, TeaVM, or CheerpJ. For view management, use this with a client side router like Vaadin’s Router. You will get an SPA that supports the Java IDE and has lazy loading, code splitting, and is easy to use.

4. What’s faster: JavaScript or Java for the front end?

It takes a little less time to run pure JavaScript, especially frameworks with JIT optimized engines. One way to close the gap is with AOT compiled Java toolchains (GWT, TeaVM) and WebAssembly prototypes. Most business apps care more about bundle size, caching, and network overhead than differences in execution times of a few milliseconds.

5. Can I use WebAssembly for front end development with Java?

It’s coming out. Some experimental toolchains, such as Bytecoder and Wasm4J, can compile Java bytecode to WebAssembly, which makes it run almost as fast as native code in modern browsers. They promise that you can run JVM based logic on the client side without a JavaScript interop layer, but they are still in the early stages.

6. How do I connect the front end of my Java app to React or Angular?

To build a Spring Boot back end and a React or Angular front end, use a full stack generator like JHipster. Type safe interoperability and a clear separation between Java logic and JS presentation are provided by JHipster, which takes your Java models and turns them into shared DTOs or TypeScript types and sets up REST or GraphQL endpoints.