5 Templating languages to use instead of HTML

 

Pure HTML files are slowly getting a tad outdated and are not the best choice for creating brand new websites. If you’re working with a framework such as Express.js, you get the option to use a templating language. This templating language makes sure you can split your code into reusable components for a better developer experience.

There are quite a few templating languages. Some are very similar to HTML, while others are completely unique.

Using templating languages is a great way of connecting the server side to the frontend of your site. Certain frameworks make it extremely easy to use and handle all the parsing for you.

Here are some templating languages that you can use, with little code snippets to show you how they work and what makes them unique.

EJS

Embedded JavaScript, or, EJS, is a templating language that lets you generate HTML with plain JavaScript in between. It is a very simple language and is a good choice for students if they ever need to choose a templating language.

It uses <% %> with JavaScript in between to create dynamic websites and webpages. This isn’t the best choice for complex applications but will work for most projects.

Handlebars

Handlebars is another very simple templating language without a lot of unique features. It is, however, a great way to create small projects, and I’ve actually used this one in a project once.

The syntax is easy to read and use. The language features what they call helpers, which are functions you can use with the syntax with the hashtags. These can be a loop, conditionals, or something you can create yourself. So 

this language does offer customization if you need it.

Pug

Pug is an HAML-inspired templating language. Like Python, it uses whitespace to signify nesting. It has features such as including, conditionals, and creating reusable components using Mixins. Pug templates are made in .pug files and should be parsed using a framework or programmatically. 

ID and class names are written in a shorthand that is often used in, for example, jQuery. This makes it easy to read, easy to edit, and it makes for a great templating language. It even has React integration!

I have written a few articles about Pug in the past that you can check out if you want to learn more about this language. You can also read the official documentation or just try it yourself with Express.js.

Mustache

Mustache is a minimal templating language. It calls itself a logic-less templating language, and it is. It is a templating language with a fairly minimal feature set, but it still has everything you need for creating great websites and web applications.

The syntax is easy to read, easy to learn, and easy to compile. This little language is a good choice for everyone learning to use templating languages or for simple websites.

React (JSX)

React isn’t so much a templating language as it is a way of creating reusable components. But it uses one that is worth noting: JSX. This templating language is very similar to other templating languages and is very easy to learn.

It is very commonly used nowadays and offers a lot of functionality that other templating languages don’t have when combined with React.It uses custom HTML-like tags as components that you can create. You can use attributes and insert JavaScript between brackets where necessary.

Conclusion

You should probably use templating languages when creating websites or web applications. And this list is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a ton of choices you can make and every language is slightly different than the others. One fixes another’s problem, and so on.