Monolith vs. Microservices: The Right Choice for Web Applications

A web application development project usually starts with a monolith vs. microservices debate. But what do the terms mean? Monolith and microservices are web app architectures that can develop website applications. They form the robust and secure backbone of a web application. Additionally, both impact the overall product's scalability, maintainability, and success. You must choose the architecture to shape your projects as a software developer.

A common misconception says that the monolith architecture is fast becoming obsolete. Many also consider microservices as cutting-edge technology best suited for modern web applications. But this is far from true. They are just two contrasting approaches to web development, each with unique advantages and challenges. Things will become more apparent as we learn more about these talked-about web application development architectures.

Monolith vs. Microservices: which to choose to develop website applications

Monolith application is the more traditional software design pattern. You can build the entire web app solution as a monolith or a single tightly integrated unit. Here, all the components and modules share the same codebase and database. Even the runtime environment is the same.

Initially, a monolith seems like a simple structure with all its features and capabilities housed within the same codebase. However, maintaining everything within the same codebase becomes challenging with growing development complexities. Consequently, you can use the monolith architecture for small web application solution projects with relatively low complexities.

In contrast, you can use the microservices architecture to develop website applications. Such web apps are highly scalable and flexible. They can also adapt to changing environments quickly. Hence, use the microservices architecture to develop complex, ever-evolving software ecosystems.

The microservices architecture breaks down the entire app into small, independently deployable services. Each service facilitates a specific functionality. Well-defined APIs help these services communicate with each other and promote the seamless functioning of the entire application.

Advantages of monolithic architecture

You can develop, test, and deploy these apps quickly. Since all functionalities use the same codebase, they share the same memory, space, and other resources. Hence, you can promptly address cross-cutting concerns like security, caching, logging, and handling. Also, using shared memory access results in performance advantages not present when using inter-process communication or ICP. Other benefits of using monolith architecture for customized Web Application development include:

Easy deployment

All components of a monolith architecture are centralized. Hence, you can develop and complete the entire app development within a short time.

Easy to test

The presence of only one code repository makes a monolith application more accessible for testing and debugging.

Less specialization for development

A monolith architecture has a relatively easy learning curve. You can develop Web applications easily without requiring specialized skills.

Better security

Tracking for security vulnerabilities across a single codebase and database is relatively easy. Hence, security management is much better in a monolith web app.

Disadvantages and challenges of monolith web application development

Today, the web development ecosystem is fast-paced and proliferating. A high demand for multiple functionalities makes the shortcomings of a monolith architecture glaringly apparent. Some vital challenges you face when trying to develop website applications using monolith architecture include:

Growing complexities over time

As you add functionalities to a monolith application, its codebase increases. With many people working on a large codebase, the application complexities increase, making it prone to errors. Additionally, changes to any part of the codebase might affect the other features and hamper your entire web app development process.

Scalability challenges

You can leverage vertical scaling for monolith applications. Scale the entire application simultaneously by adding additional computing resources. However, vertical scaling is expensive and comes with limitations.

Technological limitations

Interlocked dependencies characterize monolith applications. These dependencies limit your efforts to change or add functionalities.

High risk of failure

Generally, you build the monolith web app solution on a single codebase. Hence, any issue affecting a part of the codebase could stop the entire application from working.

Advantages of microservices architecture

Today, there is a tangible increase in the popularity of microservices architecture to develop website applications. Several benefits justify this increase in demand and popularity:

Self-contained services

You can easily manage individual services in the microservices architecture by developing, testing, debugging, and deploying them separately. Hence, other components remain unaffected when you make changes to one component. Additionally, you can modify any element or skillfully manage it without affecting the working of the other app components.

Easy scalability

Use horizontal scaling to scale apps built on the microservices architecture and scale different components quickly. Horizontal scaling is also less costly and offers no limitation to how much the application can scale.

Flexibility

Add microservices or modify them easily. Such hassle-free additions and modifications make it easy for apps to grow.

Disadvantages of microservices architecture

To develop website applications, you must compare the performance of monolith and microservices architectures for specific critical parameters. These parameters directly affect the success of your web app. To ensure the right architecture selection, you must examine the essential parameters influencing the monolith vs. microservices debate.

Application complexity

The advantages of monolith architecture over microservices include a single codebase developed using a single technology stack. This tech stack is consistent across the entire web app solution.

However, the microservices architecture comprises multiple loosely coupled services. They are tech stack and platform-independent. You can develop different services using various technologies, languages, and databases. For example, as a developer, you can use Node.js and NoSQL databases to create one microservice and Java and a relational database for another.

Team skillset and size

Your team’s size and technical expertise also influence the choice of web development architecture. While you can develop a monolithic app without much technical expertise, using microservices to develop website applications requires specialized technological know-how.

Scalability

Most companies offering web app support & maintenance prefer a microservices architecture over a monolith.  Monolith apps scale vertically, while microservices apps scale horizontally. Consequently, you can scale up the entire monolith app at once while you can scale individual services in a microservices architecture separately. 

For example, in eCommerce web apps, you might need to scale the product search engine without scaling the shopping cart. Such selective scaling is possible only with a microservices architecture.

Development cost and time

Monoliths enable faster web app development initially, while microservices facilitate greater flexibility. Additionally, in microservices development, individual services are built separately. Hence, you can have one team handling the development and another team handling the testing and QA, enabling faster and more specialized app development.

Any change you implement will affect the entire application when using monoliths to develop website applications. Hence, conflicts will arise if different teams work on other parts due to a lack of coordination.

Deployment

The inherent flexibility of the microservices architecture facilitates the deployment of individual services separately. Consequently, integration with other services becomes easy. You can also modify and deploy individual services independently without affecting the performance of the entire app.

Alternately, you develop monolith apps on a single codebase. Consequently, any change in its functionality will require deploying the entire app, making a monolith app resource-intensive. Further, this also increases the risk of a potential disruption in user experience.

To conclude

Comparing the monolithic vs. microservices pros and cons might give microservices the upper hand. However, it is prudent to remember that one approach does not fit all web application solutions. For example, a monolithic architecture is best suited to develop website applications that are lightweight. On the other hand, the microservice architecture is fast gaining ground as a server architecture. Hence, a conclusive decision on the monolith vs. microservices debate is challenging. The selection of the web development architecture depends solely on the project's needs. It is best to weigh all the pros and cons in the project context before choosing the one that is best suited.