In today’s fast-paced digital business environment, an insignificant mistake in product development might spell disaster for your entire business. The first typical mistake is selecting the incorrect technology. Yes, there are several technologies available, each with its own set of capabilities. Among them, Node.js gained popularity due to its outstanding qualities and advantageous characteristics. 

What is Node.js?

Node.js is the well-known open-source javascript runtime environment among developers and startups. Ryan Dahl introduced node.js in 2009 and it establishes two-way communication between client and server in real time. Therefore, sharing of data has become easy and reduces the complexity.

As a startup, there are several advantages when utilizing Node js development services for product development. Some of the most notable advantages include asynchronous, single-threaded design, great scalability, quicker code execution, and cross-platform interoperability. Despite its popularity and numerous benefits, most startups and product managers make several common blunders while utilizing node.js development. 

Here we discuss the six faults startups make while developing a product or a web application with node.js. Without a doubt, at the conclusion of this article, you will be aware of the frequent pitfalls to avoid while designing a product using Node.js. 

Top 6 Mistakes of Node.js Development that Every Startup Should Avoid

Making errors is common and part of being human, but doing it often when creating a product for your business is not professional. Concerning that, startups who use Node.js for development frequently make numerous mistakes. This is due to the myths revolving around the technology era. But the 5 mind-boggling facts of node.js development would bust those myths. 

Once knowing the facts, you need to be aware of the mistakes done by most people in the node.js development. You might ask us now – what mistakes should I avoid when constructing a product using Node.js? 

Here is the list of 6 mistakes that startups should neglect utterly while developing a product utilizing node.js. 

Allow us to explain briefly one by one which helps you to get a better understanding. 

Blocking the event loop

The first common mistake done by most startups is blocking the event loop while using the node.js for product creation. If you are familiar with Node.js, you might already know that; this javascript runtime environment is single-threaded. It means that in case, anything blocks the event loop, then the entire execution of the installed code will be blocked. 

Furthermore, it can’t run two parts of your application parallel due to the single-threaded architecture. You might think now – how the event loop would be blocked. Let us see a small instance. If you are forcing a CPU-bound code when Node.js is fetching a document from the database system, this condition is enough to block an event loop. 

This showcases how the event loop is getting blocked. Therefore, as a startup or a product manager, you need to address each case individually and neglect the usage of CPU-intensive tasks. If you want to detect any delay in the loops, then you can utilize some open-source modules or stongOps, a  Node.js Application Performance Management solution (APM) built with Node.js.

Executing multiple callbacks 

Every product manager and node.js developer knows that JavaScript completely relies on callbacks. And you also need to know that callback is the way asynchronous elements communicate with each other. It happens continuously and developers use callback for designing Application Programming Interfaces. 

The very common mistake made by startups, product managers, and developers using a callback is calling them twice. This leads the entire function or code into big trouble. If you call back twice or multiple times, then the entire interface freezes while the file is loading. Thus, it is essential to get the value of the first function prior to calling out a second.

As a startup, avoid this kind of mistake while using node.js for product development or web application development. You may ask us – how to avoid this mistake. You can neglect this mistake by using an else branch. In addition, you can also close the callback. This helps you to see an error if it is called more than once.

Callback hell 

Callback hell is also called a nested callback and it happens when the callback error is not handled properly by the development team. It would lead to stopping the code execution and losing control over your code. Furthermore, callback hell has the potential to cover up and render the source code unreadable by the development team. 

On top of that, Callback hell happens due to the multiple asynchronous stacks up on each other. As said earlier, if you avoid overloading functions and handle the callback errors properly, you prevent your source code from the callback hell. Currently, many startups and product managers use three tools to avoid callback hell such as promises, generators, and async. 

Promises – Manages the asynchronous data activities and solves the callback overload issues in the node.js 

Generators – It is a function execution that can be suspended and resumed later. In addition, it helps you to execute the asynchronous event without blocking the code. 

Async – It is a Node Package Manager that helps to create a new callback into a function and manages the asynchronous functions.

Using these libraries or tools, you can make your source code readable and also neglect the nested callbacks. 

Using Console.log for Debugging

In recent times, many startups, product managers, and even some developers are utilizing console.log for the debugging process. It is one of the common mistakes you need to avoid in node.js development. It would print everything and even if it is an arbitrary argument. 

Despite that, the significant issue here is; whenever a developer or a product manager inserts the console.log, he/she needs to restart the server. As a consequence, the performance of the application or a product will slow down. Furthermore, you will get many unnecessary codes and you need to deal with it. 

Instead of using the console.log, we would recommend you use the debug library. This library is specially designed to work for debugging. Therefore, you can protect the logs. In addition to this, debug library will keep your files safe from unwanted security threats and malware activities. 

Asynchronous Error Handling 

Not properly managing the asynchronous errors is also one of the most common mistakes done by startups, product managers, and node.js developers. You might know that asynchronous codes allow you to execute tasks when another task is in process. It is the most vital one in node.js as it uses a single-threaded event loop to handle requests. 

Therefore, mishandling asynchronous codes will lead you to face many issues and bugs which can’t be identified easily. Overall, carefully handle the asynchronous errors and manage them properly by hiring professional node.js developers. 

Integer data type 

Many developers and product managers are assuming numbers to be integer data. And we would say this is a common mistake committed by most people in node.js development. However, the numbers in the javascript are denoted as a floating point. First, you need to realize that there is no integer data type in Javascript.

Making any mistake in the limitation of the float will impact the calculations and the outcome. Your whole calculations might go wrong if you do this mistake. 

The Bottom Line

We hope you’ve got an abstract knowledge of mistakes you need to avoid in node.js development. Each mistake mentioned above will have a distinct impact on your project. Being aware of these blunders before beginning your project will be helpful in hassle-free product development. And you can take the necessary steps to ignore them.

By pursuing the finest practices in your project by leveraging the world-class node.js development solution, you can create and deploy a robust product that works seamlessly. Plus, you can have professional guidance from the industry-leading experts – Fortunesoft for developing your dream node.js application. We are here to assist you at any time and provide you with an outstanding solution based on your startup requirements.