SvelteKit[1] is a framework for SvelteJS (like Next.js is a framework for ReactJS). I've tried both Svelte and React. Svelte seems to be more elegant and lets me implement my ideas faster with less code. Svelte is very flexible; SvelteKit adds some opinions on how to do things like routing.
SvelteKit also embraces the serverless paradigm[2] (AKA JAMstack[3]). Although a node.js server is still an option, you can also have pages rendered in serverless functions or pre-rendered at build time. Even static pages can be "hydrated" on the client so they are not totally static. So this results in fine-grained SSR (server-side rendering) at the page level. The two main reasons for SSR are performance (especially on mobile devices) and SEO.
Backendless[4] is a VADP/MBaaS. This platform offers a lot of services, but the main one I'm looking at is authentication/identity. I was looking for an authentication service that supports anonymous guest login, social login, as well as traditional email/password login. The other contenders were Google Firebase (slow, and confusing sign in/sign up flow[5]) and AWS Cognito (too complicated/difficult to use). Auth0 was a contender, but they don't support guest logins.
This whole thing feels like layers upon layers of complexity. Not to mention, the brittle aspects of any javascript project - immature, lack of robustness and dependability. Your stuff is working on Node v12? Good luck with Node v14 - both LTS versions. It is a shitshow. Let's keep Javascript inside the browser IMO.
SvelteKit as a project is literally 4 months old (since announced), but Sapper (the predecessor) have been around for longer, and SvelteKit has been used on NYT's county-level COVID tracker. There will be some teething problems but it's definitely not a totally greenfield project.
Well, Svelte itself is a bit older than that. And of all the modern Javascript frameworks, Svelte has been, for me, the most joyful to work with.
However, to your comment, I agree - there's unnecessary amount of complexity in the stack above. For me, it's usually Svelte in front, with any server side application.
SvelteKit[1] is a framework for SvelteJS (like Next.js is a framework for ReactJS). I've tried both Svelte and React. Svelte seems to be more elegant and lets me implement my ideas faster with less code. Svelte is very flexible; SvelteKit adds some opinions on how to do things like routing.
SvelteKit also embraces the serverless paradigm[2] (AKA JAMstack[3]). Although a node.js server is still an option, you can also have pages rendered in serverless functions or pre-rendered at build time. Even static pages can be "hydrated" on the client so they are not totally static. So this results in fine-grained SSR (server-side rendering) at the page level. The two main reasons for SSR are performance (especially on mobile devices) and SEO.
Backendless[4] is a VADP/MBaaS. This platform offers a lot of services, but the main one I'm looking at is authentication/identity. I was looking for an authentication service that supports anonymous guest login, social login, as well as traditional email/password login. The other contenders were Google Firebase (slow, and confusing sign in/sign up flow[5]) and AWS Cognito (too complicated/difficult to use). Auth0 was a contender, but they don't support guest logins.
[1]: https://kit.svelte.dev
[2]: https://www.serverless.com
[3]: https://jamstack.org
[4]: https://backendless.com
[5]: https://github.com/firebase/firebaseui-web/issues/665