Designing and building scalable web applications

Individual course

Please note that you can complete this course only until 16.7.2026. A 5 ECTS course takes approximately 135 hours to complete. Make sure that you have enough time to finish the course.

The course introduces learners to the principles of building scalable web applications, focusing on recent advances in both client- and server-side development as well as on platforms and hosting solutions. Architectural patterns and their fit and need for different types of web applications are also considered.

Course contents

  • Methodologies and evolution of designing and building scalable web applications, focusing on recent advances in both client- and server-side development as well as on platforms and hosting solutions.
  • Architectural patterns and their fit and need for different types of web applications.

Learning outcomes

After the course, the student

  • understands the multiple dimensions of scalability and understands factors that contribute to the scalability of web applications
  • knows and applies architectural patterns and techniques for designing and building scalable web applications
  • understands the impact of the wide range of design decisions in building scalable web applications
  • knows scalability laws and reflects on them in the context of architectural decisions
  • can evaluate the scalability of web applications at multiple abstraction levels
  • has practical experience in designing, building, and deploying web applications that scale

Course material

Technologies: docker, docker compose, kubernetes, minikube, as well as a handful of web technologies. Online materials available at https://fitech101.aalto.fi/designing-and-building-scalable-web-applications/

Completion methods

Course assignments, including exercises, essays and projects.

You can get a digital badge after completing this course.

deno, svelte, astro, tailwind, redis, kafka

Responsible teacher

Aalto University
Arto HellasSenior university lecturer
arto.hellas(at)aalto.fi

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