Hey all! Hope this is an appropriate use-case for this space.
I'm starting work on a project for a web development company (a pretty small web app, just needs nice drag-and-drops), and they've asked me to field some opinions from those in the know before locking in a framework (or none) to go with.
We've been looking at SvelteKit, which seems interesting. Do you have a preferred framework to use for smaller projects, when you get to pick? If so, why's that your favorite?
Top comments (3)
If this is a beginner project I suggest using no frameworks - so that you can learn the details.
So, NodeJS (and maybe ExpressJS) for the backend and the HTML, CSS and JavaScript for the front end. You can also think about using PHP (no framework) for the backend. Both options allow quick prototyping and development.
I do not believe in simple web apps. In forty years, I can think of, at most, once or twice that an app stayed simple. It might not be an actual law of physics but mission creep seems inevitable. If the project is successful, it's natural and probably good for it to grow to accommodate new user needs and ideas.
Me? I use VueJS for everything. If you want to, you can strip it down pretty far but, mostly, I use the same setup. It's been years and I have never regretted it. (For years before VueJS, I used a framework called JavascriptMVC in the same way.) I focus on making things, not finding a perfect framework.
I will say that, for truly tiny things (I made a page to experiment with GPT the other day), I don't use a framework at all. Native all the way (using GPT to generate details so I didn't have to look up the parameter names of the fetch API).
But, if I had to drag or drop, I'd jump back to VueJS. Turns out keeping track of what you're dragging and what happens when you drop it is nicer if you have a state tool and having one that you already know, is awesome.
Django for backend. HTML5, CSS and HTMX for frontend.