Last night, in a sudden burst of inspiration, I made a decision and built a new website at toviszsolt.com — my personal hub site. There was no grand plan, no Jira ticket, and most importantly: there was no framework.
Zero React, zero Vue, zero Angular. Not even a stray Tailwind class.
Instead, I went back to basics: primitive HTML, custom CSS, and a very minimal amount of JavaScript.
Why? Because with over 20 years of experience behind me as a Chief Software Architect and Hands‑On Full Stack Engineer, sometimes I have to remind myself what development is actually all about.
The Pure Joy of Development
When you’ve been in this industry for so long, you tend to forget that simple, childlike joy that creation brings. That moment when you type a line, refresh the browser, and boom, it’s there. Instantly.
No build process. No npm install downloading half the internet. No waiting for Webpack. It’s just you and the code.
This direct connection with technology is like a carpenter using a hand plane instead of industrial machinery. They don’t do it to be slower; they do it to feel the grain of the wood. Using pure HTML and CSS gives you back this control. You know exactly why everything happens, and if something is off by 2 pixels, you don’t dig through a library’s documentation — you just fix the margin.
So, Why Do Frameworks Exist?
Don’t get me wrong, I love modern tools. Frameworks (e.g. Next.js) are not the enemy. They were created to solve complexity, scalability, and team collaboration issues.
If we are building a banking system, a complex SaaS product, or a large enterprise portal at Stacklegend, I would be crazy not to use them. In those cases, the structure, state management, and component-based thinking are lifesavers.
But let’s be honest: for an introduction page, a landing page, or a simple portfolio, spinning up a framework is often like using a cannon to kill a sparrow. We pile unnecessary layers between ourselves and the user, simply because we can.
The Power of “Primitive” Technologies
I often see developers getting lost in a sea of tools. They become “Frameworkers” instead of engineers. They learn the rules of the framework but forget what powers the engine under the hood.
It is crucial to understand: even while using frameworks, it is critical to know how to use the underlying, “primitive” technologies.
If you understand CSS Grid and Flexbox, you won’t be at the mercy of a UI kit’s limitations.
If you understand native DOM manipulation, you’ll know when the Virtual DOM is slow.
If you understand semantic HTML, SEO and accessibility won’t be afterthoughts.
Are you asking if I’ve gone mad?
I didn’t choose this path for this project out of masochism. I chose it because I simply didn’t need anything else.
I didn’t write CSS by hand to suffer. I did it because the task — a fast, clean, informative site — demanded it. The result is a lightning-fast website that contains no bloatware, and one that I will be able to edit just as easily 5 years from now without worrying about deprecated dependencies.
So, Frameworkers: sometimes dare to code “naked.” You’ll be surprised at how liberating it feels.
Happy coding!
Top comments (0)