Why Some Developers Are Ditching JavaScript Frameworks for Simpler PHP and jQuery

Background

Developer Pieter Levels advocates a minimalist stack that relies only on standard HTML, PHP, a small amount of jQuery‑enhanced JavaScript, and SQLite. He deliberately avoids modern JavaScript frameworks, newer programming languages, and WebAssembly to keep projects lightweight, easy to maintain, and fast to iterate.

Case Study: BenefitsCal

Alex Russell examined the California BenefitsCal portal (an online SNAP‑benefits service) to illustrate the performance impact of excessive JavaScript. Using WebPageTest.org and Google Core Web Vitals , he measured the following:

Approximately 25 MB of uncompressed JavaScript (about 17.4 MB after compression) is required before any meaningful content is displayed.

The large script payload delays the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and inflates other Web Vitals, leading to poor user‑experience scores.

Low‑end devices are prone to browser tab crashes because of the memory pressure caused by the massive script load.

Russell recommends following the UK government’s progressive enhancement guidelines: start with a fully functional HTML‑only page, then layer CSS for styling, and finally add JavaScript only where it adds measurable value. This approach reduces initial payload, improves accessibility on low‑spec hardware, and aligns with web‑standard best practices.

Practical Minimalist Approach

To build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) without a heavyweight framework, the following steps can be used:

Create the site structure using plain index.html and semantic HTML elements.

Implement server‑side logic with PHP scripts (e.g., index.php, api.php) that interact with a local SQLite database for data persistence.

Enhance interactivity with a small jQuery bundle (e.g., jquery.min.js < 90 KB) for DOM manipulation, form handling, and AJAX calls.

Apply CSS for layout and visual design, keeping it separate from JavaScript.

Test performance with tools such as WebPageTest.org, Lighthouse, or the Core Web Vitals dashboard to ensure the initial payload stays under a few hundred kilobytes.

Iteratively add JavaScript features only when they demonstrably improve the user experience, following the progressive‑enhancement principle.

This workflow produces a fast‑loading, standards‑compliant web application that serves both high‑end devices and users on limited connections or older hardware.