Why Top Developers Reject Complex JavaScript Frameworks

Reading Guide

Two senior front‑end engineers, Pieter Levels and Alex Russell, oppose the use of complex JavaScript frameworks, and their opinions are worth hearing.

The Ongoing Resistance to JavaScript Frameworks

In a recent Lex Fridman developer interview, AI application developer Pieter Levels explained that he builds all his apps with raw HTML, PHP, a little jQuery, and SQLite—no fancy JavaScript frameworks, no modern languages, and no WebAssembly.

Levels noted a revival of PHP, saying developers are tired of frameworks that require heavy maintenance and frequent version upgrades, whereas PHP remains stable and functional.

He advises “start early and iterate often,” meaning launch quickly and avoid complex web frameworks.

Other well‑known developers share this view. Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) wrote that complex frameworks make developers feel helpless and should be rejected.

Frontend Masters founder Marc Grabanski called migrating his high‑traffic PHP site to a modern framework “the biggest mistake of his career,” noting that the migration killed the site’s momentum.

He adds that projects with simple code should not be over‑designed just to chase trends; keep it simple to protect momentum.

Steve Jobs once said that simplicity is harder than complexity because it requires deep thinking, but the payoff is worth it.

The Other End of Complexity

The simple‑first philosophy is resurging not only in the “busy‑culture” startup scene represented by Pieter Levels but also among professional software engineers.

Levels (a PHP advocate and entrepreneur) and Alex Russell (a Microsoft browser engineer) are two developers with very different backgrounds who both oppose complex web frameworks.

Russell conducted a personal survey on how JavaScript‑heavy front‑end culture harms public‑service sites, using California’s BenefitsCal portal as an example.

Performance tools like WebPageTest.org and Google Core Web Vitals showed BenefitsCal loading 25 MB of uncompressed JavaScript before displaying any content, resulting in extremely slow experiences for many users and increased crash risk on low‑end devices.

Russell suggests reading the UK government’s progressive‑enhancement standards, part of the gov.uk Service Manual, which advocates building sites first with HTML, then adding CSS and JavaScript.

Say No to JS Frameworks

Developing quickly with PHP and jQuery focuses on rapid MVP delivery for users with high‑end devices, while progressive‑enhancement‑based development aims to lay a solid foundation and reach a broader audience, including those without modern devices.

For both developers, JavaScript frameworks are a “curse” for their goals; they avoid them, and the trend is moving toward less‑complex web frameworks.