There are so many JavaScript frameworks, and new frameworks come out every few months. I know some people hate to see new frameworks coming up in JavaScript because there are so many, and some insist on using vanilla JavaScript.

These javascript frameworks are here to make life easy for developers. Make them more productive, and write good code.
However, is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that these frameworks get incrementally complex over time and reduce the very thing they hope to provide the developers? That is saving developers time.

The first framework that I tried was Angular 1, I invested a decent amount of time learning Angular 1, and for that era, it felt great. Then came Angular 2. Angular 2 felt like a complete “redesign” for me (maybe because I was new to Javascript at that time), and for me, it felt like relearning a completely different framework.

Then I tried React and felt like React was too complex for my needs even to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, react is still a good framework. However, I have this unpopular opinion that “React” is good for big applications like Facebook, and not for someone like me who creates simple web applications that only a few people use.

Then I moved on to Vue, and for me, Vue was a breath of fresh air. I didn’t have set up complex dev tools, I just inserted a script tag, and I was good to go.

The learning curve was little, and it just fit my needs perfectly. So I used Vue as my go-to framework, and used it for almost everything I created until today.

Then came Vue 2, and there were some small incremental changes. I guess I had to use a build tool, but I was now mature enough to use one, and it was all great. I didn’t mind the changes.

There were also ViteJs and NuxtJs that I can use as frameworks that are based on Vue, (I think ViteJs is now independent of Vue, and I can use it with other frameworks such as React and Svelte).

I had little to complain, and there was very little to learn to switch from Vue1 to Vue2.

Recently, Vue3 became the default and replaced Vue2. Vue 3 must be great, and I’m sure developers have put a lot of effort into developing and creating it better.
I didn’t find it difficult migrating from Vue2 to Vue3, but now I feel like Vue 3 has gotten several folds more complex than Vue 1 and Vue 2. And I feel like I’m losing my productivity in writing in Vue 3. and I feel as if the simplicity I enjoyed in Vue1 is not there anymore.

So my problem is, why can’t we make these frameworks better without making them infinitely complex to use? Is that something that is not possible?

The next evolution in javascript frameworks is to bundle all the stack you’d ever need to bundle into a single framework like “RedwoodJS”

I know this piece is very opinionated, but I’d love to hear your feedback. It is just me talking about what I feel about developing using Javascript frameworks. I don’t want to go back to vanilla JS. I need simple and an effective frameworks.