web-development javascript developer-tools music-technology

Why Vanilla JavaScript

guseyn.com

July 12, 2026

9 min read

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56/100

Summary

Vanilla JS simplifies web development by reducing artificial complexity in web technologies. Instruxmusic.com is a web application designed for music schools and independent instructors to manage scheduling and billing efficiently.

Key Takeaways

The author built a web application, instruxmusic.com, for music schools and instructors entirely using vanilla JavaScript and Web Components.
Major frontend frameworks like React, Angular, Vue, and Svelte require a build pipeline and often encourage the use of TypeScript, contributing to artificial complexity in web development.
The concept of "reactivity," popularized by Angular.js, has significantly influenced modern frontend development, leading to increased boilerplate code and complexity.
React dominates the job market for frontend developers, capturing over 95% of available positions.

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Coverage & discussions

Hacker News · guseyn.com

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Analysis ready

Community Sentiment

Mixed

Positives

Vanilla JS is a solid choice for personal projects where simplicity is key, allowing for less overhead and more control.
Frameworks like Vue offer significant conveniences for complex applications, making development faster and more efficient.
Using LLMs with widely adopted frameworks can enhance team productivity, as they won't need constant context on custom setups.

Concerns

Relying solely on vanilla JavaScript for complex UIs leads to a patchwork of poor design choices and ultimately creates its own complexity.
The notion that UI frameworks are just artificial complexity shows a lack of experience; they exist to solve real problems that vanilla JS can't handle well.
Without a shared framework, team projects risk devolving into chaos with each developer creating their own undocumented solutions.