So I’m working on this side project. I don’t have a name for it yet but I’ve been describing it as “vim for web designers”. The idea is that you can build a website (or components) in the browser, similar to Webflow, but it’s entirely driven by a command language.<p>When I began the project, I told myself I wasn’t going to use a framework. After all, I’ve been doing this since 2009, I was working with JS for a long time before I ever touched a framework. And besides, the native DOM APIs have long been good enough. Right?<p>My god, it was an absolute slog. Marshalling data into and out of the DOM is so tedious and error prone that I began writing my own mini framework to save my own sanity. And then I remembered why I began using frameworks to begin with - because ultimately you’re going to be using a framework of some kind regardless, it’s just whether you want your own custom one or a community-built industry standard.<p>I do still think native DOM is great, if you’re working with small amounts of interactivity. Most sites that use React probably don’t need it. But if your product has even a little bit of nuance or complexity, I’d go with a framework and avoid the hassle.<p>In the end I migrated to Svelte, and I’m much happier as a result.