The modern web is drowning in complexity. Frameworks promised developer happiness, scalability, and speed. Instead, they've delivered bloated bundles, slow performance, fragile tooling, and layers of abstraction that nobody fully understands.
It's time to admit the truth: JavaScript frameworks are zombies. They're still walking, still biting developers, but they're already dead. Most of us just haven't realized it yet.
The Original Sin of Frameworks
Frameworks like React, Vue, Angular, and Svelte weren’t born from joy. They were forged in pain. Pain from:
- jQuery chaos
- Cross-browser bugs
- Spaghetti DOM manipulation
- Inconsistent build tools
They brought order. They gave us components, virtual DOMs, and state management. But we paid a heavy price: an endless dependency chain, deeply coupled systems, and a community that stopped asking “why” and only asked “what's the latest tool?”
Cargo Cult Coding
Today, developers don't choose frameworks for what they solve. They choose them because everyone else does. It’s cargo cult coding:
"We use React because it’s the industry standard."
Even for landing pages. Even for simple modals. Even when the entire UI could be written in 20 lines of vanilla HTML.
It's overengineering as a service.
Every Company Is Drowning
Open up any large React or Vue codebase and you'll find:
- 5+ context providers wrapping each other like Russian dolls
- State managed in 3 different places
- A button component that imports 6 libraries
- A build system with 12 config files and 200MB of node_modules
These aren't exceptions. This is normal.
Companies spend more time maintaining their frameworks than building their products.
Frameworks Multiply Complexity
Want to write a button?
- In vanilla:
<button class="btn">Click Me</button> - In React: Import Button from a library, wrap it in a theme provider, add event handlers through hooks, debug hydration if SSR is used.
The more you abstract, the less you control. And the more you depend on the ecosystem, the harder it is to escape.
Vanilla + AI = Web Reborn
Here's the shift: Vanilla isn't hard anymore.
With GPT-level AI tools, we can now:
- Generate clean HTML/CSS components instantly
- Manage state with simple JS patterns and DOM APIs
- Add dynamic behavior with no build system
- Get performance, SEO, and accessibility out of the box
AI erased the old pain of vanilla development. Now it's fast, powerful, and radically transparent.
Why Vanilla Wins Now
1. Speed: No hydration, no bundles, no webpack.
2. Security: Fewer hidden corners for exploits.
3. Customization: You own every line of code.
4. Debuggability: No hidden props, no magic wrappers.
5. Simplicity: The browser is already the best platform. Use it directly.
The New Stack: Nothing
The best stack is no stack. Just:
index.htmlstyle.cssscript.js
Everything else is optional. Most of it is baggage.
It’s Time to Wake Up
Frameworks solved problems we no longer have.
AI has leveled the playing field.
The browser has evolved.
It’s not about nostalgia. It’s about clarity.
Vanilla + AI will bring the web back to life.