Do You Really Need a Web Framework?

We defend our beloved frameworks passionately. But what are they actually doing for us? Watch as I build the same app with and without a framework, revealing their true role and curing your framework FOMO.

00:00 - Introduction & Framework Opinions 01:08 - About Sean C. Davis & Icebreaker 01:54 - How Do We Choose a Framework? 03:20 - Developer Experience vs. User Experience 04:29 - What Does a Framework Do in Production? 05:09 - Astro as a Static Site Generator Example 06:30 - The Static Site Generation Pattern 07:14 - Comparing to Ruby on Rails 07:56 - Adding Server-Side Rendering with Astro & Netlify 08:29 - Platform Adapters & Platform Primitives 09:41 - Edge Functions, Serverless, and Image CDN 10:17 - Framework Power Depends on Platform 11:02 - Supporting New Framework Features on Netlify 12:12 - Framework Capabilities Across Platforms 13:14 - Using Netlify Primitives with 11ty 13:27 - Building the Same App with Different Approaches 14:45 - Astro Example: Microblogging App Demo 15:24 - Using Netlify Blobs and Image CDN 15:32 - No-Framework Dynamic App Example 16:10 - Comparing Code: Astro vs. No-Framework 17:11 - Why Platform Integration Matters 17:41 - The Rise of AI Code Generation 18:13 - AI Agents and Developer Experience 19:09 - SPA Example: Vite, React, and Netlify Functions 19:38 - Documenting for AI Agents 20:27 - AI-Generated Apps: Cloud Code & Bolt 21:10 - Bolt: Rapid Prototyping with AI 22:28 - Comparing AI-Generated Apps 22:58 - Importance of Framework-Platform Integration 23:48 - Choosing What Works for You 24:20 - Final Thoughts: Have Fun!