My favorite tech stack for building every personal project
Tags: webdev, javascript, nextjs, serverless
Published: 2023-01-02 06:26:02

TLDR - I'm talking about the tech stack that works for my life situation. I'm not a fan of working with databases, and even if I do, I'd only use it to store large amounts of data and write them. Therefore my tech stack can be described as somewhere between JAM and serverless. You decide. 

## My frustration with tech stacks 

As a preface, I'd be remiss not mentioning just how many framework out there is for us to even comprehend. Many times I had to make online trips to tech forums asking for advice on tech stacks. 

![In case you're wondering what the name for the forum is](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/71hzdmm0fjh0tjuoeknc.png)

What's really frustrating about it is that most of the tech out there does relatively the same job, especially for the needs of my personal projects at that time. In short, it took me almost 2 weeks to find all the answers needed.  

As much as I hated to admit this, but for a college freshman like me then, it's cool to have a broad knowledge of different frameworks, languages and even better, to constantly update your existing knowledge with the advent of new releases. 

But it was only when I was in my new job that all of my naive beliefs came into dust. 

You need a great product, not great technology. It is only the means to an end, while the management/technical skills you demonstrate is the end itself. 

It doesn't matter how you can build a clone in 12 hours with the shiniest tech stack, or how learning them can give you an edge in the job marketplace, the content always takes the 
throne. 

![Credit: The Code Factory](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/tx3v9m1rfqd9bgiqy8p1.png)

## The nature of projects that I built 

The end goal of this is to show employers what I can do and how these projects stand for my interests. 

For example, it could be a browser side flashcard storage app, a rating app, or something as esoteric as a catalog of different climate zones.

When it comes to size and scope, I expect my end product to neither be too lightweight, nor to be hindered by too much challenges. To do so, I filtered out use cases or requirements that require substantial engineering effort, like say, implementing a customized e-commerce site, or too much novelty, like simulating the impact of desert conditions on a 3D tree. 

I'd say it's a combination of not reinventing the wheel, but improving the spokes on the wheel. 

## The tech stack 

In any given time of day, I'm left with only 2 to 3 hours to spare each day. 

That means I need a combination of tools that should be few in numbers, but diverse enough to cover most of project requirements. All without ending up with a bloated list of technology that can lengthen the time to finish the project. 

Usually I'd just need some endpoints, a frontend framework and browser storage to begin with. 

Regarding SSG/SSR frameworks, Next.js pretty much abstracts API handling while allowing you to do extra logic on server side, all without having to use databases once. 

As Next.js is also built along with React, it saves me from having to learn more Node.js frameworks and I can just code in React or Node in the same file. 

Together with TailwindCSS, I never had to switch to a new file type again. 

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/kctqgg3393suz2owy2dg.png)

While the downside is that the file looks uglier and more verbose, I don't like the idea of having to switch between files to edit a specific component and strain my working memory. 

## Conclusion

Again, this is just another piece of my mind when being asked about my favorite tech stack. What about yours ? And how does it make your development experience better ?