Here’s A Typical Timeframe On How Web Developers Decide
- 0 – 2 years of experience: Thrilled about their favorite (and only) framework they’ve ever used.
- 2–4 years – Frameworks are crap, everything has to be built from scratch, period.
- 4–7 years – A mix between a couple of frameworks with an unnecessarily complicated distributed environment running behind (probably on top of a blockchain with some attempts at using machine learning for displaying a box on the homepage).
- 7–10 years – Legit discussions regarding performance, stability, security, interoperability, backward compatibility, and other implications of software architecture over time.
- 10+ years – Won’t take your project anyway.
Labels aside, developers use what they are most comfortable with for a period of time, or push for a custom build if they are passionate about reinventing the wheel and building something extraordinary.
We’ve been invited to dozens of RFPs pitching 50+ companies. I always ask about other applicants, and usually, hear whatever platform sits well into the portfolio of the business.
Smaller agencies tend to specialize in a specific language/platform. Larger outsourcing companies employ engineers using multiple technical stacks, usually .NET, Java, and PHP or Python, maybe Ruby in some odd cases.
Moral of the Story
Most projects can be built-in most platforms out there. While various platforms may be more suitable, the difference is often marginal, unless you have a good reason to prefer a specific stack. And developers/agencies look for themselves, too – they won’t be able to deliver the work on time/budget with less familiar technology, and they push for portfolio and additional experience in their own stack.
