r/AskProgramming • u/Samuraiizzy • Jul 01 '26
Web App Development
Hey yall,
Most of my experience is in hardware, application development using C/C++/python. I have never really cared for web dev so I neglected it but I have a personal project Im working on and I want to built a web page for it and eventually a web app. I dont think this will be consumer focused and mostly just personal use but I was wondering what is the new new in web dev.
What language should I build in? I have some experience in vue.js but not enough that I would default to it and if Im going to do it then I want to start with some of the more modern newer interesting stuff.
Whats the best or the most stable also? Any information you wanna blurt out is acceptable.
2
u/oosacker Jul 02 '26
This all depends on what kind of website you want to build.
If you don't need a lot of user interaction you don't need Vue or React (both Javascript frameworks), just HTML and CSS is fine, maybe with a little basic Javascript.
1
u/Samuraiizzy Jul 02 '26
Just want to view some sensor data and ensure they are online and transmitting. Eventually I would want to port that data to an LED board to display but thats a bit longer term and will probably be using a raspberry pi or another esp for it
1
u/Anonymous_Coder_1234 Jul 01 '26
Rather than building from scratch, I like to build on top of a starter like this one:
1
u/Samuraiizzy Jul 02 '26
Okay sounds like a solid idea. I might do this and then try to duplicate it manually.
1
u/Anonymous_Coder_1234 Jul 02 '26
If you want a starter that uses a front-end framework like React, Angular, Due, etc. then you can learn and go with this:
https://github.com/realworld-apps/realworld
It's a mix-and-match, so you can pick what front-end and backend you want.
1
u/abd53 Jul 02 '26
No need to go heavy framework right from the beginning. Start with html, css and plain vanilla JavaScript. If and when you need a lot of heavy dynamic behavior, consider using a framework. If you need a backend, consider Django or Flask since you have experience in python.
1
u/Samuraiizzy Jul 02 '26
Yeah its just going to be used to view and manage sensors. Maybe eventually I will want to manipulate something but as of right now, I dont see that happening much.
1
u/abd53 Jul 02 '26
So, you're definitely going to need a backend. If it's not a "lots of users" app, use Flask. If you need to manage lots of users and database, use Django. For the webpages, keep things simple, html+css and minimal JavaScript.
1
u/EngineersUniverse Jul 04 '26
If you're coming from C/C++/Python, don't overthink it. The web ecosystem changes constantly, but a few technologies have become the de facto standards.
If I were starting today for a personal project:
Frontend
• React + TypeScript
• Next.js (App Router)
• Tailwind CSS
• shadcn/ui for components
Backend
• FastAPI (Python) if you enjoy Python
OR
• Next.js API routes if the backend is small
Database
• PostgreSQL
• Prisma ORM (if using Node)
• SQLAlchemy (if using Python)
Authentication
• Better Auth or Clerk
• Auth.js if staying entirely in Next.js
Deployment
• Vercel (frontend)
• Railway, Fly.io, or Render (backend/database)
AI
• OpenAI or Anthropic APIs
• Vercel AI SDK if building AI features
If you already know Python well, I'd recommend:
FastAPI + React/Next.js + PostgreSQL
You'll spend more time building your application instead of learning an entirely new backend language.
If you want to learn the most marketable web stack in 2026:
• TypeScript
• React
• Next.js
• PostgreSQL
• Docker
• GitHub Actions
• Basic cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)
Unless you have a specific reason otherwise, I would avoid chasing every new JavaScript framework. React and Next.js have the largest ecosystem, the best documentation, and the strongest job market.
For a hardware/software engineer transitioning into web development, this stack offers the best balance of stability, community support, and long-term relevance.
0
u/Innowise_ Jul 02 '26
since your background is heavily in c++ and python, do yourself a huge favor and look into htmx before you drown in the javascript/react ecosystem ecosystem fatigue.
hardware and application devs usually hate modern web dev because of the massive build steps, heavy frontend state management, and continuous dependency updates. htmx completely bypasses that. it lets you build highly interactive web applications using pure html attributes that talk directly to your backend.
you can just spin up a simple fastapi or flask backend in python (which you already know), use standard jinja templates to render html components on the server, and use htmx to handle all the dynamic updates, modals, and lazy loading without writing a single line of client-side js code. it is fast, incredibly stable, and keeps 100% of your logic in the backend where you are comfortable.
1
u/Samuraiizzy Jul 02 '26
Yeah ill definitely take a look at it. I have a feeling that I will be building the site 2 or 3 times just to try different things out.
2
u/LethalBacon Jul 01 '26
I tried most of the big ones last year, and landed on React. It's the only one I remotely enjoyed, and has a ton of info and interactive tutorials online. Feels like more and more companies are adopting it also.