Perfect is the Enemy of Awesome

If you have a new project on the table, you naturally want to use the best technologies available. With no constraints holding you back, you might consider all the trending modern stacks: Rust, React, TypeScript, GraphQL, Kubernetes - you name it. But take a step back and ask yourself: Do I really need all this complexity?

Django and friends

A Simple Yet Powerful Stack

Instead of overengineering, consider using Django, TailwindCSS, HTMX, and a bit of AlpineJS. This stack is incredibly fast to develop with, requires minimal configuration, and is perfect for solopreneurs who want to launch quickly without drowning in tooling.

Why This Stack?

• Django: A batteries-included framework that handles authentication, ORM, and templating out of the box.
• TailwindCSS: A utility-first CSS framework that makes styling fast and maintainable.
• HTMX: Enables seamless AJAX-like interactions with just HTML attributes, removing the need for a separate frontend framework.
• AlpineJS: A lightweight JavaScript framework for small UI enhancements when needed.

The Development Experience

Instead of setting up an API, a frontend framework, and a complex state management system, let Django handle everything server-side. With HTMX, you can update parts of your page dynamically without writing a single line of JavaScript. And when JavaScript is needed for UI interactions, AlpineJS makes it trivial.

For styling, TailwindCSS allows you to build beautiful, responsive pages without ever leaving your HTML. No more switching between CSS files or fighting with class name conflicts.

The result? Rapid development, easy maintenance, and a blazing-fast website.

What About Deployment?

Hosting is simple. A VPS running Gunicorn and Nginx is more than enough. But if you want to avoid the hassle of managing servers and databases, consider using a PaaS (Platform as a Service) like Railway. It takes care of all the complex database management for a reasonable price, allowing you to focus on development instead of infrastructure. Use SQLite for simplicity in development and PostgreSQL in production.

Where should you start?

All of this sounds great, but where do you begin? If you're interested in tutorials on all these technologies, follow my tutorial series on my YouTube channel.

The Takeaway

This approach reinforces a crucial lesson: complexity isn't always necessary. Just because modern tools exist doesn’t mean you need them.

If you're a solo developer or a small team, consider using Django, HTMX, and TailwindCSS for your next project. You’ll move faster, avoid unnecessary headaches, and get a production-ready app in record time.

Einstein’s formula for success still holds true: A = X + Y + Z. Where A is success, X is work, Y is play, and Z is keeping things simple.

Stay curious my friends!