Choosing technologies for your web project

When you launch a web project, one of the first questions is: which technology should we use?
Between WordPress, React, Next.js, Vue.js, no‑code tools and more, the choice can quickly become overwhelming. Yet this initial decision conditions everything that follows.

Why the technology choice matters

Picking the wrong technology is like building a house on weak foundations: you can decorate the interior, but structural issues will catch up with you.

Consequences of a poor choice:

• Slow performance, which affects your SEO and conversions
• Rising maintenance costs over time
• Difficulty evolving when your needs change
• Dependency on a specific provider or niche skills

The right choice, on the other hand, gives you a solid base for years.

Criteria to consider before deciding

Your current and future needs

Ask yourself the right questions:

• What type of site? Brochure site, e‑commerce, web app, blog?
• How much content? A few pages or hundreds?
• How often will it be updated? Daily, weekly, monthly?
• Any specific features? Booking, member area, online payments?
• Expected growth? Does the site need to scale?

Your answers will naturally orient you towards certain solutions.

Available skills

Who will maintain the site day‑to‑day?

• In‑house team → favour an accessible interface (WordPress, headless CMS)
• External partner → more freedom in technical choices
• Hybrid → headless setups where content editors use a simple UI while developers handle the front‑end

Overall budget

Think about the total cost of ownership, not just the initial build:

• Development
• Hosting
• Maintenance and updates
• Future evolutions

A “free” WordPress site can end up costing more than a custom build over 3 years once you add premium plugins, security fixes and performance work.

Main technology options

WordPress: the universal CMS

WordPress powers a large part of the web. It is a safe bet for certain projects.

Best suited for:

• Brochure sites with frequent content updates
• Blogs and content‑driven sites
• Simple e‑commerce (WooCommerce)
• Short‑term, budget‑constrained projects

Less suited for:

• Sites where top‑tier performance is critical
• Very specific, custom functionality
• Projects with high growth and complex roadmaps

I use WordPress for some clients, such as Détective Sanegon, where content autonomy is a priority.
For a deeper comparison, see my article WordPress vs custom site: how to choose.

React / Next.js: modern performance

Next.js (based on React) is my preferred choice for demanding projects.
It is the technology behind this portfolio.

Best suited for:

• Sites where performance is critical
• SEO‑driven projects (server‑side rendering)
• Interactive web applications
• Custom designs and bespoke experiences

Less suited for:

• Extremely tight budgets
• Teams who want to manage everything without a developer

Vue.js / Nuxt: an elegant alternative

Vue.js and its framework Nuxt offer a gentler learning curve than React.

Best suited for:

• Teams with junior developers
• Medium‑sized projects
• Progressive web apps (PWA)

No‑code solutions: Webflow, Framer

For simple projects where design matters more than complex features, no‑code tools can be a good option.

Best suited for:

• Landing pages
• Simple brochure sites
• Fast prototypes

Limitations:

• Limited customisation beyond what the tool offers
• SEO sometimes constrained
• Strong dependency on the platform’s roadmap and pricing

How I recommend a stack in practice

When a client contacts me for a new project, my process looks like this:

1. Needs analysis

I start by asking a lot of questions.
Often, what the client thinks they want is not exactly what they actually need.
My article on how to prepare your web project details this step.

2. Constraint evaluation

• Available budget
• Deadlines
• Internal skills
• Existing tools and infrastructure

3. Tailored proposal

I don’t recommend the same technology by default. The context drives the choice:

• Simple brochure site with frequent updates → WordPress
• Corporate site with critical performance and SEO → Next.js
• Complex web application → Next.js or a more custom architecture
• Redesign of an existing WordPress site → either a robust WordPress upgrade or a migration to Next.js, depending on needs

Common mistakes to avoid

Chasing trends

A trendy technology is not automatically a good fit.
GraphQL is great, but unnecessary for a 5‑page site.

Over‑engineering

A simple blog does not need a microservices architecture. Keep things as simple as your use case allows.

Ignoring maintenance

A stack that no one around you can maintain will quickly become a problem.
Think about maintenance from the start.

Neglecting the ecosystem

A technology also means a community, plugins, documentation and tooling.
Working with a framework that is no longer maintained or widely used is a risk.

Looking ahead

The web keeps evolving. The technologies I recommend today may not be the same in 5 years.
That is why I favour:

• Open standards over closed, proprietary systems
• Decoupled architectures that let you swap components over time
• Actively maintained technologies with strong teams behind them

AI is also changing how we build and use the web, but the fundamentals remain: performance, accessibility and user experience.

Conclusion

Choosing a stack is not about fashion or personal preference. It is a strategic decision that should flow from your needs, constraints and objectives.

If you want an informed opinion on your project, I offer tailored consulting to help you make these choices.
You can explore my background and portfolio to see the different technologies I work with in real‑world projects.