Bootstrapping your business can be hard, especially when you don't have a technical background. The purpose of this website is to make it easier for you to do it yourself, without the need to hire a developer, at the most vulnerable stage of your company's journey.

We will explain some basic concepts first, so that we can build on them when discussing the most interesting languages to use.

Languages and Frameworks

What is the difference between the two? Languages are the building blocks of software, with them you will define your logic and flows. Frameworks are more similar to pre-built castles. A lot of things are already pre built and easily configurable. In general you want to pick a language that has a robust framework already built for it.

What are APIs?

APIs or, Application Programming Interfaces are network URLs you can call, that enable remote interaction between different pieces of software. Most programming languages have a way to create an API server, which your browser or any other piece of software can call to retrieve data or perform some sort of action. More here.

Web Framework vs API Framework

API frameworks are designed to facilitate the creation of APIs that enable systems to interact over a network, while web frameworks are built to support the development of web applications including their user interfaces. Important point here is that the page that runs in your browser, can either be coming from a web framework that is hosted in a server, or be independently served statically (like just simple code) which then uses its own code to call an API. Depending on what you already know or what you want to achieve (more on this here), creating an API can be the way to go, and if that is the case I strongly suggest using an API framework that is already established. Web Frameworks will be the easiest ways to start getting your feet wet in development, and they can go a long way towards a sustainable solution (most of them also can serve APIs). For more on how this choice works, see To Api or not to API)

Database Access and ORMs

Some (but not all) of these frameworks offer a way for you to connect your own database. You usually fetch data using SQL queries, but there are abstractions that help you. We call those ORMs, or Object-Relational mapping. These create a bridge between object oriented models (e.g. a Car object), and its data being stored inside the database. This makes it so instead of doing something like

SELECT * FROM cars WHERE cars.name = 'Ford Focus'

You can instead write:

Cars.find_by(name: "Ford Focus")

Languages for 2024

Every software project starts with a choice of what are you going to write it on, so we brainstormed a few so you don't have to:

#5

If you ever had contact with a software developer, it's likely they will shiver at the mere though of using PHP. It's still widely used and has multitudes of useful frameworks around it.

Web/Full Stack Frameworks:

• Laravel: Highly popular for its elegant syntax and comprehensive features including MVC support, authentication, and routing.

• Symfony: Known for its reusable PHP components and as a foundation for building robust applications.

API Frameworks:

• Lumen: A lighter, faster derivative of Laravel designed specifically for building APIs.

• Slim: A micro-framework that is easy to learn and ideal for small web applications and APIs.

ORMs:

• Eloquent (part of Laravel): Provides an active record implementation for working with databases.

• Doctrine: An extensive ORM for PHP that focuses on powerful database abstraction and querying capabilities.

#4

Javascript is the native code that your browser understands, leaving aside some more modern exceptions. This means that if you learn Javascript with a web Framework and ever need to break down your application into a front end vs a back end component, the transition may be a lot smoother.

It's listed lower in the list because there ecosystem of libraries for it is very fragmented (so a lot of low quality, unmaintained code going around) and there are some things about the language that can be harder to understand as a beginner (like Promises). Still it's widely used, you won't have any trouble finding developers for your new startup once you are able to start hiring.

Web/Full Stack Frameworks:

• Express.js: Minimal and flexible Node.js web application framework providing a robust set of features for web and mobile applications.

• Next.js: A React framework that enables functionalities such as server-side rendering and generating static websites.

• Meteor: An ultra-simple environment for building modern web applications.

API Frameworks:

• NestJS: A framework for building efficient and scalable server-side applications, heavily inspired by Angular.

• SvelteKit: Based on Svelte, designed for building highly interactive user interfaces and improving app performance.

ORMs:

• Mongoose: Designed for MongoDB and Node.js, provides a straightforward schema-based solution to model application data.

• Sequelize: A promise-based Node.js ORM for Postgres, MySQL, MariaDB, SQLite, and Microsoft SQL Server.

#3

Ruby is the darling of Web Frameworks, specially with Rails. It's very beginner friendly and Rails gives you all you need to bootstrap a very capable application. Minor drawbacks is that it's not as performant or versatile as other options.

Web/Full Stack Frameworks:

• Ruby on Rails (Rails): An extremely popular full-stack web application framework that follows "convention over configuration" principles.

• Sinatra: A DSL for quickly creating simple web applications in Ruby with minimal effort.

API Frameworks:

• Grape: An opinionated framework for building REST-like APIs in Ruby.

ORMs:

• Active Record: Ruby on Rails' ORM, providing a rich API for accessing database records as if they were objects.

• Sequel: A simple, flexible, and powerful SQL database access toolkit for Ruby.

#2

Python gives you a ton of different advantages. Its syntax is simple, easy to understand, there are an infinity of tutorials and resources for you to learn from and hiring when your startup takes off will be a breeze. Plus most Data Science / Machine Learning / AI nowadays is on top of Python libraries like Pandas and PyTorch.

Web/Full Stack Frameworks:

• Django: A high-level Python web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design.

• Flask: A lightweight WSGI web application framework. It is designed to make getting started quick and easy, with the ability to scale up to complex applications.

• FastAPI: A modern, fast (high-performance) web framework for building APIs with Python 3.6+ based on standard Python type hints.

API Frameworks:

• Flask-RESTful: An extension for Flask that adds support for quickly building REST APIs.

• Django REST Framework: A powerful and flexible toolkit for building Web APIs in Django.

ORMs:

Django ORM: Integrated tightly with Django, it provides a powerful way to define and access the database.

SQLAlchemy: A comprehensive set of tools for working with databases and Python, providing powerful query capabilities and versatility.

#1

The one you already know

Speedy is key. If you already know a language check and you are comfortable writing code in it, search for a stable web framework built for it. It will be your best bet before learning something new, but if you feel you are not getting where you want, give these other languages and frameworks a shot. They are battle tested and run in production for thousands of companies. The journey is long but you will get there.