Best tech stack for freelance web development?

I'm thinking PHP / Wordpress / Laravel, or Javascript / Express / React.

Concern with PHP is the smaller business / lower pay nature of the work especially in the Wordpress world, however I hear it's easier to get into. Javascript seems to be getting big for startups / front end / back end with node; not sure how much that helps a newbie or mid level freelancers though.

What tech stack would you guys gravitate towards to build a non-local freelance client base around?



As for me right now, I am currently building Python scripts and will probably branch into another stack soon, unless I see a niche that isn't picky about the tech (then I'll go with Django).

Learn PHP and Javascript, and you'll be able to choose who with and where you work.

kahuna74 said:

Learn PHP and Javascript, and you'll be able to choose who with and where you work.

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I have the same thinking long term. Short term what do you think is better to prioritize? I am mixed because PHP has wordpress, but Javascript has the front end benefits and also the new front end frameworks.

Delta223 said:

I have the same thinking long term. Short term what do you think is better to prioritize? I am mixed because PHP has wordpress, but Javascript has the front end benefits and also the new front end frameworks.

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I’d say PHP, many websites are built using WP and people always want to modify the themes or create some plugins of their own

My recommendation would be Javascript on the front & back. React, and then whatever framework is appropriate. JS is in high demand, trend looks solid, high paying clients, don't have to deal with coding in PHP. Python is great on the backend too, and there's a lot of work.

My choice is JS/Rect/Redux

It depends on your clients.

General PHP has three advantages:

1) every cheap shared hosting offers apache with mod_php so if your clients are small businesses who don't like to spend alot of money on hosting, they will thank you

2) deployment of PHP applications is easy (compared to node.js or djanog)

3) PHP has a huge community with trillions of code snippets, libs and frameworks.


If you are dealing with enterprise customers, Python would be my choice.

For your frontend stack, stick with vue.js. It is fast, small and easy and way better to work with thatn Angular2 for example. Again it depends on your client base, how much they are willing to pay and how complex their application has to be.