Why learn a framework?

August 20, 2025
9 min. read

I recently read two post that got me thinking about the value of learning a web development framework. These posts also align with my own experiences and thoughts on the subject. This post will explore my experiences, why I think learning a framework may be beneficial, and when do we learn to reach beyond frameworks and back to web standards. ## My Experience I've finally started to learn [React](https://react.dev/) and I can see the value in learning a framework but the value is tempered by the assumptions we all make when learning the framework. ## The Assumptions I see ### What do I need to know? Whenever I look at React docs, I find myself asking "what do I need to know to understand this?" and "where are these concepts taught?" When I look at the React documentation, I see many assumptions made about the reader's knowledge of web development and Javascript. These assumptions can make it difficult for someone new to React (or brand new to front-end development) to understand the examples and concepts presented. Taking this example from the React Docs Quickstart: ```js function MyButton() { return ( ); } export default function MyApp() { return (

Welcome to my app

); } ``` Would you be able to understand this code without knowing that `export default` exports a single value from a module? Or that it will make the `MyApp` component the default export of the module? Or that the full script is a module that has to be imported either with a `