If one sentence defines KELD, it's this: "We're not advocates for a single stack."
This sometimes surprises clients. When the answer to "what technology do you use?" is "it depends on the project," people wonder if we really mean it. This article is the detailed answer to that question.
Why Tech-Agnostic?
Because there's no such thing as "the best technology"; only "the right technology for this project."
We love React Native, but not for every mobile project. Next.js is powerful, but not for every content-heavy, editor-driven site. NestJS is excellent for complex systems, and overkill for a 3-endpoint API.
Being locked into a single stack means that when your only tool is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail.
The 5 Questions of Our Decision Process
We ask these questions at the start of every new project:
1. What's the domain? B2B SaaS, e-commerce, content site, enterprise application, mobile-first product. Each domain has different technical requirements.
2. What's the expected volume and scale? 100 users or 100,000? Are you at the MVP stage or the growth stage?
3. What's the team composition? Who's on the client's team? Who will maintain it afterward? Is there a frontend/backend/full-stack split?
4. What's the existing infrastructure and what are the constraints? Existing systems, cloud vs on-premise preferences, security requirements.
5. What does the 5-year outlook look like? Will the project grow? Will it be sold? Will it be transferred? How will long-term maintenance be handled?
4 Scenarios, 4 Stacks
Scenario 1: B2B SaaS, 10K Users, Small Team
Recommended: Next.js + App Router + Supabase
Why? Next.js handles auth, API routes, and the frontend in a single project. Supabase gives you PostgreSQL, realtime, and storage, managed infrastructure that makes sense for a small team. Deploying on Vercel is straightforward.
Scenario 2: Content Site, Millions of Page Views
Recommended: Next.js SSG + ISR + CDN
Why? Static generation means server load is close to zero. ISR allows content updates. A Cloudflare CDN provides global distribution, server costs stay minimal.
Scenario 3: Mobile-First MVP
Recommended: React Native + Expo + Hono API
Why? The Expo managed workflow ships iOS and Android simultaneously. Hono is a minimal Node.js framework that supports edge deployment. At the MVP stage, scale concerns are secondary.
Scenario 4: Enterprise ERP, 50+ Users
Recommended: NestJS + PostgreSQL + Next.js dashboard
Why? NestJS's module system maps naturally to domain-driven design. PostgreSQL's ACID guarantees are ideal for complex queries. A separate frontend project scales independently against the backend's API contract.
What Makes Us Different
We choose the stack based on the project's actual requirements, not on what's trendy or what the team already happens to know. This sometimes leads to the objection: "but everyone uses this."
Our answer is consistent: "What everyone else uses might not be right for your project."
Conclusion
Stack selection isn't a one-time decision you make and forget. It's a dynamic process tied to the team and requirements, one that should be revisited as the project evolves. We do this at the start of every project, and again whenever it's needed.