When I first began making websites, I have always wondered what a framework was. From my experience doing hackathons, it would seem that those who used frameworks could build much more seamless and elaborate websites than what I could do in the same timeframe. After some experience with a framework, Bootstrap 5, I understand why frameworks are used. As a brief introduction, Bootstrap 5 is a front-end framework that has pre-made classes to help style elements quicker than having to make and style new ones.
An issue with making a website is making sure everything works together without issue. Troubleshooting becomes a problem when developers or other team members have to dig through hundreds of lines of code just to find why may be the cause of a bug. Frameworks help alleviate that issue by acting as a shortcut to commonly written code, similar to a library. For example, with Bootstrap 5, instead of having to dedicate 5-10 lines of css to styling a part of an element, you may just add a word or two to a class of an element instead and have the same result.
After learning Bootstrap 5, I see the value in learning Frameworks. I was always avoidant and hesitant to learn because I never had the need or pressure to learn frameworks. My code was always just “good enough” to get the job done. Now, however, I hope to learn more ways frameworks could help me with programming. Despite this, I will still be cautious of them, as I feel if I depend on them too much and don’t understand why they work the way they do, it will only act as a crutch.