This is correct. ...it is also why php is not really any significantly better choice than any other framework/language combination. The benefits of ‘plain php

This is correct. ...it is also why php is not really any significantly better choice than any other framework/language combination. The benefits of ‘plain php’ (simplicity) disappear quite quickly when you’re doing anything non trivial. I would never choose php without one of those framework stacks; it doesn’t scale, its prone to hideous security issues and its a fugly mess of reinventing the wheel. Frankly, anyone doing this these days has no idea what they’re doing.