I use node as a backend more often than not. nvm makes environment setup a piece of cake. If I need a db I use sqlite3, typically just writing the sql by hand.

I use node as a backend more often than not. nvm makes environment setup a piece of cake. If I need a db I use sqlite3, typically just writing the sql by hand. This is plenty for most simple projects. If you prefer Ruby or Python, the same strategies can be adopted with Sinatra/Flask, but I refuse to write python unless I'm being paid. For frontend, I think I am fastest with React, but I prefer to use handwritten js most of the time.