I have this problem every year or so; I want to create a web app that has the basics: a database, user sign in, runs on AWS, a templating engine, and has a small learning curve so that I don't have to learn five new skills and frameworks at the same time just to get started. But there's always a new javascript framework system to learn, always new little gotchas to get me, and always promising new concepts to wrap my head around...

So I put together a very simple web app, with technologies that I understand: Javascript, jQuery, Node.js (basic knowledge), SQLite, and just one new thing to me: Passport, so that I don't have to write my own cookies etc for saving user login sessions in the browser.

Code is here for download:

https://github.com/tjacobs/Basic-Web-App-Template

https://medium.com/@TomPJacobs/basic-web-app-template-30682de9a834

Even if it doesn't help you, I hope that next year when I have a new idea, this will save me many days of getting distracted going down shiny new software technology rabbit holes...