# Choosing Your First Framework

You know a language. You need to build something with it - an API, a web app, a backend for a
project. And now you're stuck at a different wall: which framework do you actually open first?

This guide skips the survey and gives you an answer. If you haven't already read
[What a Framework Even Is](/guides/what-a-framework-even-is), start there - it covers the concept
and a general method for learning any framework. This one assumes that and answers the narrower,
more urgent question: given the language you already know, where do you start today.

## The phases

1. **[You Don't Need to Learn Ten Frameworks](01-you-dont-need-to-learn-ten-frameworks.md)** - why the anxiety is normal, and why the real question is narrower than it feels.
2. **[A Starting Point, Language by Language](02-a-starting-point-language-by-language.md)** - one opinionated recommendation per language, with why.
3. **[When You Don't Need a Framework Yet](03-when-you-dont-need-a-framework-yet.md)** - the straight alternative: sometimes the standard library is enough.