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A 2026 essay by Nolan Lawson argues that developers’ preference for custom code and libraries has roots in the web’s uneven history, familiar tools and the enjoyment of building things. The piece is an analysis, not a survey: it offers examples and personal experience, but does not quantify how many developers choose libraries or establish how common each motivation is.
Web developer Nolan Lawson published an analysis on October 3, 2026, asking why developers still need persuading to use browser features rather than build or install JavaScript solutions. His essay points to the web’s history of uneven browser support, the familiarity of package ecosystems and the appeal of making things by hand; it does not report survey data or measure how widespread those reasons are.
Lawson says the advice to “use the platform” rests on a straightforward premise: when browsers already provide a capability, a custom JavaScript implementation may perform worse or be less usable. But he argues that developers’ choices make more sense when viewed against earlier web conditions. Libraries such as jQuery filled gaps while browsers caught up, and support for newer features could remain inconsistent until older browsers faded from use. That history made self-built and third-party solutions practical for many projects.
He also points to habits shaped by today’s tools. Developers accustomed to finding React components on npm may search there first, even for a problem a standard browser feature can solve. A library can also package a lower-level browser API in an interface that feels familiar to developers working in a framework. Lawson describes this as a division of labor: experienced developers can handle platform details while others use higher-level components.
Documentation is another factor in his account. Lawson contrasts the detailed guides, examples and screenshots found on many package websites with the once-scattered documentation for browser APIs. He says sites such as MDN and web.dev later became prominent references, but argues that libraries could still make a solution easier to discover and adopt. The essay also describes a less practical motive: some developers enjoy building and refining their own implementations, even when a browser feature could handle the task.
Why Developers Choose Familiar Tools
The choice affects how web applications are built and maintained. Using a browser feature can avoid maintaining custom code and may deliver behavior the browser has already implemented. A library, in turn, can offer a familiar interface or fill a gap in the way a team works. Lawson’s analysis matters because it treats adoption as a question of developer incentives and experience, not just whether an API exists.
His modal-dialog example illustrates the tradeoff. A homemade dialog may start with positioning and layering, then require additional work for background scrolling, keyboard dismissal, focus management and returning focus to the opening control. Browser APIs such as the <dialog> element can provide a built-in path, but a developer may prefer to construct a custom version for control, learning or enjoyment. The essay argues that those motives can lead to useful experimentation, while also creating a risk that a homemade component will cover only part of the expected behavior.
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From Browser Gaps to Built-In APIs
For much of the web’s earlier history, developers had to account for browsers that supported features at different times or not at all. Lawson cites jQuery as an example of a library that addressed needs while browser APIs developed. He notes that evergreen browser releases have changed that environment, though support timing and browser update patterns still affect developers’ decisions.
Lawson draws on his own experience maintaining tools around browser storage APIs, including IndexedDB and WebSQL, through his work on PouchDB. He says that work helped him build enough expertise to take part in standards discussions and contribute to the IndexedDB specification. In his account, libraries and polyfills can serve as a route into understanding and improving the platform, as well as a response to its shortcomings.
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How Widespread These Motives Are
The essay is a personal analysis, not a study of developer behavior. It provides no survey, usage statistics or comparison of how often developers choose native APIs, packages or custom code. Lawson begins to discuss ignorance as another possible reason for avoiding platform features, including cases where JavaScript is used for problems CSS can handle, but the supplied source ends before that discussion is complete. The relative weight of each explanation, and how choices vary across teams or projects, remains unclear.
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The Case for Checking Browser Features
Lawson’s essay does not announce a new API or a formal follow-up. Its practical question for developers is whether a browser feature already addresses the problem, and whether a package adds useful documentation or an interface that fits their work. The article also leaves room for continued debate over when building a custom solution is a productive way to learn and when it creates avoidable maintenance or usability work.
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Key Questions
What does “use the platform” mean?
It means using browser-provided features, such as built-in HTML, CSS or JavaScript APIs, instead of implementing the same capability in custom code or relying on a package.
Why do developers choose libraries instead?
Lawson points to the web’s history of uneven browser support, developer familiarity with package ecosystems, and libraries that make lower-level APIs easier to use. He also says some developers simply enjoy building their own solutions.
Does the essay show how many developers avoid browser APIs?
No. It offers Lawson’s analysis and examples, but provides no survey or usage data to establish how common these choices or motivations are.
Can building a custom feature be useful?
Lawson says that creating libraries and filling gaps can help developers learn the platform and, in his own case, led to standards work. He also describes how a custom dialog can require extra work for keyboard and focus behavior.
Source: hn
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