Selecting the underlying technology for your web application is one of the most critical decisions you will make. It impacts scalability, maintenance costs, and time-to-market.
The Classics: LAMP Stack
Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP. It is the veteran of the web. Reliable, well-documented, and everywhere. Perfect for content-heavy sites and traditional CMS platforms.
The Modern Contenders: MEAN and MERN
MongoDB, Express, Angular/React, Node.js. These JavaScript-based stacks offer a unified language from front to back. They differ primarily in the frontend framework, but both excel at building dynamic, single-page applications (SPAs).
Making the Choice
Consider your team's expertise, the project's complexity, and expected traffic. There is no "best" stack, only the right stack for the job at hand.