We decided to build our own framework, mixing some procedural code for simplicity with a bit of object-oriented programming where it makes sense. This lets us keep things clean and easy to understand. Instead of loading up on big frameworks, we try to stick with the core features of PHP as much as possible. This helps avoid the unnecessary bloat that comes with full-stack frameworks, which often add a lot of stuff we don’t need and can slow things down.
We also try to keep the number of libraries we use to a minimum. When you rely on too many libraries, especially ones that aren't well maintained, it can cause problems down the road—like bugs, security risks, or just unnecessary complexity. By keeping things simple and only using what’s really needed, we make sure the app stays fast, easy to manage, secure and less prone to breaking.