How to Choose a Tech Stack When You're Not Technical

You Don't Need to Be Technical to Choose the Right Tech Stack

Every non-technical founder faces the same uncomfortable moment: your development partner presents a technology recommendation, and you have no idea whether it's the right call. Should you trust them completely? Push back? Get a second opinion?

The good news: you don't need to understand how JavaScript works to choose a tech stack that serves your business well. You need to understand the decision framework — what questions to ask, what answers should satisfy you, and what red flags mean your partner is optimizing for their convenience instead of your success.

This guide gives you that framework. By the end, you'll be able to evaluate any technology proposal with confidence, even if you've never written a line of code.

What a Tech Stack Actually Is

A tech stack is the combination of programming languages, frameworks, databases, and services used to build your product. Think of it like choosing materials for a house: foundation, framing, plumbing, and electrical all need to work together, and each choice has implications for cost, durability, and future renovations.

The Four Layers You Need to Understand

You don't need to understand how each of these works internally. You need to understand what makes a good choice at each layer.

The Five Questions That Matter

When evaluating a tech stack recommendation — whether from an agency, a freelancer, or a potential CTO — these five questions tell you everything you need to know.

1. "How many developers know this technology?"

This is the most important question and the one most often overlooked. A technology can be technically brilliant, but if only 500 developers in the world know it, you're in trouble.

Why it matters:

• Smaller talent pools mean higher rates and slower hiring
• If your current developer leaves, replacing them is harder
• Fewer developers means fewer Stack Overflow answers, tutorials, and community resources
• You become dependent on specific people, not transferable skills

What good answers sound like:

• "React is used by 72% of professional developers worldwide."
• "PostgreSQL is the most popular open-source database."
• "Node.js is the most commonly used backend technology."

What bad answers sound like:

• "It's newer, but the community is growing fast."
• "Our team has deep expertise in it, so we can build faster."
• "The technology is superior to the mainstream options."

2. "Can you show me three companies that use this at scale?"

If a technology works for companies with millions of users, it'll work for your startup. If your developer can't name three production applications using their recommended stack, that's a red flag.

Good examples:

• Next.js: Notion, TikTok, Twitch, Hulu
• PostgreSQL: Instagram, Reddit, Spotify, Twitch
• Node.js: Netflix, LinkedIn, Uber, PayPal

3. "What happens if we need to switch development teams?"

This question reveals whether a technology choice creates dependency on a specific partner or developer. The right tech stack should be transferable.

What good answers sound like:

• "Any experienced JavaScript developer can pick up this codebase in a few days."
• "We use standard patterns and well-documented libraries. The code is readable by any professional developer."
• "Everything is in a Git repository with documentation. A new team can get started immediately."

What bad answers sound like:

• "We've built custom tooling that requires our team's specific knowledge."
• "The framework is straightforward once you understand our approach."
• Silence or evasion.

4. "What are the ongoing costs?"

Technology choices have running costs beyond development. Hosting, licensing, third-party services, and maintenance all add up.

What to budget for monthly:

5. "Why this technology instead of the most popular option?"

This is the litmus test. If the recommended technology isn't the industry standard, there should be a clear, product-specific reason.

Legitimate reasons to deviate from mainstream:

• "Your product requires real-time features, and this framework handles that better."
• "You need mobile apps as the primary platform, so a cross-platform framework saves significant cost."
• "Your core feature involves machine learning, so Python makes sense for the backend."

Illegitimate reasons:

• "It's what our team is most comfortable with."
• "It's the latest technology, and we want to stay current."
• "It's more elegant / beautiful / well-designed."

Red Flags in Tech Stack Proposals

Beyond asking questions, watch for these warning signs in how your development partner discusses technology.

Red Flag 1: Recommending Obscure Technologies

If you Google the recommended framework and find fewer than 5,000 GitHub stars, limited documentation, or Stack Overflow questions that go unanswered, it's too risky for a startup. You need proven tools, not experiments.

Red Flag 2: Over-Engineering from Day One

Microservices architecture, Kubernetes orchestration, event-driven messaging systems — these are solutions to scaling problems you don't have yet. If your developer proposes complex infrastructure for an MVP, they're building a resume project, not your product.

What an MVP needs:

• A single application (monolith)
• A single database
• A simple hosting setup
• Automated deployment

What an MVP doesn't need:

• Multiple microservices
• Container orchestration
• Message queues
• Multi-region deployment

Red Flag 3: No Mention of Testing or Deployment

A tech stack proposal should include how code gets tested and deployed, not just which framework builds it. If there's no mention of automated tests, CI/CD pipelines, or monitoring, the proposal is incomplete.

Red Flag 4: Vendor Lock-In

Some technology choices make it difficult or impossible to switch providers later. Watch for:

• Proprietary platforms where your code can't run elsewhere
• No-code tools positioned as your primary tech stack
• Custom-built frameworks that only the proposing team understands
• Cloud-specific services that don't have equivalents on other platforms

Red Flag 5: The "New and Exciting" Pitch

Technology trends change constantly. A partner excited about a framework because it's new is prioritizing their interest over your risk tolerance. For a startup spending real money, proven and boring is better than new and exciting.

A Framework for Evaluating Proposals

When you receive a tech stack recommendation, score it against this checklist. Each item is worth one point. A good proposal scores 8 or higher.

1. Uses at least one framework from the top 5 most popular (by developer surveys)
2. The backend language is in the top 5 (JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, Go, C#)
3. The database is PostgreSQL, MySQL, or a well-known managed service
4. Hosting costs are under $100/month for the first year
5. At least 3 well-known companies use this stack in production
6. The proposal includes a testing strategy
7. The proposal includes a deployment and monitoring plan
8. The proposal explains why each choice fits your specific project
9. No proprietary or locked-in components
10. The same stack can be maintained by a different team if needed

Score 8-10: Strong proposal. Proceed with confidence. Score 5-7: Acceptable, but ask for clarification on the missing points. Score 0-4: Get a second opinion before committing.

How to Get a Second Opinion

If you're unsure about a tech stack proposal, there are several ways to get validation without hiring another agency.

Option 1: Ask a Technical Advisor

Find a senior developer or CTO through your network, LinkedIn, or platforms like Clarity.fm. A 30-minute call ($50-$200) can save you tens of thousands in wrong decisions. Ask them to review the proposal and flag any concerns.

Option 2: Post on Technical Forums

Share the proposal (anonymized if needed) on Hacker News, Reddit's r/startups, or IndieHackers. Experienced developers will quickly point out if something looks off.

Option 3: Request a Comparative Proposal

Ask a second agency to scope the same project. Compare not just costs, but technology choices and justifications. If both agencies recommend similar stacks, you're on solid ground. If they diverge significantly, dig into the reasons.

The Safe Default Stack for 2026

If you want a simple answer — the tech stack that's right for most startups building web applications in 2026 — here it is:

• Frontend: Next.js (React + TypeScript)
• Backend: Node.js (same codebase as frontend)
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Hosting: Vercel + managed database (Supabase, Neon, or AWS RDS)
• Auth: Clerk or Auth0
• Payments: Stripe

This stack is used by thousands of startups, supported by massive developer communities, and works for products ranging from simple MVPs to applications serving millions of users.

For a detailed breakdown of each component, read our guide on the best tech stack for startups in 2026. If you want to understand the role of JavaScript across all these layers, see our explanation of full-stack JavaScript for non-technical founders.

Your Tech Stack Decision Doesn't Have to Be Stressful

The goal isn't to become a developer. The goal is to make an informed decision using the right questions and evaluation criteria. The five questions in this guide, combined with the red flag checklist, give you everything you need to evaluate any proposal with confidence.

Use our project calculator to get a baseline estimate for your project, then use these criteria to evaluate the proposals you receive.

Want a tech stack recommendation you can trust? Talk to our team — we'll explain every technology choice in plain English, show you why it fits your project, and give you a proposal you can confidently take to any third party for validation. No jargon, no lock-in, just honest guidance.