A problem I experienced while starting coding with NodeJS environment and Express framework is that I had difficulties to quickly make a well structured app. I spent too much time on organizing my modules and writing helpers. Paradoxally with Express, I like the fact that I am free to do what I want and don’t encounter too much constraints due to the framework. At last, it was harder to design front end code than back end code.
To deal with that, I used two tools that fit in my requirements :
RailwayJS : a lightweight framework on top of express. It offers the structure and the vital functions I need to write a good backend and configure express properly.
Brunch : an application assembler to organize and build cleanly my front-end code.