This document introduces Vaadin, an open source web framework for building desktop-like web applications. It highlights that Vaadin allows for very fast development time through its server-centric approach that hides client/server complexity. It also provides excellent documentation and a growing add-on directory. The document demonstrates creating a new Vaadin project and discusses where to go from there, such as using the Visual Editor Eclipse plugin and learning about data binding. It encourages combining Vaadin with Spring for features like inversion of control and security.