I thought I would share a rant regarding JavaScript usage on modern websites. To clarify, this discussion focuses primarily on content websites rather than complex web applications requiring heavy client side interactivity. In recent years, frontend developers frequently chased shiny new tools without pausing to evaluate necessity. Building websites now routinely involves an endless list of dependencies, a `node_modules` directory large enough to form a black hole, and countless supply chain vulnerabilities. Some modern websites frequently consume over 500 megabytes of RAM in a single browser tab. We have thoroughly over-engineered the web. Why did we start using JavaScript and React to generate simple HTML in the first place? Perhaps because it felt convenient at the time. # Frontend Libraries Frontend libraries and meta frameworks empower developers to build anything from a static marketing page to a massive enterprise application. However, we often fell into the trap of applying heavy over-engineering to simple web projects. Frontend libraries are crucial for large applications, but completely unnecessary for smaller websites. I used to love NextJS, but much of its overhead felt redundant for standard publishing needs. It simplified building fast experiences, server-generating JavaScript, and leveraging features like page link prefetching the next website on hover. Yet we have successfully generated HTML on the server for thirty plus years. Did we really need to reinvent that foundation? # What I am Building In recent projects, I took a step back to the earlier days of web development before everything became overly complicated. I was already using [HTMX](htmx.org) and [AlpineJS](alpinejs.dev) on some simpler websites and recently I discovered [Datastar](data-star.dev) which was really impressive. Think of it as using the server to generate UI elements, server-sent events, cl...