That's not really fair. A lot of static sites simply don't need JS at all but they're built with it because it's deemed "best practice". My latest website, for example, has zero Javascript in it.
So much content is published in Github READMEs (typically markdown) and while Github itself will have Javascript elements, it does demonstrate that you don't need Javascript heavy sites to publish content.
I honestly think half the time the front end best practices are based around what's more intellectually interesting for developers rather than what is genuinely a better website.
You can use NextJS to build a fully static website with no JavaScript at the initial loading. There are tons of libraries (I think around 300Mb) to compile your site, but if you do optimizations right, the final website should be as lightweight as you expect it to be.
What you get? Routing, instant refresh, image optimization, and code optimization (your CSS could be smaller if you minify it).
I remember a few years back, just before You Might Not Need jQuery became a site, any mention of not needing jQuery would immediately be met with some analogy to writing assembly.
The comparison was foolish then and just as foolish now.
Spoken like someone that has never actually created an webapp with significant scope. Reading your comments in this thread is a good reminder how strongly the clueless argue about things they don't understand.
I once created a language parser that supported over 40 languages and was used by over thousand other projects. It was interesting when I discovered it being used at my company. It wouldn't exist if I were crying about how hard life is without tools to do my job for me.
Thanks for confirming that you have no clue about frontend development and it's up- and downsides while running around with a big mouth claiming competence.
You really are an extreme case of the dunning kruger effect in action.
The application I mentioned is written in JavaScript and runs in both the browser and with node.
I don't think you know what Dunning Kruger is. I have never claimed to be anything great. I only mentioned I wrote an application and other people used (continue to use) it.
Or maybe you have to little self awareness that you haven't even realized how heavily it applies.
And I am surprised that I have to point it out again: that you once wrote something which people used in java script says nothing whatsoever about your experience in frontend development.
In fact, it kinda confirms that you don't have any.
You sound like a grouchy old man that got left behind and loudly complains about it.
The productivity gained from these Tools is worth it, even if some use cases could be solved without it.