In an era of extensive front-end frameworks, advanced JavaScript, and overly complex CSS, is HTML5 still relevant? A web designer should include a plain HTML5 site in her portfolio. Are there any alternatives to React, Vue, and Bootstrap?
Yes, to all the questions above. Even though a lot has changed since Sir Tim Berners-Lee published the first HTML web page, the spirit of being able to do whatever you want on the web still exists, even if it means doing it on an individual basis. Most web designers seem to take things to extremes. If you are skilled with HTML and CSS, you can easily design a simple blog without using a framework and calling up dozens of elements from libraries.
In recent years, web design has taken an interesting turn in that simplified frameworks are being built on top of more complex frameworks, such as Gatsby, which is based on React, but keeps things extremely simple and static. Gatsby can be used to create extremely stylish sites that load extremely fast, and big names such as Airbnb have taken notice. Gatsby even has a competitor called Jekyll, which reduces everything to HTML.
Pure HTML design is making a comeback, and this is not a hipster trend among web developers. In 2022, you don’t have to be a Luddite or a student to code websites with your bare hands. You can just be an old-school designer who thinks things are getting too complicated when they don’t have to be.
Progressive web apps are important, but they do not have to be 500 MB files if they simply display lists of data elements that require some sort of XML request. By coding in HTML5 in 2022, you are part of a movement that recognizes that things can always be simpler.
