>On the frontend, you have build pipelines, bundlers, CSS frameworks with their own toolchains, progressive web apps, Core Web Vitals, SEO, layout shifts, srcset/responsive images... I remember when the biggest challenge was IE6 compatibility.

It is not necessary to do this. Server-side rendering is still a thing.

I still do a lot of my side projects in ruby on rails, which is maybe not fashionable these days but:

- no heavy js means speedy first paint

- I just use normal minified css, no sass or other junk

- partials means navigation is snappy

Plus it containerizes nicely.