I made a web app framework [0] for people like you (and me). It lets you use static HTML to build a web app.
Data attributes store data in the page and add dynamic features (like CRUD functionality and drag and drop sorting) very easily.
Plus, the whole thing is server rendered with Handlebars, so the front-end JS part isn't even required for 95% of visitors (it's only necessary if you're an admin who can edit the current page).
I wrote it because I missed the simple days of jQuery and REST APIs.