React isn’t complicated. It’s not even considered a framework, it’s better described as a library!
It’s a great way to templatize your code. Is it the only way? No. Do you even need to templatize your code? No.
It’s a great way to templatize your code. Is it the only way? No. Do you even need to templatize your code? No.
React is not large, is of moderate complexity (most of the complexity of "a React app" lives well outside of React itself), and can be stripped down to a fully static templating language without much effort. As I've linked elsewhere, I turned React into an email templating engine once because I don't like Handlebars; rendering JSX as static, no-JS HTML is a one-liner when you throw it a React component.
Using React for a static website is totally fine.
So is not using it.
Being weird about it is not fine.
There's a lot of strange smugfacing about using fit-for-purpose tools that translates into the shitting on people by the old-at-heart and the underinformed. Like, stepping away from JavaScript for a second, you still see people getting mad about C++ on HN and defending the use of C outside of a micro because "just be a good programmer" even though maybe a few dozen such good programmers have ever existed. It's very weird and it's one of the things about this profession that bothers me a lot.
I am fortunate that I have reached a place in my career where I can simply refuse to have that sort of person on my team.
Instead of saying “you understand what they mean”, please give an example of how I mis-stepped. I don’t want to come off as antagonistic for no reason.