> Can someone please suggest some alternatives. Don't make bloated websites. Use plain html if necessary. Hacker News seems to have a great design - do they

> Can someone please suggest some alternatives. Don't make bloated websites. Use plain html if necessary. Hacker News seems to have a great design - do they use a complicated framework? Sure, it's harder. But it's also better. If you're not interested in performance then just keep doing whatever everybody else is already doing. Every decision is about compromises. Figure out what to prioritize (developer time, loading time, server cost, whatever) and build the best thing you can based on your goals. If you want to build something materially better than is normal, expect it to be substantially more work and money.