While many developers lean heavily on JavaScript, let’s spotlight some refreshing websites that offer up-to-date, interactive user experiences using good old-fashioned HTML and CSS. Step right up and feast your eyes on these rare gems of the web! Marvel at their content, fully accessible without a smidge of JavaScript in sight! Does that pique your curiosity? We’re seeing fewer and fewer sites that stand proud with just HTML and CSS, and one wonders if such craftsmanship is going extinct. Who’s to blame, though? Is pointing fingers necessary? Rather, let’s applaud those remarkable—and sometimes sizeable—sites that excel without relying on JavaScript. But here’s a kicker: even those that employ JavaScript provide a seamless fallback when it’s disabled. They embrace progressive enhancement or graceful degradation, but the outcome’s the same: they work splendidly.
1. Amazon
If you believe Amazon’s vast and densely packed pages necessitate an avalanche of JavaScript for organization, think again. Disable JavaScript, and the purchasing process remains unhindered.
2. The Warren Trust
AJAX is cleverly leveraged by The Warren Trust to load content dynamically, yet with JavaScript off, the site remains functional and accessible, presenting pages the traditional way.
3. Stuff & Nonsense
Credit goes to Andy Clarke for crafting Stuff & Nonsense, a website that’s close to flawless with or without JavaScript. Only the audio player begs to differ, which is a minor gripe.
4. Mike Mai
Visit Mike Mai’s personal space and be prepared for a quirky, creative encounter that’s all about ditching scripts for pure HTML and CSS innovation.
5. Solace House
For services like Solace House, a suicide prevention center, JavaScript is a luxury they can’t afford. These life-saving pages need to be accessible all the time, no exceptions.
6. Twitter
Surprise—Twitter too falls in line, functioning sufficiently sans JavaScript by redirecting users to its streamlined, mobile version, thus proving that even social media can skimp on scripts.
7. Slack
Though Slack chatrooms demand JavaScript, Slack’s public-facing site stands testament to JavaScript-free aesthetic functionality, guiding users only when scripting becomes essential.
8. WebdesignerDepot
Yes, even WebdesignerDepot itself gets in on the action, showcasing modest visual trade-offs for fully functional JavaScript-less browsing. Hats off to the designer—this is web crafting at its core.
In Conclusion
My goal was simple: to demonstrate the art of the possible. I’m not suggesting a JavaScript boycott; instead, I urge a mindful evaluation of what truly necessitates scripts. Examine these examples, interrogate your own site. Before layering on the JavaScript, ponder—is it indispensable? Oh, and speaking of indispensability, someone asked, “Do we really need HTML?” Okay, that’s pushing the envelope, but you get the gist.
