It is true: the Web ecosystem is very dysfunctional. Javascript should rarely be needed for most website. But Web standards have failed us. And programmers are too anxious to prioritize flashiness over solidness. It is a very unstable ecosystem - things are always changing, today's framework is replaced tomorrow, and that gets replaced the day after. And learning one's way around in that ecosystem is a huge learning curve - and for what? To create a friggin' Web page? It is a really terrible situation.