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For what it’s worth - there’s definitely no speed up, for me at least, to ship a pure handwritten HTML + CSS page vs the same page using create-next-app. The latter makes it trivially easy to add new functionality, etc; the former guarantees I have to start over. I also get a bunch of stuff - TypeScript, code splitting, minification, etc - for free, literally no work. It’s nice.

Using Next with Preact instead of React makes the total gzipped JS bundle around 20kb. Takes no time to set up.

If you’ll only ever build one website, sure, use basic tools. If you can amortize the cost of learning the toolchain across many projects, use better tools! (I’m not saying that’s only React by any means.)

discuss

jwdunne|5 years ago

Why would I need TypeScript, code splitting and new functionality on a single page with one purpose: to sell?

I’m all for extensible solutions when required but React does not buy me much for the overhead on a landing page that I drive paid traffic too.

Now if a client had marketing team that needed to spin out a new landing page along with an ad on demand without code, I’d use React to build a landing page builder. The server would generate a static page and I’d have something cache that (and purged on modification of that page or a release). That’s perfect use case for React.

But a single page that I’m driving paid traffic to for a new business? Not in react. If I needed two, I have no shame, I’d copy and paste. Then at 3 I’d consider static site generation - on the basis that the build produces static assets only. Perhaps if the campaigns do their job, I can invest in tools that empower my marketing guys to build landing pages for their campaigns.

The fact is I don’t need the interactivity of React on a landing page. I don’t need more functionality on a landing page than CTAs, sales copy and social proof. If I’m putting anything more than that on a landing page, I’m failing. If the landing page is not 100% focused on what I want, which is usually sales or the entry to a funnel, it’s failing.

Now if the product you’re selling, as I said below, IS highly interactive and user friendliness is a selling point, I can see React being of use for live on-page demos of features. Because that’s what you’re selling!