Tech Stacks and Website Longevity

Steren Giannini, in his article "My stack will outlive yours," argues for a minimalist approach:

My stack needs no maintenance, boasts perfect Lighthouse scores, is impervious to security vulnerabilities, relies on open standards, is highly portable, offers an instant development loop, requires no build process, and... will outlast any other stack.

Jeremy Keith, conversely, in "npm ruin dev," cautions against overly complex toolchains:

Instead of defaulting to a comprehensive toolchain, I'll start with a simple foundation. Only when that proves insufficient will I introduce a task manager. Each added dependency shortens the project's lifespan.

Both perspectives resonate.

Giannini's "stack" is purely HTML and CSS. Will an HTML/CSS-only website endure? Undoubtedly, yes. These technologies predate many of us, are actively maintained, and face no serious challengers. Native platforms pose the closest threat, but their fragmentation, closed nature, and lack of the web's global reach make widespread adoption unlikely. The more probable scenario is native platforms integrating web technologies.

A purely HTML/CSS site will likely remain functional well into 2041. I'm confident enough to wager on it.

Giannini's point extends beyond the output; he advocates against any tooling, including build processes and templating. He suggests updating elements like navigation via a text editor's "Replace in files" function:

Without templating, header, footer, or navigation updates are simple: use "Replace in files." These elements rarely need frequent updates; the benefits of templating don't justify the added tooling complexity.

This approach, while extreme, highlights the trade-off between convenience and long-term maintainability. It substitutes one form of technical debt (manual updates) for another (complex tooling). However, even simple templating introduces potential liabilities, prompting further additions and increasing project complexity.

Ultimately, I believe the technology stack is less critical than often assumed.

Reflecting on past projects, website longevity seems unrelated to the underlying technology. Long-lived sites, including this one, thrive due to sustained attention and care, regardless of their technological complexity.

Technology selection should serve project needs. Changing technologies as needs evolve is preferable to abandoning a project due to perceived stack limitations. The key factors influencing website longevity are:

• 80% The level of dedication to the website.
• 10% The website's financial viability.
• 5% The website's manageable workload (the tech stack being a minor component).
• 5% Maintaining domain registration and preventing domain squatting.

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