Less Htmx Is More

The article discusses the author's experience with htmx over two years, highlighting its advantages in creating user-friendly and maintainable web applications. The author advocates for using plain HTML as much as possible, suggesting that htmx should primarily be used for ephemeral content updates rather than for full-page navigation. The author criticizes the hx-boost feature, which allows links to perform partial updates instead of full page loads, arguing that it can lead to various issues such as broken back navigation and unexpected page states. Instead, the author recommends sticking to regular links for a more reliable user experience. The article emphasizes the importance of leveraging standard HTML features for performance improvements and maintaining a clean URL structure. While acknowledging that htmx can be useful in specific scenarios, such as creating single-page applications (SPAs) with persistent states, the author believes that most developers should focus on simpler, more robust solutions. The piece concludes by asserting that traditional multi-page websites are regaining trust among users, and that developers should prioritize using HTML and HTTP effectively for long-lasting web functionality.

- htmx is beneficial for creating user-friendly and maintainable web applications.

- The author recommends using plain HTML and regular links over hx-boost for better reliability.

- hx-boost can lead to navigation issues and is not necessary for most web applications.

- Leveraging standard HTML features can enhance performance and user experience.

- Multi-page websites are regaining user trust, emphasizing the need for simpler solutions.