Feeling Burned Out on Frameworks – Should I Switch to Vanilla JS?

Keep in mind that any framework you choose will eventually become 'stuck in time' too. If you want to go dependency-free, look into using module scripts and import maps. It gives you the freedom to utilize modern practices while keeping things manageable.

Why not build your app so it doesn’t solely depend on JavaScript? You can integrate JavaScript just for the user experience. That way, if any JavaScript breaks (which it likely will at some point), your app will still function, and you can fix it whenever you have the time. With frontend frameworks constantly releasing major updates every few months, it's smarter to hold off until things stabilize. Stick with what you know for the backend and create static pages, adding JS only as needed. Vanilla JS has improved a lot over the last five years, and it’s still a great option.

Is plain JavaScript really what you need? Consider using a modern ASP.Net Core site with Razor pages instead. If you do need JavaScript, keeping it simple with vanilla is a good way to go. Alternatively, you might want to look into frameworks like Hotwire's Stimulus that cater more towards Multi-Page Applications (MPAs).

Vanilla JS paired with JSDoc for type safety sounds like a solid approach! You can even organize your code into a package.json and utilize ESM imports. That’s really all you need to get started without the overhead of a framework. I have a strong opinion against using any frontend framework; if you have a solid grasp of JavaScript, you'll usually enjoy working with just vanilla and find frameworks unnecessary.