Build Ultra-Fast Spring Boot Websites with HTMX — No React, No Complexity (2025 Guide)

Modern frontend development often feels unnecessarily complicated: 20+ npm packages, megabytes of JavaScript, hydration errors, bundlers, and complex deployment pipelines. But what if you could build interactive, dynamic, modern websites without any of this?

Enter HTMX, a lightweight library that extends HTML with attributes—just enough to create smooth AJAX-driven interactions without writing a SPA.

This article shows how to build an ultra-fast Spring Boot website using HTMX, without React or heavy frontend tooling. The result is simple, maintainable, and fast.

Why HTMX + Spring Boot Works So Well

Unlike React or Vue, HTMX doesn’t replace your frontend. Instead, it enhances server-rendered pages with:

• AJAX requests via HTML attributes
• Partial page updates
• No build pipeline
• No virtual DOM
• Better SEO due to server-side rendering
• Superb perceived performance

More importantly: Java developers can stay in the stack they already know—Spring Boot + Thymeleaf.

Project Setup

Add HTMX to your template (no npm required):

<script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]"></script>

And optionally Hyperscript (not required, but nice for simple UX logic):

<script src="https://unpkg.com/[email protected]"></script>

That’s it. No node_modules, no builds.

Example: Dynamic Customer Search Without a Single Line of JS

Controller

@Controller
@RequestMapping("/customers")
public class CustomerController {

    private final CustomerService service;

    public CustomerController(CustomerService service) {
        this.service = service;
    }

    @GetMapping
    public String viewPage() {
        return "customers/index";
    }

    @GetMapping("/search")
    public String searchCustomers(@RequestParam String q, Model model) {
        model.addAttribute("results", service.search(q));
        return "customers/_results :: results";
    }
}

Note: The fragment customers/_results :: results is a partial template.

Main Page Template (customers/index.html)

<div class="container">

    <h1>Customers</h1>

    <input type="text"
           name="q"
           placeholder="Search..."
           hx-get="/customers/search"
           hx-target="#results"
           hx-trigger="keyup changed delay:300ms" />

    <div id="results">
        <!-- results will appear here -->
    </div>

</div>

This single input does all the work:

• hx-get sends an AJAX request
• hx-target updates a specific element
• delay:300ms prevents sending too many requests

No JavaScript. No React. No rerendering the whole page. Just clean interaction.

Partial Template (customers/_results.html)

<div id="results">
    <ul>
        <th:block th:each="c : ${results}">
            <li th:text="${c.name}"></li>
        </th:block>
    </ul>
</div>

This template returns only the HTML needed to update the result list.

Performance Benefits

🚀 Server-Side Rendering
Pages load faster because the server sends ready-to-render HTML, not JSON that must be turned into DOM nodes by JavaScript.

⚡ Minimal JavaScript
HTMX is ~14 kB.
React + ReactDOM = ~120+ kB before your own code even starts.

🔍 Better SEO
Search engines see full HTML content, not a skeleton produced by JavaScript.

📦 Smaller Network Footprint
The browser loads only what’s necessary—HTML fragments, not full SPAs.

🧠 Easier State Management
The server is the source of truth. No syncing client/server state, no Redux, no context providers.

🛠 Simpler Architecture
You deploy a single Spring Boot app. No Node. No build process. Fewer moving parts = fewer bugs.

Using HTMX for Form Submission (Turbo Mode)

Submit a form and update a section without page reload:

<form hx-post="/orders/create" hx-target="#orderTable" hx-swap="outerHTML">
    <input type="text" name="product" required />
    <input type="number" name="quantity" required />
    <button type="submit">Add Order</button>
</form>

<div id="orderTable">
    <!-- table fragment will be swapped here -->
</div>

Controller:

@PostMapping("/create")
public String createOrder(OrderForm form, Model model) {
    service.create(form);
    model.addAttribute("orders", service.findAll());
    return "orders/_table :: table";
}

When HTMX Is Better Than React

HTMX is ideal when your application is:

• Content or form driven
• Server-heavy with complex domain logic
• Built by backend developers
• Not a highly interactive SPA

It is perfect for:

• Admin panels
• Internal tools
• CRUD applications
• Dashboards
• Corporate websites
• Content-heavy sites

When React is Still a Better Fit

• Full offline mode
• Highly interactive UIs (canvas rendering, drag-and-drop builders, collaborative tools)
• Real-time animations and stateful widgets
• Real-time collaborative tools
• Mobile-like experiences

Most business apps don’t need that. For 95% of business apps, HTMX is the simpler, faster option.

Bonus Optimization Tips

Gzip + Brotli compression

Enable it in Spring Boot (application.properties):

server.compression.enabled=true
server.compression.mime-types=text/html,text/xml,text/plain,text/css,text/javascript,application/javascript
server.compression.min-response-size=1024

Use HTMLCompressor or a filter for minifying templates

You are already using HTMLCompressor; this pairs perfectly with HTMX.

Cache fragments when possible

Spring Cache + ETag/Last-Modified is often enough.

Use hx-boost to turbocharge normal links and forms

<html hx-boost="true">

Turns your whole site into a fast AJAX-powered experience automatically.

Conclusion

HTMX offers a clean, elegant alternative to the complexity of modern frontend frameworks. With Spring Boot as your backend and Thymeleaf for templating, you can build:

• Faster pages
• Simpler architecture
• Easier deployments
• Better SEO
• Much less JavaScript

For many projects, this approach is not only sufficient — it is superior.