I am starting a new website. It is not, and is never likely to be, a heavily used site. I imagine tens of users at most. I have a lot of C# experience and would like to stay inside the cosy world of Visual Studio for my development.
I've used WebForms in the past but didn't get on with it. I found the whole idea of trying to abstract the real mechanics of the web so that it worked more like a desktop application to be a hindrance, not a help.
I am really attracted to HTML5 + CSS3 + MVC Core, but I have just discovered my hosting provider (whom I am reluctant to leave) doesn't support ASP.NET Core right now.
So, here's my question... (And here I apologise if this becomes a bit 'fuzzy'. I'm struggling to see how the myriad of Microsoft technologies fit together - or don't.)
Can I do something a bit like Razor pages that does not involve WebForms? Can I use static HTML5 + CSS3 for 95% of the site but somehow access a C# back-end when I need to? Ideally, I'd like to do this without all the overhead of the WebForms ViewState palaver.
Sorry if I am not making much sense. Any suggestions or pointers to articles that explain all this stuff would be extremely welcome. And I wouldn't mind getting a good book that takes me through the details of whatever approach I end up taking.
Kind wishes - Patrick
What I have tried:
Lots of internet reading but I am none the wiser.