Here is what I do:

- Make sure you know what you want to make

For smaller pages (one page sites, not SPA):

- Use one of bootstrap/semanticui, include their dist files directly (dont get into the npm/gulp/bower yet)

- Use their kitchen sink to pick up components (both bootstap/semanticui have loads of examples)

- Include JS dependencies the old way (copy the min.js manually in your project), keep try to keep this number low

- Try to avoid using frontend frameworks for these (say vue/angular/react)

For slightly larger sites (SPAs/Multiple page sites)

- Choose one particular frontend framework and stick to it (the productivity gain does not come from using a tool, it comes from using a tool repeatedly)

- Get the closest looking template from somewhere in above chosen tech (i usually pick one from https://themeforest.net/ but there are many free resources, like AdminLTE etc)

- Make sure it already has the build/minify pipeline setup (most of them have it)

- Adapt it to your needs