[hanniabu]

What are alternatives?

[gridlockd]

For dynamic content, the only alternative to DOM manipulation is rendering to a canvas element.

[hanniabu]

Can that still be interacted with? I wouldn't even know where to start to allow clicks and such.

[gridlockd]

A canvas element will get events like any other DOM node. From there on, it's up to you.

> I wouldn't even know where to start to allow clicks and such.

Figuring that out should be a good exercise, then. Otherwise, you might want to use some library building on top of canvas.