If you're not open to php, I would recommend looking into .shtml. It basically allows you to include html from another page on the page you're working on.
So for example, you would have a menu.html page that you would "server side include" using the following command <!--#include virtual="menu.html"-->.
On every page you put this command, the menu will appear. I think this will help you solve your problem without learning php!