Here is an example of what I'm talking about: https://www.heavensgate.com/

This is a website from a cult that committed suicide in the 1990s. This is irrelevant to the thread.

When you click on their links, they are very snappy, why is that exactly?

death to america

  • makotech222 [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I develop websites for a living. Basically, its because new websites are actually apps, not just simple html documents

    Old websites:

    1. Recieve request
    2. Generate Html (if there is any sort of customization, otherwise, just return requested html file) (< 500kb)
    3. User receives fully formed webpage without any dynamic logic

    New Website

    1. Receive request
    2. Deliver js bundle containing app and all dependencies (at least 5mb, usually way more)
    3. User receives bundle, now must run the code bundle
    4. Code bundle is loaded showing a blank page
    5. Blank page makes a request to actually get the data that belongs on the page
    6. Server generates data
    7. User receives the page he wants

    Usually on a new website, the first 4 steps only occur only on first visit, since they are cached. Nonetheless, every interaction with the webapp will run js code locally on your computer to handle it, which takes additional time vs the old websites where every interaction was purely a server request for a new page.