Why We Render Everything in the Browser

Short summary

JavaScript-heavy single-page applications became the web's default through hiring momentum, not technical necessity, spreading to all sites. Median 700KB bundles cause 8-second mobile load times and terawatt-hours of annual waste. The profession now lacks foundational skills to build leaner server-rendered alternatives.

• •SPAs spread from Gmail/Maps to all web projects through curriculum and hiring patterns rather than architectural merit
• •Median 700KB JavaScript bundles cause 8-second mobile load times and measurable battery drain across billions of sessions yearly
• •Web developers trained only in frameworks lack server-side knowledge to build sustainable, performant alternatives

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.