The problem with websites is that they need to be "installed" and they need to get something out of you for their services without the abilities of a proper app.
This cookie->email->adblock->subscribe flow is essentially an installers next->next->next flow.
The cookie dialog is there because they want to track you and EU wants it to be optional for the user and the user is aware of being tracked.
The first notification banner is a HTML one and it is there to make sure that the user doesn't waste the only chance(if the user rejects the browser on, you can't fire it up again) to subscribe to push notifications.
The second notification banner(if you accept the first one) is the actual batter by the browser to make sure that you actually want to subscribe.
The subscribe to the newsletter modal is there because as soon as you close the tab you will forget about that site and they want a way to remind you of their existence.
The adblock detected modal is there because they made that content and that website in hopes to show you an ad and make money of it.
The paywall is there because they want alternative revenue stream since ads are not ideal and they don't want to leave money on the table.
The ad banners everywhere is the money shot and the reason you have have an adblocker.
The modal that appears after scrolling is actually one with good intentions and bad implementation. The idea is that since you consumed the content maybe you would like more from it but most of the time the implementation is bad and its supper annoying. They wanted to show it to you once you finish your thing and you are happy.
The modal that appears when you switch tabs is there in another attempt to establish a way to connect with you. Since you switch a tab, maybe you are done with the site and it's a good time to ask you for your e-mail. If you are annoyed, who cares you are about to close the tab anyway.
The chat popup is there to engage with you if you are super interested in the website.
Rate your experience is there probably because the people who designed this horror show want to read back from you as another signal for their KPI.
The %50 off banner on top is a call for action, they still have a chance to sell you something.
The share buttons are there to remind you that you can share this horror show with your worst enemies.
And the alert you get when you try to close the tab is a last ditch effort to keep you interested. Usually contains %99 off first 10 years free kind of offer.
All this delivered to you through carefully studying the analytics data and doing A/B tests.
The apps have the advantage of sticking around the users sight, thus they don't have to achieve something the first time the user interacts with the app and as a result they can design the app around user satisfaction so that the user opens the app by itself.
Another advantage of the apps is that you get to see the app before going through the installation. You see the screenshots and user reviews on a clean screen before committing.
A website covered in this mess (at this point it is no longer content+shit, it is shit with a little bit of content) does so because you’re still in charge.
I know the meme in the tech circles but I disagree. Apps are fast and pleasant to use, unlike websites. On the web you never know what you are getting into when you click on the link, you go through all that installation process and if you still remember why you clicked the link most of the time it's a disappointment because the content is usually quite low quality created to generate eyeballs.
Sometimes I wonder if techies are so detached that don't notice the horrible state of web. My guess is that in the tech communities apps are hated ideologically due to the narrative of walled gardens. Also probably the devs with investment into HTML+JS world might feel like outsiders. I am speculating of course but I don't see why a person would like to load 5 to 20MB of data per click to see an image or a text once completes the accept the cookies, deny notifications, dismiss the mailing list popups ritual.
The web has become complete BS, some people say that Google no longer returns good results but I've come to the realisation that there are no good website for Google to return any longer.
I'm also puzzled why would you think that I'm being sarcastic, isn't the point of the Website in question to illustrate the horrible state of the Web today? My comment is just an explanation about why we have what we have.
You never know which domains an app connects to. They could collect even more info about you and send it to thousands of websites. In a browser, it is easy to see for somewhat technical people. To detect app tracking, you need more sophisticated setups. A proxy with an MITM certificate or a router which logs all domains or something like that.
> but I've come to the realisation that there are no good website for Google to return any longer
I guess this is just you. There are still plenty of good websites, depending on what you’re looking for.
It's unimportant to know to which domain an app or website connects because once your data has left your device you can't know what it happens. It's technically trivial to send the data to 3rd parties over the same server that processes legitimate requests. In fact, that's how 3rd parties match and aggregate user data through cookies(one of the ways).
Besides, I'm not even talking about privacy but the overall user experience.
I think most people here are actually aware of something called 'desktop applications' which were generally nicer experiences than Html+JS web apps. And apparently predated everything else, too. Possibly some people here have even written them, but maybe they were just a myth. Saying 'apps are better' is probably still too general though, I've used a lot of truly terrible native apps that I'd just as happily condemn just as harshly as a bad website. Even worse, in mobile apps you're much less able to block ads (they were always less common in desktop ones).
Technically, the browser is an App that happens to run Apps written in HTML+JS+CSS. There can be good and bad apps of each kind, for example Figma has very good UX despite being a web app.
However that's not the point, what we call Apps and what we call websites or Web apps are programs with different discovery and retention mechanisms and that is exactly the reason why Apps are better than Websites or Web Apps.
A Website has one chance to establish a relationship to you and to monetise you. That's why we see all those tracking, mailing list, notification and ad banners. The moment you finish "installing" the website you will get your content and you probably wont come back unless once again you are not redirected from reddit or something. You also don't get to see what this website is all about before actually going through the trouble of installing it.
On the other hand, Apps need to sell themselves to you. They need to be good towards their users so that they receive stars and positive reviews. They need to have a presentation explaining what this app is all about and even provide you with screenshots. Once you install an app, you are giving it a proper chance to impress you so that you keep coming back.
And that difference between Apps and Websites is the prime reason for the quality difference. Websites need to be clickbitey and they need extract the value out of you right away. The competition is firece as the entry barrier is low. Apps on the other hand need to be good and make their users happy so that they can convince others to install the app too. Since they are going to be within the site of their user, they don't need to extract the value right away, they can build healthy relationship.
Would you prefer to install a .exe (or any other form of binary) from Aliexpress, Yandex or your preferred pr0n site in your PC instead of browsing their websites?
If you don't, well, I don't want strange binaries in my phone either.
The problem with websites is that they need to be "installed" and they need to get something out of you for their services without the abilities of a proper app.
This cookie->email->adblock->subscribe flow is essentially an installers next->next->next flow.
The cookie dialog is there because they want to track you and EU wants it to be optional for the user and the user is aware of being tracked.
The first notification banner is a HTML one and it is there to make sure that the user doesn't waste the only chance(if the user rejects the browser on, you can't fire it up again) to subscribe to push notifications.
The second notification banner(if you accept the first one) is the actual batter by the browser to make sure that you actually want to subscribe.
The subscribe to the newsletter modal is there because as soon as you close the tab you will forget about that site and they want a way to remind you of their existence.
The adblock detected modal is there because they made that content and that website in hopes to show you an ad and make money of it.
The paywall is there because they want alternative revenue stream since ads are not ideal and they don't want to leave money on the table.
The ad banners everywhere is the money shot and the reason you have have an adblocker.
The modal that appears after scrolling is actually one with good intentions and bad implementation. The idea is that since you consumed the content maybe you would like more from it but most of the time the implementation is bad and its supper annoying. They wanted to show it to you once you finish your thing and you are happy.
The modal that appears when you switch tabs is there in another attempt to establish a way to connect with you. Since you switch a tab, maybe you are done with the site and it's a good time to ask you for your e-mail. If you are annoyed, who cares you are about to close the tab anyway.
The chat popup is there to engage with you if you are super interested in the website.
Rate your experience is there probably because the people who designed this horror show want to read back from you as another signal for their KPI.
The %50 off banner on top is a call for action, they still have a chance to sell you something.
The share buttons are there to remind you that you can share this horror show with your worst enemies.
And the alert you get when you try to close the tab is a last ditch effort to keep you interested. Usually contains %99 off first 10 years free kind of offer.
All this delivered to you through carefully studying the analytics data and doing A/B tests.
The apps have the advantage of sticking around the users sight, thus they don't have to achieve something the first time the user interacts with the app and as a result they can design the app around user satisfaction so that the user opens the app by itself.
Another advantage of the apps is that you get to see the app before going through the installation. You see the screenshots and user reviews on a clean screen before committing.