nh3.dev
Size does matter, actually<br>by Nick Borș 27-06-2026
I'd like to start with this graph I made[1]Data accsessed on 27th Jul 2026, kindly provided by the<br>Http Archaive (on a lean ~447KB<br>page, which I highly<br>recommend checking out, which just so happens to follow the principles<br>outlined here). Graph was made with R's<br>tidyverse meta-package..
What is it that you notice?
...an upwards trend?
And do you think that it is justified? Has web content really gotten<br>130x better than it was just 30 years ago to warrant the same<br>increase from ~200KB to a median of ~2.5MB? I think not.
Images, videos, and text, the real content, has gotten both more<br>accessible and more prevalant — a good thing make no mistake —<br>but I find myself feeling disenchanted with the current state of<br>the Internet. Where are our good ol' 88x31px banners? Where is the<br>charm that once was, and where is the craftsmanship that made small<br>efficient websites commonplace?
Today I crawl about the web, encumbered by A.I-generated slop,<br>ads (and A.I-generated ads), upheld by megabytes of unreadable<br>minified javascript, veiled in sleek modern ui sanitized of any<br>character, meaning, or memorability. A wolf in sheeps clothing.<br>Though, thats not to say that a subculture of performance-oriented,<br>likely similarly frustrated people dont exist. And its on you whom<br>I call upon to fix this maddness.
Static web-pages built upon HTML and CSS offer a simple, streamlined<br>and secure way to interact with the world, share ideas, write<br>articles, research you name it. Even the entrepeneur-developers of<br>the world can learn to thrive through doing things the old way.<br>I think "static" is a bit of a misnomer — you can get a lot done<br>with just a simple http server, a pinch of CSS, and some grit.<br>Notice the lack of javascript — its not as necessary as you think.<br>Web frameworks, optimising for the developer experience have lost<br>my trust. The debt created by their speed and ergonomics is paid<br>for in full by the user in the form of huge payloads. Analytics,<br>tracking, and pop-ups serve to only get in your way, and, upon<br>pealing back the rancid and rampant overgrowth, you will see the<br>reliable brick and mortar of the internet: HTML and CSS. That is<br>where the real content lies. Note, this isnt to say that javascript<br>is necessarily bad, but I think that it is a breeding ground to an<br>attitude towards software which disrespects the user. The same can<br>be said for programs outside of the web — as electron apps choose<br>to waste your time, memory, and space for ease of development and<br>promises of cross-compatibility. They do not respect you — or so<br>it seems to me at least — they treat their users as dispensable.<br>If you are to take part in the ever-growing Internet, be wary of<br>following such design trends, and respect your customers and<br>peers alike.
There is this notion floating about that us hackers[2]As defined in RFC-1983 DOI: 10.1787/RFC1983. only care<br>from our own technical point of views, and carry radical philosophy<br>which only makes sense within our social circles. It is not so. The<br>mindset of optimising and unencumbering your users extends to even<br>main-stream, large, transnational corporations, it's rare, but it<br>happens. The impacts of speed, whilst not explicitly clear to the<br>layman, translates into annoyance felt by us all. On the contrary,<br>good leadership and a talented team of developers at<br>MacMaster-Carr helped make the minimalist<br>site a staple of modern construction, whilst being about as main-stream<br>as it gets. Open their web-page. I encourage you. Take a look at<br>how fast it loads, and remember this when you are sold the lied to<br>that "websites are just more complex nowadays, so of course their<br>bigger". This catalogue contains thousands of unique products,<br>yet it not only loads quick thanks to clever engineering, but is<br>actually a joy to use. The user experience at MacMaster-Carr is a<br>dream of both engineers and UI designers. It is not cluttered. It is<br>not difficult to use like other commercial catalogues such as eBay<br>or Amazon with their endless nested drop-downs and inept search<br>functions (if you have used eBay, I'm sure you know what i mean).
But how could such a minimalist, function-over-form attitude ever<br>promulgate in the corporate world? Don't shareholders chase sleek,<br>modern design and dont product managers demand they look better<br>than their competitors?
Yes, they typically do dont they? I think thats bad leadership<br>bandwagoning on the promise of dividends for investors through the<br>use of modern bloat painted in the lead paint that is modern ui<br>trends. The truth is that this mentality is in a false dichotomy<br>with the demands of the business world. In reality, users will come<br>back time and time again when something is boring and "just works".<br>If you are in a leadership position, try to see this case study as<br>an opportunity to be inspired. If you are a regular non-technical<br>user, admire the ordinary and stop and smell the roses. And lastly,<br>and most likely,...