[noahtallen]

> We compile apps for the desktop, we should compile apps for the web too.

I don't think this is true at all. The key reason you see build steps are to solve problems that you don't even have to worry about in desktop apps. If you have an app on the web, its bundle size needs to be small so that it downloads over the internet in a few hundred ms or so. So you get a minification step. You want a good type system, you end up with a build step. You want broad compatibility with older browsers? You end up with polyfills. Need to do some asset processing? You end up with some scripts that have to run at build time.

Build steps aren't some arbitrary complexity people make them out to be. They solve performance and compatibility issues, which impact real users in the real world. Running full-blown desktop apps over HTTP comes with a different set of problems compared to any local native app.

Of course most of this isn't important for small side projects. But for many, side projects are a way to learn about different technologies they might end up using for larger projects or in a professional context.