[zahlman]

> No download and install process

Plenty of Electron apps expect you to do this anyway. "Apps using web tech" aren't all web sites.

> No "please wait while we update this"

Not everyone has a fast web connection.

On the flip side, plenty of programs have no reason to use a web connection at all once they're downloaded and installed.

> Users can link to individual pages within my app... Users can find text on any page in my app

How many apps out there really have "pages"?

> Users get autofill for forms and passwords and credit cards

Why does my program need this information?

> Users can block ads

Why would my program present ads?

> No "SmartScan couldn't verify if this app is safe" because it wasn't signed with a cert.

Is that supposed to be a plus? Consider the user's side, too. Also, consider that things like Google Safe Browsing exist.

> A knee-jerk answer is often "performance", but honestly, most web apps load faster than their native counterparts these days.

Care to give an example?

(It also generally comes across like you just take for granted that your users will be on mobile.)

[LtWorf]

I'm convinced that the real problem here is that people preferring websites only know how to make websites and won't learn anything new. The rest is just to frame it as a rational technical decision.

[wiseowise]

> How many apps out there really have "pages"?

A lot of them. Enough for me to wish I could have OS bookmarks for specific app screens.

> Why does my program need this information?

Because I as a user don’t want to copy paste sensitive information? Also, not sure what the OPs point is, you can have autofill on native apps too.

> Why would my program present ads?

Because you’re a penny counter at big tech who subsidizes their product by stealing user information?

> Is that supposed to be a plus? Consider the user's side, too. Also, consider that things like Google Safe Browsing exist.

Web has one of the most hardened sandboxes out there, just because it was an attack vector for decades. Yes, it’s a good thing - less friction.

> Care to give an example?

VSCode loads faster than Xcode. Google Sheets loads faster than Numbers. On Windows you can start VSCode and brew coffee until VS is ready to roll.

[zahlman]

> Because I as a user don’t want to copy paste sensitive information?

When using my program, why would the user need to supply a password or a credit card number?

[wiseowise]

> why would the user need to supply a password

Because they’re logging in to your application and then buying a thing with a credit card?

[zahlman]

Why would I write a program for this, when we were doing it decades ago with web pages that honestly didn't even require JavaScript to function?

[Spivak]

Because your product is a program and some of the features are paid. So you have a screen for the user to start/manage/cancel their subscription? It doesn't have to be some JS heavy thing, just that it will be a page in your app and you get autofill for free from the browser.