To encourage people to build websites/webapps? I mean, browser manufacturers wouldn't exactly be better off if everyone moved to building mobile apps or desktop

To encourage people to build websites/webapps? I mean, browser manufacturers wouldn't exactly be better off if everyone moved to building mobile apps or desktop programs, so they've got at least some sort of incentive in getting people into web development. Why do you think MDN exists? Aside from that: 1. Web developers are power users, and the kinds who encourage others to choose a certain browser over another one. Having the best developer tools/console might encourage them to recommend your browser over a competitor's one. 2. They make web development in general a lot easier, and testing a lot more practical. Automated testing can only go so far, and they provide a place for devs to 'test out' ideas before properly coding them. 3. Because its a tradition as mentioned before, which started with view source. Now view source alone isn't good enough to understand how a page works, dev tools are very important.