"Reader" modes mostly seemed to fill this gap in browsers when all you were dealing with was text. However, Google (AMP) and Facebook (Instant Articles) attempt

"Reader" modes mostly seemed to fill this gap in browsers when all you were dealing with was text. However, Google (AMP) and Facebook (Instant Articles) attempts to apply this model to all browser content were largely failures. We can debate whether this was due to the fact that both companies get most of their revenue from ads (probably correct) or just that the protocols were made to appease publishers - and content owners more generally - as opposed to the people who actually read websites who vastly outnumber the former two groups. On the plus side, it does bring a feeling of satisfaction that with things like Create React App, I can send a really small payload to my server (~60 LoC) and have a site come out on the other end.