I see this argument a lot on HN, but whenever I look at web pages (which is pretty much all day, every day) I don't see very much that could be removed without radically changing the user experience. I understand that some people don't believe reactive single page apps, that are device responsive, that have accessibility features, and that are localized for different languages are a good idea, but if you do think those things are what you want to deliver then websites aren't "bloated". They're just big. They do lots of things. The argument is less about the code and more about people railing against what the web is these days. Fair enough if that's the case, but at least make the argument that you don't like modern websites rather than try to hide it behind a claim it's about code optimization.

The only exception to that is adverts. There's a ton of code delivered in websites that isn't necessary, and it's mostly for displaying ads and tracking people so the ads can be optimized for better conversion.