Feature Request: Lite / Low-Bandwidth Version of the Web Client for Slow Connections

[Mazafard]

Currently, the FreeFeed web frontend is quite heavy and relies on loading a significant amount of JavaScript. For users experiencing poor, unstable, or highly restricted internet connections, the web app often takes too long to load or fails to load entirely, making the platform inaccessible.

It would be incredibly helpful to have an option for a "Lite" version of the web client. This could be a separate URL (like lite.freefeed.net) or a low-bandwidth toggle. This version should strip away heavy JS features, complex UI states, and animations, focusing on a lightweight, fast-loading approach (mostly server-rendered HTML/CSS with minimal JS).

The Lite version should focus exclusively on the core functionalities:

• Reading the feed
• Publishing new posts
• Adding comments
• Liking posts and comments
• Editing and deleting own posts/comments

Using API-based third-party terminal clients is an option, but not all users are tech-savvy enough to use them. An official, simple web-based fallback would be much more user-friendly.

Implementing a basic, bare-bones version would drastically improve accessibility for users in regions with poor internet infrastructure or those dealing with severe bandwidth throttling. Thank you for considering this!

[clbn]

There is Delta (https://delta.applied.creagenics.com/) - a web app I made a couple years ago, and it's pretty much what you described. The app itself is very lightweight and loads fast, it also consumes much less data when browsing FreeFeed (it uses a special "proxy API" for only downloading the data you need for the current page).

It even works without JavaScript! Well, at least basic functionality, like posting and commenting. I don't remember if "liking" works without JS, it's been a few months (or years?) since I last updated it... 😅

The last couple of weeks I've been actually thinking about rebuilding it with a modern tech stack while keeping the same principles (i.e., it must be lean and fast while focusing on core Frf features). Your message might be just the boost my motivation needs.