Why you might want to build your WebApp in Canvas instead of HTML

Google Docs, Sheets, and Miro all use the HTML Canvas element instead of the DOM for performance-critical interfaces. Canvas trades browser conveniences like accessibility and layout for raw rendering control, making it ideal for zoomable, pannable, spatially complex apps. Key lessons include layering multiple canvases, managing pixel density, maintaining a bounding-box hit model, and centralizing coordinate translation.