The business model for HTML/HTTP was and is advertising.
People initially tried subscription models for HTML content but it didn't work so everyone went to advertising based models. Observationally, subscription HTML content models have continued to not work (yes, Netflix, but Netflix is more about video content than HTML content).
Re:A first look at Unreal Engine 5
by VikingCoder on Wednesday May 13, 2020 @03:55PM
(#23171073)
There was no business model for HTML/HTTP.
It was a set of technologies. Advertising later came to it.
There are tons of subscription models for HTML content that you're ignoring. Patreon, YouTube, online news. Some small, some large.
Did HTML / HTTP have a business model? Or were they a platform upon which other things were built?