[jonchang]

Firefox and other browsers use an optimization called the bfcache (back-forward cache) that is intended to do exactly that. However, lots of web developers write their pages in a way that defeats the bfcache optimization. Moreover, bloated large page sizes (including JS objects) will make the bfcache more likely to evict entries.

Compare using back/forward on a boring HTML site like Hacker News, and to something like say, the Google Search results page. What's funny is that Google itself has a page on how to optimize your website for bfcache implementations, with some Chromium-specific tweaks, but the left hand doesn't talk to the right at Google, so we're stuck with lots of full page refreshes on Google properties.

https://web.dev/bfcache/

[stemlord]

>lots of web developers write their pages in a way that defeats the bfcache optimization

Yes, webapps, with their own internalized breadcrumb system.