Remember when Web Apps were a recommended way to use apps on the iPhone?
What are web apps? Learn what they are and how to use them.
In about 2013 Apple started to redirect the /webapps/ top-level directory to /iphone/
The thing is, the directory was actually pretty good, a lot of the apps in there still work today. However looking at the AppStore it solved a lot more problems that developers had: Better discovery and search specifically because the AppStore was directly on the device. The AppStore was also starting to introduce that removed friction from users and developers specifically with regards to payments.