curate reciprocal readership
In So Many Websites, Robin describes a "worrying decline of search" which I haven't felt in my sphere of the web. Even if it's true, webmasters have so many tools to operate websites as effective switchboards without relying on search. Stack enough curiosity engines atop one another and you might surprise yourself with what you don't miss.
You can spend your resources better than committing to the reach of understanding and denouncing "most business models on the web". Instead of fretting over "ugly websites" and "ugly business models" not working how you want them to, which joyful ones can you share with your people? Similarly, you can move importance and worth away from "mass readership" toward curating reciprocal readership, if not enjoying publishing at any readership.
The websites we visit and publish can be small and private, big and public, and everything in between. What creatives are excited about existing at a "bewildering, eye-watering scale" on the web? How about those optimizing their presence to minimum viable scales? Whether either camp represents your antithesis or not, what valuable insights can you learn from them all?
Look at the web from an abundance mindset. So many websites existing opens the door for so many more to brighten our lives. Like websites, like people themselves.