Published books usually arrive dressed, edited, and pretending nobody saw the awkward draft stage. Web fiction may greet you mid-arc, update on Thursday, argue with readers in the comments, and casually contain more words than an entire bookstore shelf. That is not a downgrade. It is a different social contract.
What's different
Free, always. The fiction is free. You can start a story, realize it's not for you, and move on with zero financial cost. This changes how you approach trying new things. Serialized, not completed. Most web fiction is ongoing. You read chapter by chapter as the author writes. The ending may not exist yet. Treat ongoing serials and completed works as different reading experiences.
No editorial gatekeeping. Anyone can publish. This means astonishing discoveries and also stories that needed an editor. Learning to evaluate writing quality in the first chapter is essential. Community is part of the experience. Comments, forums, Discord servers — the discussion around a serial is often as engaging as the serial itself. Participate or don't, but know it's available.
Where to start
Match your taste. If you read epic fantasy, try Mother of Learning or The Wandering Inn. If you read sci-fi, try Worm or The Last Angel. If you read literary fiction, try Katalepsis or Pale Lights. Start in a genre you already know. Start with completed works. Mother of Learning. A Practical Guide to Evil. The Perfect Run. Worm. Completed serials give you the ending guarantee that traditional publishing provides.
Read the first three chapters before deciding. Web fiction openings vary in quality. Chapter one might be rough. Chapter three tells you if the story has legs. Track what you try. Storywatch lets you add stories to Plan to Read, mark what you've started, and organize across platforms. The web fiction discovery problem is real — tracking tools solve it.