I've only seen the ability to pay (which was also kind of confusing) once or twice. Everywhere else was either hard to navigate weird websites, or a PDF that takes forever to download and is very hard to read on mobile, let alone discuss with people you are dining with, who are also buried in their phone trying to figure out yet another maze of clicks and downloads.
In many places physical menus are handed out by a hostess whose whole job is to seat you and do that. If I want to "give them a break", I often just cook or get takeout. Physical menus are not hard to do and are much more friendly than reading from the palm of your hand.
Most places I go to now have the ability to pay on the phone, and it's much easier than trying to flag down a waiter. There's also no pressure for tipping, and I save precious time than having to wait for people to get back to me.
I have never experienced a weird website as is described in this thread. Discussing with people I'm dining with is also... the same? I have no clue how you are experiencing something different here.
Digital menus are not hard to do and are much more friendly. That said, this could all depend on how modern the area you regularly dine at - I'd expect less tech-savvy regions to fumble at this, which may indeed be your experience!
In many places physical menus are handed out by a hostess whose whole job is to seat you and do that. If I want to "give them a break", I often just cook or get takeout. Physical menus are not hard to do and are much more friendly than reading from the palm of your hand.