Do all web forms have a left aligned button by default? I just realized they do on HN but if you'd asked me 5 minutes ago I'd have told you it was on the right.
Windows: "Right-align commit buttons in a single row across the bottom of the dialog box, but above the footnote area. Do this even if there is a single commit button (such as OK)."
Mac: "Any buttons in the bottom right of a dialog should dismiss the dialog. An action button, which initiates the dialog’s primary action, should be farthest to the right." (Also noteworthy: "Separate destructive buttons from nondestructive buttons.")
No specific advantage has actually been attributed to either choice of order. What matters is (1) keeping the order consistent throughout an application, and (2) following the provided style guide for the platform you're developing on.
(Also, the order may need to be changed if the primary action is destructive, such as a "Reset" button.)
I did an extensive write-up about this topic if you're curious on more details: https://dev.to/sergix/ux-illuminating-intention-198k
Not even just an application. The whole phone needs to be consistent. Every app in it. Otherwise it's just repeatedly discovering and forgetting how to use each and every app's unique interpretation of what their average user wants and what their average user thinks is intuitive.
The biggest reason why consistency is more important than following platform guidelines is for cross-platform apps available on multiple devices that have different platform design guidelines. It's obviously not feasible (and I would argue not user-friendly either) to switch the order of action controls for the same app on different devices, especially when the app is available via a web interface as well as native.
For example I would think this makes much more sense:
Name [arp242 ]
Email [arp242@example.com ]
I have a HN account []
[Submit]
Name [arp242 ]
Email [arp242@example.com ]
I have a HN account []
[Submit]
This also works much better if you put the labels above the inputs:
Name
[arp242 ]
Email
[arp242@example.com ]
[] I have a HN account
[Submit]
[Submit]
And people read things from left-to-right; I find left-alignment almost always more natural; this is why most navigation sidebars are also on the left (which is often also inverted in websites using right-to-left scripts).
It's even worse if you also place a reset button; I would imagine more than a few people in a hurry will accidentally reset forms if it's placed on the left and has equal prominence to submit. Aas the article already mentioned, you probably shouldn't have a reset button at all, and most forms these days don't.
Anyway, I think "it goes forward in the procedure, in time" is overthinking these things too much in too abstract terms. Just put things where people's eyes and mouse cursor will naturally go for these kind of things will get you a long way.
All of that being said, consistency is also important, so if there's a system/platform where things are consistently on the right then sticking to that is usually more important.
Like spoken languages, the language of design changes over time, and what used to be normal can be quickly outdated (like the reset button on forms).
What is more "natural" is a pointless discussion anyway IMO; I regret phrasing it like that and I wish I could edit it. As I said, the key is to put things where people's eyes and mouse cursor will go, and that's rarely a "jump" to an entirely different place on the screen (on mobile this problem exists less because the screens are small). While it doesn't matter too much on narrow forms (less of a jump), on wide forms it's a bigger issue (or if it's placed to the right of the form inputs take).
Having it on the left, imo, people might look there first but continue to scan to see what the other control is. When you finish reading a sentence of text in a paragraph, you certainly have the last word of it stick out, how is this different?
When forms were implemented, it was important to keep the behavior consistent with what people experienced in their OS.
Now that we have touch phones, the situation has changed, but the best practices have not.