The early Web: Slow, simple and sparse

Doug Gross, CNN
Updated 10:12 AM EDT, Wed March 12, 2014
The Web's first site was created by CERN in 1989. On April 30, 1993, it was made available to the world royalty-free. The design of the site is very different from Web pages today but also showed the roots of what was to come. It can be fun to look through Internet history, so CNN consulted the <a href="http://archive.org/web/web.php" target="_blank" target="_blank">Internet Archive Wayback Machine</a> to find out what early versions of other websites looked like. Click through the gallery for a trip back in time.
Digging through website history —
The Web's first site was created by CERN in 1989. On April 30, 1993, it was made available to the world royalty-free. The design of the site is very different from Web pages today but also showed the roots of what was to come. It can be fun to look through Internet history, so CNN consulted the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to find out what early versions of other websites looked like. Click through the gallery for a trip back in time.
CERN
A white background with bright blue links helped <a href="http://yahoo.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">yahoo.com</a> users find what they were looking for in October 1996.
Digging through website history —
A white background with bright blue links helped yahoo.com users find what they were looking for in October 1996.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
The <a href="http://altavista.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">altavista.com</a> site is now an iconic darling of Internet history. The October 1996 version of the site boasted a search field, a banner ad and some fun extras.
Digging through website history —
The altavista.com site is now an iconic darling of Internet history. The October 1996 version of the site boasted a search field, a banner ad and some fun extras.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
For those looking to find a sense of community online, the <a href="http://geocities.yahoo.com/index.php" target="_blank" target="_blank">geocities.com</a> of October 1996 presented a colorful option.
Digging through website history —
For those looking to find a sense of community online, the geocities.com of October 1996 presented a colorful option.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
A commenter with the username Kandric suggested several memorable websites from the 1990s. Shown here are <a href="http://nhl.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">nhl.com</a> and <a href="http://nfl.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">nfl.com</a> as they appeared in December 1996, plus <a href="http://CNET.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">CNET.com</a> as it was seen in October 1996.
Digging through website history —
A commenter with the username Kandric suggested several memorable websites from the 1990s. Shown here are nhl.com and nfl.com as they appeared in December 1996, plus CNET.com as it was seen in October 1996.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
The <a href="http://whitehouse.gov" target="_blank" target="_blank">whitehouse.gov</a> of December 1996 included a search feature and a text-only site.
Digging through website history —
The whitehouse.gov of December 1996 included a search feature and a text-only site.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
The <a href="http://nyt.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">New York Times front page</a>, as it appeared in December 1996, is compact by modern Web design standards.
Digging through website history —
The New York Times front page, as it appeared in December 1996, is compact by modern Web design standards.
Still getting CD-ROMs in the mail? Primary colors and an article on "marginal behavior" online were viewed by <a href="http://aol.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">aol.com</a> visitors in December 1996.
Digging through website history —
Still getting CD-ROMs in the mail? Primary colors and an article on "marginal behavior" online were viewed by aol.com visitors in December 1996.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
Ready to jet? Get flight information and more from the <a href="http://usairways.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">usairways.com</a> website of October 1997.
Digging through website history —
Ready to jet? Get flight information and more from the usairways.com website of October 1997.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
Go ahead, ask the Internet a question. The <a href="http://askjeeves.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">askjeeves.com</a> site, shown in October 1997, boasted an online butler of sorts.
Digging through website history —
Go ahead, ask the Internet a question. The askjeeves.com site, shown in October 1997, boasted an online butler of sorts.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
This screenshot of <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk" target="_blank" target="_blank">news.bbc.co.uk</a> in December 1998 exemplifies the narrow, vertical design of websites in the 1990s to accommodate lower-resolution monitors.
Digging through website history —
This screenshot of news.bbc.co.uk in December 1998 exemplifies the narrow, vertical design of websites in the 1990s to accommodate lower-resolution monitors.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
News, information and various Web services could be found at the <a href="http://netscape.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">netscape.com</a> homepage of May 1998.
Digging through website history —
News, information and various Web services could be found at the netscape.com homepage of May 1998.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine
<a href="http://hampsterdance.com" target="_blank" target="_blank">Hampsterdance.com</a>, shown here as it looked in April 1999, gained popularity for its catchy background tune and cute rodent graphics.
Digging through website history —
Hampsterdance.com, shown here as it looked in April 1999, gained popularity for its catchy background tune and cute rodent graphics.
From Internet Archive Wayback Machine