The Complete History Of Web Design! It All Began in Nov. Of 1992

It’s hard to imagine a time when there was no internet, because we currently rely heavily on the power of the internet, websites, and mobile applications to do nearly everything in our lives. For modern businesses, it is understood that web design is a necessary investment, as a web page is typically the first exposure clients or customers have to your business. To better understand how the internet grew to the essential piece of business infrastructure it is now, let’s take a look back at where the internet started.

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The Internet’s Early Days

The first ever website went live in November of 1992. It may have only consisted of simple text, but it was an important small step for the giant leap that would become the internet revolution. HTML was soon introduced and allowed the creation of sites with more design and structure through table functionality. In 1993, the web’s first search engine was launched, allowing web users to more easily locate content online. It didn’t take long for companies to recognize the power of websites, because carefully designed and aesthetically pleasing landing pages and online advertisements soon made their way into web pages of all kinds.

The next leap for web design was the introduction of JavaScript which, like HTML, provided web developer with an even greater playground to design within. JavaScript allowed for motion to be a part of web design. Additionally, the introduction of Flash allowed for animation, which helped create more visually engaging designs, but created frustrations for users because plugins had to be installed before being able to view the page. CSS, or cascading style sheets, were also soon introduced, allowing for the design details to be separate from the content itself, streamlining the web design process.

By 1996, there were 36 million web users throughout the globe and the number would only increase.

To Google and Beyond

In 1998, the king of search engines, Google, was born. This would change the landscape of the internet and web design forever, because it would make it essential for websites to be SEO-friendly in order to stay relevant and rank high for certain search terms.

After the introduction of Google, the new millennium brought a new facet of the world economy – ecommerce. Paypal, an online payment company still used today, was created and the world of online shopping was launched. This shift to ecommerce permanently affected web design, as it made it an essential aspect of doing business for many companies, increasing the need for experienced web developers.

It was not long before online blogs and social media platforms became must-use internet tools for everyone from the everyday web user to large corporations. The launch of sites like WordPress, MySpace, and Facebook all helped shaped the world of web design as we know it. Even now, many web designers credit their early use of WordPress and MySpace as the first time they learned to use tools like CMS (content management systems) and HTML. With the introduction of Facebook, which now has over 1 billion users wordwide and is the most visited website in the US, the landscape of web design and web use was changed forever. Not only would Facebook affect how billions of people used the web, but it helped web designers to see the importance of smart branding, clean design, social media integration, and more.

The Internet Goes Mobile

Of course, you can’t discuss web design without addressing the importance of the growth of mobile devices. As smartphones became the norm in the late 2000s, the need for mobile-friendly web sites significantly increased. By user demand, websites had to be designed to be easily accessed via mobile devices. This led to specially designed mobile sites that were separate from desktop sites and eventually to responsive web design. With responsive web design, a separate mobile URL was no longer needed, as the site from a single URL would shift to fit any size screen. In addition, mobile application design became a must for many businesses in addition to a main website.

Modern Web Design Embraces SEO Optimization

More than 20 years after the advent of Google, SEO optimization still reigns supreme for most websites. As Google introduces various algorithms to create their search results, web designers must keep up with the latest evolutions to help design sites that will rank higher. Everything on a website, including coding, relevant content creation, linking, social media integration, navigation, images, and metadata is taken into consideration by Google to help determine how relevant a webpage is to a specific search term. This means that to stay competitive, business owners simply must prioritize SEO optimization for every page of their website.

The Complete History Of Web Design

The Internet’s Early Days

To Google and Beyond

The Internet Goes Mobile

Modern Web Design Embraces SEO Optimization

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