Before the advent of the complexities that came along with websites, it was down to IT departments to manage all things related. Matters programming were reserved for special operations within the department, but today, it is a completely different story. Web design went on to become a big industry on its own. Big brands can attribute their success to putting up strategic websites, while the opposite of that has played a major role in the fall of others.
Given the significance of websites in contemporary business, it takes more than image and content placement, but more of considerable search engine optimization (SEO), load speed, and content validation. Designers are also pretty keen on the overall web outlook on several supporting screens.
How it all begun
The history of web design goes back to August 1991. Worth noting was the fact that the very first website was purely text-based, with the only color distinction coming in the form of the blue hyperlink. Not much attention was paid to other factors anyway, having a running website was all that seemed to matter.
Search launched in 1993
The first search engine for the web was ALIWEB, initials for Archie Like Indexing for the Web, which was launched in 1993. It opened the world to the web’s most prominent content via a collection of helpful links, then, fulfilling the purpose of helping users access valuable information. A colored background was used on pages to draw readers’ attention, and to divert them to other valuable links within the same page.
Landing pages would then come to be in the same year, after the launch of MTV, allegedly the premier adopter of landing pages. It is documented that by the end of 1993, a total of 623 websites were operational, and that was seen as the stage when the internet and web design took off in earnest.
Ads on designs
Online marketing was born in 1994, when Hotwire added the first banner ad into the header of their site. That is contrary to what most people would want to believe that digital marketing is a new concept. The first page on Hotwire’s (now Wired) was more of a design page than a text page, and that was seen as an effective tool of engaging users.
By June 1994, there were 2740 websites, with over 10,000 of them opening up by the end of the year. It was a massive step, and web design was picking.
The birth of web animation
Flashed changed web design forever, and for the very first time, designers were able to create different shapes, animations, and also develop more relevant sites by use of a single tool. However, Flash later found itself on the losing end when companies such as Apple quit using it because it was said to be non-search friendly.
Google opened the world completely in 1998
Google Beta went live in 1998, precisely on the 4th of September to open a completely new chapter in web search. Unlike ALIWEB, Google adopted the minimalistic approach, and what we have today is all thanks to that route taken.
It has been quite a remarkable journey from then on, with other opportunities opening up to the world. Notably, PayPal, the world’s largest online payment company was launched in 1999, WordPress, the world’s top content management platform was opened in 2003, and Facebook, the world’s leading social media platform was launched in 2006. It has been 28 years of great strides in web design.
