August 08, 2022
We’re back with the next instalment of the history of website design, and what a journey it’s been so far! We’ve witnessed the birth of the World Wide Web as we know it, with the introduction of HTML, the launch of search, the emergence of the landing page, and the very beginnings of online advertising being just some of the factors that have shaped the platforms we now can’t live without. And this was just the tip of the iceberg of what happened during the first decade of web design history.
In this blog post, we’re looking at the next 10 years, from 2000 to 2010, to discover just how things progressed…
Whilst individuals feared a technological meltdown, the reality was something altogether different, positive and exciting. The year 2000 turned out to be great for online business, with the growth of PayPal and advancements in web development working wonders for the online world, and more specifically e-commerce.
Whilst the past decade or so saw highly specialised IT departments taking the reins when it came to a brand’s progression on the net, the debut of the content management system in 2003 via WordPress changed things.
Companies could now take control of their own websites and the content that populated it, making the look and feel of their online platforms more customisable than ever. A year later, Myspace and its personalised profiles gave this power to the people.
Facebook may have been three years late to the party but its launch in 2006 changed what websites looked like for good. Gone were the fussy, overpopulated pages, instead Facebook made simple, clean design the done thing.
Despite the web designers of today still having to reiterate the importance of mobile friendliness, the mobile era began long, long ago – in 2007 to be exact. With the release of the iPhone and other smartphones came the need for better websites that were viewable from anywhere on any mobile device. These fresh, new, mobile-friendly websites were smart, simple and made for browsing on the go.
Whilst often mentioned in the same breath, responsiveness made an appearance a little later at the close of the decade. With mobile internet usage on the up, the need for responsiveness became apparent and it was a single, rather talented web designer called Ethan Marcotte that was thought to be behind this movement.
Tune in next month for the third and final instalment of our history of website design series!