In the accompanying post ‘Three ways that hardware has affected website design since the 1990s’, we took a look at how the evolution of computer hardware has helped shape the net we know and love today; Continuing on this theme, we now take a look at some other factors which have influenced web design since the dark ages of web development…
Browsers (and web standards) have matured
Beyond developments in hardware and internet connection performance, the software which we use to access internet pages today has become incredibly advanced: Compare the likes of the latest versions of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to vintage browsers, like Netscape Navigator 1.22, Microsoft Internet Explorer 1.5, or AOL Explorer 1.5 – and it becomes apparent just how far things have come: Modern browsers are faster, easier to use and more secure than browsers of old, but the most important thing which has affected web design is the fact that they are now much smarter…
The act of coding up websites is now much more forgiving than it used to be, due to the simple fact that modern browsers can now interpret newer, more advanced versions of mark-up languages (for example HTML5 and CSS3), which now form part of a whole host of new standards in web design. These newer variants of languages and standards give web designers far more flexibility and freedom when it comes to the act of designing the sites which make up the web today.
Tastes are changing
Like all products of design, we shouldn’t be too harsh on 1990s websites: After all, they were ‘of their time’…
As we all know, peoples’ tastes change; and designers back then were simply catering to these tastes, working to create the very best they could with a the tools that they had at their disposal.
Take a look at any 1990s-era TV shows or movies (For example, ‘Saved by the Bell’, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’, ‘Wayne’s World’, etc.) and it becomes immediately obvious that everything, from the actors’ hairstyles, to the clothing on their backs, all the way through to the graphic design of the title sequences and the special effects on display – would look jarringly out of place in a modern show or film (Unless, of course, it happened to be set in the 1990s): The same is true of vintage websites, as we gaze upon them with our jaded, Google-glass augmented spectacles.
The way we use the web is changing
Back in the days of the big ‘.com’ boom, having a website – any website – was a big deal. If you got an electronic message saying that ‘you’ve got mail’, it was enough to make one feel like a real mover and shaker.
These days, everyone and their dog can easily procure a website: And emails? Beyond the dozen or so accounts that most people have these days, email is just one of a myriad of different ways in which we can now interact with one another over the internet.
The world-wide-web, whilst revolutionary in the early days, was still in its infancy. The prevalence of e-commerce and social media websites today means that we now use the net for everything, from buying and selling goods, to socialising – and with the vast amount of streaming media available, our entertainment needs can be satisfied too. The net has gone from being the reserve of computer enthusiasts, or business users – to being open to everyone: This social change has impacted what we can do online – and as a result, the web has changed almost beyond recognition since those halcyon days of the 1990s.
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