Thirty years ago, when the Internet started, there weren’t as many websites as you can browse through today. The websites used to have a simple layout, without any modern features, usually made for single purposes — promotions, information, and education.
Before Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, designers used smaller domains for companies’ websites or playful personal uses. Many of those first websites shut down over the years when the Internet exploded worldwide, but a handful survived until today and are still accessible.
We have compiled a list of some of the earliest websites and found the oldest website still up!
12. Spork
Registered: 1995
Domain Name: spork.org
Purpose: Information on Spork – Spoon-Fork Hybrid Utensil
photo source: spork.org
Spork.org has that old-school fun spirit that used to be present on the first Web. The entire website centers around the spoon-fork hybrid utensil called the spork. The website offers uses and definitions of this cutlery and sells “Spork” t-shirts for $7 a shirt.
The website hasn’t been updated since September 10, 1996, but the original content is still up. The website owner tried documenting his experience eating ramen noodles with a spork without recommending it in the end. Fans of the website also provide their uses and benefits of spork use.
Did You Know?
A spork is a hybrid form of utensils, merging the shallow scoop of the spoon with two or four prongs of a fork. They have been made since the 19th century, usually used for low-budget airlines, schools, prisons, and fast-food restaurants. The word “spork” is a trademark in the United States.
11. Travel Assist Magazine
Registered: 1995
Domain Name: travelassist.com
Purpose: First Online Travel Magazine
photo source: travelassist.com
The first travel magazine online was created in 1995. The website offers information concerning various destinations ideal for traveling — Mexico, Hawaii, California, and Florida. But you can find previous articles about China, European countries, Antarctica, and the United States.
The website has not been updated since 2012, and some articles date back to 1996, when the website officially started working.
The owners don’t provide much information, but you can still check the website for interesting facts about the first filming and camera equipment, for example.
Did You Know?
Travel Assist has many interesting sub-genres of traveling tips on their website, including food recommendations, travel security tips, the best airlines to travel with, and a unique chapter for their readers to write from their own experiences.
10. The San Francisco Fog Cam!
Registered: 1994
Domain Name: fogcam.org
Purpose: San Francisco Live-Streaming
photo source: fogcam.org
FogCam is the oldest operating webcam on the Internet. The accurate upload date is unknown, but the website has been running since 1994 as a student project for the Department of Instructional Technologies at San Francisco State University.
The website is included on Wikipedia’s List of Oldest Websites, confirming it’s the oldest still operating webcam. The first webcam was the Trojan Room coffee pot cam, but the website was retired in 2001.
9. Milk Kommunikations Ko-Op
Registered: July 18, 1994
Domain Name: milk.com
Purpose: “Why Not?”
photo source: milk.com
“Your lactose pipeline” was established in 1994 by Daniel Bornstein for no practical reason. Bornstein wanted a public domain that could be useful as he states at the end of the blog – “I got milk.com”. He offers to sell it for $10 million and nothing less than that.
The website offers a music library, Daniel’s favorite recipes, true stories, and a wall o’ shame for everything Bornstein finds shameful.
The last post is from July 21, 2021, about his new project connected to the website. The website is also a blink-free zone, which doesn’t mean much.
Did You Know?
Daniel Bornstein has worked as an engineer and software developer for multiple companies over the last couple of years. Since he announced his 2021 Project, there hasn’t been any news about him and his work.
8. ALIWEB
Registered: May 1994
Domain Name: aliweb.com
Purpose: First Web Search Engine
photo source: aliweb.com
ALIWEB (Archie Like Indexing for the Web) is the first Web search engine. It was announced in November 1993 by Dutch developer Martijn Koster and presented in 1994. Besides the browsing options on the website, this search engine works similarly to some of the newer ones.
How it functions: people write descriptions for their websites or services they provide in a file on the Web or by hand using automatic tools.
Then they upload the file onto ALIWEB, which combines and receives all the files into a searchable database, equal for all the users. It’s easy to use if your search is limited.
Did You Know?
The most popular search engine today is Google, having over 86% of the search market. Google was created in 1996 by computer scientists Sergey Brin and Larry Page, two years after ALIWEB. Among the popular ones are YouTube, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft Bing, and Baidu.
7. “The First Web Page”
Registered: August 6, 1991
Domain Name: info.cern.ch
Purpose: World Wide Web Explanation
photo source: info.cern.ch
Technically, info.cern.ch is the first worldwide website that went up in 1991. Although going live after some of the other sites on our list, it takes pride in the title “The First Web Page.” Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989 while working at CERN for information sharing between scientists.
While this isn’t the first web page to date, it is considered because of the website’s information about the WWW projects and their purposes. The website is active today, with a simple layout, but was inactive until 2013, when CERN launched a project to restore it.
Did You Know?
CERN is a European Organization for Nuclear Research that provides sources and organizational structures for high-energy scientific and physics research. Their main goal in 2022 is to develop a Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful particle accelerator.
6. ACME
Registered: April 17, 1991
Domain Name: acme.com
Purpose: JavaScript, Maps, Instructions
photo source: acme.com
As the previous website on this list, Acme Laboratories Website had been in the works longer than the website is available. Acme.com is a freeware site that offers maps of cities, a freeware library, JavaScript utility, helpful pages, and tutorials and resources for easier web browsing.
The definition for ACME comes from the Greek word “the top” or “the highest point”, as the website explains. You can download ACME Heart Maker and License Plate Maker if you want to play around like users used to at the beginning of the Web.
Did You Know?
The ACME Corporation is a fictional corporation in Warner Bros. Cartoon shorts, a running gag about explosive products. But the correlation is accidental – “The only affiliation between ACME Laboratories and Warner Brothers is that I’ve been a fan of Wile E. Coyote for decades.”
5. Caine, Farber & Gordon
Registered: November 2, 1987
Domain Name: cfg.com
Purpose: Software and Systems Professional Firm
photo source: cfg.com
Caine, Farber & Gordon (CFG) launched their website in 1987, but they were in the business 17 years before that happened. Steve Caine, Dave Farber, and Kent Gordon started the website, and their firm is known for software and system professionals who concentrate on fixing problems.
As their website says, CFG is best known for PDL/81 Program Design Language Processor or a tool for software design. The owners of the website co-founded Gatekeeper Systems, a company specializing in developing applications that serve up different data in an integrated manner.
Did You Know?
The PDL/81 program was prepared for the Year 2000 problem (Y2K) or Millennium bug, which never happened. Y2K error refers to potential computer errors related to the new millennium and formatting of the new century calendar, as many programs used the two last digits to convert years.
4. Toad Hall
Registered: August 18, 1987
Domain Name: toad.com
Purpose: Education on Fairer Internet Experience
photo source: toad.com
Toad Hall is a simple website that started in 1987. The original purpose is unknown, but the website is still running with news and links about John Gilmore, a Co-Founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Gilmore is a contributor to the GNU Project, a mass collaboration about users’ freedom online.
Some of the other links on the website cover topics such as freedom of speech, domain name system security, Gilmore’s petitions, lawsuits against federal requirements that people show ID while traveling, and other whereabouts of this activist.
Did You Know?
Todd Hall’s Website is possibly named after the fictional home of Mr. Toad, a character in the novel “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. The children’s book from 1908 focuses on bedtime stories about four animal friends: Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger, and their adventures.
3. Texas Internet Consulting
Registered: April 23, 1987
Domain Name: tic.com
Purpose: Consulting for Network and Systems Architecture and Design
photo source: tic.com
Texas Internet Consulting is a one-man-made firm by Smoot Carl-Mitchell. The website specializes in Linux System Architecture, Open-Source Tool Development, and Network Design. There hasn’t been a website update since 2004, but the current design does not look outdated.
Carl-Mitchell is working as a Senior Open Systems Administrator for Cort Business Services, residing in Arizona, United States. You can find books by topics, previous projects, and Smoot’s biography on the website.
Did You Know?
Smoot Carl-Mitchell began working on TIC in 1987 before leaving to work in various other companies. He came back to TIC in 2004. It is unknown how many people work for the website today.
2. Vortex Technology
Registered: October 27, 1986
Domain Name: vortex.com
Purpose: Education on Internet Privacy, Regulation, and Online Management
photo source: vortex.com
Vortex Technology is almost the oldest running website you can find online. The website was registered in 1986 by the Co-Founder of People For Internet Responsibility (PFIR) and the Founder of the Privacy Forum, Lauren Weinstein. Her blog is updated on the website as well.
Vortex doesn’t offer much, but you can see links to forums mentioned, weather reports, Fact Squad Radio, and satirical commentary about the Internet by Weinstein. It was updated in 2017 and hasn’t had any changes since then.
Did You Know?
Vortex Technology Website’s purpose was to educate users on how to be better “online people.” PFIR is a global network of those concerned about Internet development and regulations, reaching through Privacy Forum to educate people about privacy protection and ethical norms online.
1. Interrupt Technology Corporation
Registered: September 18, 1986
Domain Name: itcorp.com
Purpose: Web Presence
photo source: itcorp.com
The oldest website still running is Interrupt Technology Corporation, dating back to 1986. This website takes the prize for being the funniest yet plainest website on the Internet. The creators didn’t think much about it, seemingly not very excited to create a website in the first place.
“This Web page exists primarily to satisfy the needs of those who expect every domain to have a Web presence.” The company claimed they weren’t looking for clients but still made history with it. The website doesn’t offer any other functions other than this explanation.
Did You Know?
Interrupt Technology Corporation is a privately-held consulting firm specializing in software, storage, and file systems. The company started in April 1986 in California, United States.
