WebpageByNumbers.com - Web Advice For Business Owners

Inheriting or purchasing a website or domain name?  Then you should be curious about its history.

What did the site look like five years ago? Has it evolved alongside the ridiculously-changing internet or has it remained stagnant like a stale slice of pizza under a couch?

You may be involved in a legal dispute that requires you to show proof of a past website. Or you may just be curious about how it has changed over time.  Regardless, if you need to dig up a past website, then here’s your web shovel!

The Internet Archive: Wayback Machine

http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

This website time machine is a killer tool that shows what a site looked like back in the day. Its servers work around the clock to record web pages and has archived over 150 billion web pages since 1996.

Then and Now …

Frederick’s of Hollywood

In 1996, Frederick’s of Hollywood website was just uncool, an amateurish attempt at an online presence.  Today it’s, well … Hot!

NOW

THEN

Spam – The Other Kind!

SPAM, a product that’s 70 years old and who knows what it’s made of, has a website that displays its vintage quality while appealing to a modern audience. The past website seems a little uncertain and tries a little too hard.

NOW

THEN

Craigslist

Some websites have capitalized on their simplified look. Take Craigslist, for example. Never any flash animation or glitzy images found here, the text-heavy interface speaks for itself and always has. In fact, if you rode a time machine to 2000 and opened your laptop to search Craigslist for that underwater basket-weaving class, you might not even realize you turned back time.

NOW

THEN

ESPN

Besides design, ESPN’s website has not changed much over time either. It captures exactly what sports lunatics are looking for: direct, action-packed headlines; bold photographs; and easy-to-access scores and updates.

NOW

THEN

Apple

This creative giant, wasn’t always that creative!

NOW

THEN

And This Author

In 2001, my portfolio website represented exactly what I thought I was at the time … a character.  And although my personal sites have always been a little lighthearted, I’ve always tried to keep up with the web design trends of the times. After all, if you’re going to hire a web developer, his site shouldn’t suck right?

NOW

THEN

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