The History of 90s Web Design — From GeoCities to the Dot-Com Bust

TL;DR: 1990s web design was defined by table-based layouts, animated GIFs, visitor counters, <blink> tags, and early experiments with VRML, Flash, and Java applets. Most of these practices are extinct today, but they laid the groundwork for modern web design. CookedOS recreates this era with a fully interactive Windows 95 desktop that includes recovered files from a fictional 90s design agency.

The Evolution of Web Design: 1993-2000

1993-1995: The HTML-Only Era

The earliest websites were pure HTML — grey backgrounds, Times New Roman, blue hyperlinks. No images, no colours, no layout control. The <center> tag was considered advanced design. Mosaic and then Netscape Navigator were the primary browsers.

1995-1997: The Table Layout Revolution

Designers discovered they could use HTML <table> tags to create multi-column layouts. This was revolutionary — suddenly you could have sidebars, headers, and footers. Background images, animated GIFs, and the dreaded <blink> tag emerged. Visitor counters became mandatory. "Under Construction" GIFs were everywhere.

1997-1998: The Multimedia Explosion

Flash intros, Java applets, VRML 3D worlds, and RealPlayer embeds. Websites became multimedia experiences — often at the cost of 5-minute load times on 28.8k modems. Splash pages asked users to "Enter" the site. Frames divided pages into separate scrollable sections. GeoCities and Angelfire provided free hosting to millions.

1998-2000: The Dot-Com Boom

Venture capital flooded the web. Every company needed a website, and agencies charged enormous fees for what were essentially brochure sites. DHTML effects, JavaScript rollovers, and CSS1 began replacing table-heavy layouts. Pets.com, Webvan, and Boo.com burned through millions. The bubble was about to burst.

Iconic 90s Web Design Elements

Element	Era	Status Today
Animated GIFs	1995+	Back in fashion (ironically)
<blink> tag	1995-2000	Deprecated (thankfully)
Visitor counters	1996+	Extinct
Table layouts	1995-2005	Replaced by CSS Grid/Flexbox
Flash intros	1997-2010	Flash is dead (RIP)
"Under Construction" pages	1995-1999	We use "Coming Soon" now
Frames	1996-2003	Replaced by SPAs/iframes
VRML 3D worlds	1996-1999	Replaced by WebGL/Three.js
Guestbooks	1996+	Replaced by comments/social media
Web rings	1997-2002	Extinct (replaced by search engines)

The Design Agency Experience

CookedOS recreates the experience of working at a 1990s web design agency through its fictional "Cooked Ltd." narrative. By exploring the recovered hard drive, you can read real-feeling project briefs, client feedback, team meeting notes, and internal documents that capture the chaos, ambition, and ultimate futility of designing for a web that wasn't ready.

Experience 90s Computing Today

Want to experience what computing felt like in 1995? CookedOS is a free, browser-based Windows 95 simulator with a fully interactive desktop, Winamp music player, file explorer, and the complete recovered archive of a fictional 90s design agency.

→ Boot Up CookedOS — Experience 90s Computing