It's not hard to recall a time when the internet was less than user friendly. Web design has come a long way in just a short amount of time. The 1990s were the age of the ignored user experience. Aol.com and Yahoo were in their prime as was the text based directory. As users grew during these years so did the number of sites. A steady increase from just 100,000 to nine million took place over these formative years.
By the time the 2000s rolled around, being familiar with "the web" was expected. There were about 25 million websites running and Apple was just beginning its reign as the top site. New navigation elements had also been introduced that the late 90s had not yet seen. In addition to the search bar, navigation tabs and left bar categories became popular greatly improving user experience.
The birth of mobile in the mid 00s put the web in the palm of our hands. Though just 18 percent of the internet became available on mobile, there was already over 250 million sites accessible from our desktop. The log-in page grew in popularity as did Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites.
Take a look at the infographic below for a decade of web design. Even if you're not old enough to remember when using the internet was actually something of a chore, this is a pretty interesting piece. Don't forget to let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: WebDesignDegreeCenter.org