Time capsules: Five websites that haven't changed in 10 years
Now TV’s Alex Packham looks back at some of his favourite websites that have been around for a decade or more.
There’s no such thing as timeless fashion on the internet. Their industries may be worlds apart but website design and fashion have a fundamentally similar logic. Both follow trends.
In fashion, style is established by industry leaders who set the principles each season for other designers to follow and trends come and go. In website design, the principles are set by the biggest websites in the world and if they change their design, others tend to follow.
Website design has come a long, long way. It has become an art form of its own, and as the skill matures we’re beginning to see some really inspirationally designed websites.
What makes this even more apparent is the fact there are still some websites online that haven’t changed in over 10 years. Now, 10 years is a long time by any standard but in the world of the internet it is a long long time. Visiting these websites truly demonstrates how far web design has come.
It’s amazing to think this was once state of the art. The Space Jam website from 1996 is something I’m sure many people have probably stumbled across and is one of my favourite internet Easter Eggs.
The site is not without its charm with its movie themed navigation, and it even has a section called ‘Junior Jam’ featuring tips on how to play basketball as well as the film’s star, Michael Jordan. Unfortunately it won’t help you grow a few feet taller.
Another one from Warner Bros, the site hasn’t been updated since 1998. The entertainment company must be onto something in keeping its ‘classic’ websites live as both this and the Space Jam site are right at the top of the results in Google search (other search engines are available, of course).
Explore and you can get hold of screen savers, desktop backgrounds and even read real stories people have uploaded about meeting online.
British Airways’ website for Concorde hasn’t been updated since 2003. A more functional approach, the site contains more contemporary information like ‘About Concorde’ and FAQs, not forgetting a ‘Downloads’ area for those all-important screen savers.
Notice that ‘Home’ button on the right of the page? You won’t find a modern website with a right side ‘Home’ button. In fact you’ll rarely find anything of interest over that side of the page. As most people read left to right, all important content and frequently used functionality always sits on the left as it’s a user’s natural behaviour to look there first.
Once the world’s biggest boy band, yet they haven’t re-designed their website since what looks like its first launch. Somewhere out there there’s a designer giggling to themselves about this site still being online – the boys should really say “Bye Bye Bye”. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
We’ve all played it. Crash Bandicoot was one of PlayStation’s biggest titles and many an hour has been spent playing as a world saving orange Bandicoot.
What’s amazing is that you can choose between a Shockwave or Non-Shockwave version before entering the full site. When was the last time you were asked to make that decision?
When browsing these sites it’s pleasing to see companies were working just as hard then as they are now to capture our attention on the web. Those screen savers might seem gimmicky, but people proudly displayed them on their computer screens, generating what we’d now call brand advocacy or branded content.
We take them for granted, but websites are incredible things. They can be shop windows. They can be the front page of a newspaper or the cover of a magazine. They can be restaurant menus, video players or encyclopaedias.
In fact, the list of things they can be built for goes on and on, but design is the major difference between keeping or losing visitors – grabbing their attention, keeping them there and getting them to return again. Attracting people to a site is one thing, but making someone genuinely engaged with it is another. Success comes from mastering both these skills and combining them to achieve a great experience for visitors.
So fashion and website design may have their similarities, but there’s one thing that’s clearly very different: there’s no such thing as timeless fashion on the internet.
Alex Packham is social media manager at Sky’s on-demand internet TV service Now TV.
This article was first published in The Drum on 8 November.