Past, Present and Future Websites

Web development is the process of building and maintaining websites. Called work behind the scenes, web development help business companies to have a great website with an attractive look. Discovered in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide Website came up with the demand for automated information-sharing. Thus, it was primarily used between scientists and institutes in laboratories and universities worldwide.

The birth of the World Wide Website (WWW or W3) gives our globe significant opportunities in several fields. Those opportunities launched web development, computer sciences, computer search, and digital marketing. However, websites are today one of the main elements of any online marketing and the first thing to search for on Google.

We have today 3 versions of the Web; Web 1, Web 2, and Web 3. Each version has a specific use and design. Let’s look at these three different versions of web coding.

Web 1.0: The Past

Website 1.0, with millions of users, is the first and original version of the World Wide Web. Made up of data only used to read on the Internet, Web 1 is a retrospective term for other websites.

This first stage of the WWW evolution has limited uses:

• Web 1.0 is a content delivery network (CDN): it facilitates displaying information on websites.
• Static pages.
• Pages built using Server Side Includes (SSI) or Common Gateway Interface (CGI).
• Serve Content using the server’s file system.
• Tables and frames are used to position and align the pages’ elements.

Web 2.0: The Present

Web 2.0 or web apps, with billions of users, refers to the current state of the Internet, and self-publishing platforms such as WordPress, Social Media sites, and many several blogs. Website 2.0 makes use of user-generated content and usability for end-users. Also, it stands for the users’ participation in the experience. This website puts end to read-only and passive viewers who only take information from websites. Developed in 1999, website 2.0 encourage users to participate in the National Information Infrastructure. Thus, web 2.0 allows people to many uses:

• Share thoughts and opinions with others via social media.
• Create new ways to organize and interact with global dialogues.
• Publish content online blogs and information.
• Generate online companies and help make employees much more efficient.
• Boost online marketing or digital marketing to improve business.

Web 3.0: The Future

The “read, write and execute” Web, with trillions+ of users. It is the third generation of the WWW or the semantic web, where Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning integrate. This integration makes the computer using it smarter and more responsive to user needs. Although Website 3.0 is still nascent, it presents several distinct uses cases:

• Metaverse: Web 3.0 offers a virtual world that seems like the 3D version. This means as Tim Berners-Lee said “automatically” interface with people, systems, and home devices.
• Ubiquity: it ensures the presence everywhere or in many places simultaneously.
• Semantic Web: where data are linked together in a way that can be processed by machines rather than humans.
• Artificial Intelligence: helps to understand information similarly to humans through technologies.
• Decentralization through blockchain: builds critical components of infrastructure in a resilient global network where nobody can take down or control the network’s critical components, including storage.