The Wild West of Early Websites: When We Didn’t Know What We Were Doing (But Neither Did Anyone Else)

Posted on May 12, 2025May 23, 2025 Mobile First | SEO | Website Design | Black Hat SEO

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

In the early 1990s, the internet was uncharted territory—a digital Wild West. Websites resembled the ramshackle saloons and dusty trading posts that filled this untamed frontier. There were no rules, no design standards, and certainly no roadmaps. It was a time when web developers like us had to discover things as we went along, often inventing the tools and strategies as needed.

Looking back now, it’s easy to laugh at our missteps and marvel at how far we’ve come. However, those early days were crucial—they laid the foundation for everything we know about web design today. So, buckle up for a nostalgic journey through the early days of the internet, when websites were quirky, wonderful, and wildly experimental.

Self-Taught Pioneers: We Had to Learn as We Went

When we decided to develop websites in the mid-1990s, there weren’t any formal classes, YouTube tutorials, or “Web Design for Dummies” books. Instead, we relied on sheer curiosity and determination. We jumped into HTML code without knowing what we were doing, learning through trial and error.

The process was akin to assembling IKEA furniture without instructions—frustrating, occasionally rewarding, and often resulting in leftover parts you weren’t sure fit anywhere. We would spend hours experimenting with code, adjusting text alignment, or figuring out how to make hyperlinks work. Every victory, no matter how small, felt like striking digital gold.

Our first websites weren’t exactly works of art. Looking back, they resembled something out of a middle school art project—basic, clunky, and riddled with questionable design choices. But hey, they worked! Visitors could click links, scroll (though often horizontally), and maybe even be dazzled by an animated GIF or two.

Websites as Digital Brochures: Strategy? What Strategy?

Let’s discuss the purpose of early websites. At that time, businesses viewed a website merely as a digital version of their print brochure. The concept was straightforward: add some text and images to a webpage, include a “Contact Us” button, and expect the phone to ring off the hook. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work like that.

There was little to no strategy involved. Calls to action? Analytics? Conversion rates? These ideas weren’t even on the radar. Instead, websites were static, one-dimensional, and solely focused on merely existing. If your business had a website, you were ahead of the game, no matter if anyone could find it or navigate it.

One of our first clients insisted on uploading a PDF of their company brochure as the entire website. While this was groundbreaking at the time, today, it’s the digital equivalent of taping a flyer to a storefront window and hoping someone walks by.

Animated GIFs: The Original Website “Wow Factor”

Do you remember those spinning globes, flashing “Under Construction” signs, and dancing clip art figures? Early websites were filled with these “dazzling” features, and we certainly used them extensively. Animated GIFs represented the height of sophistication—a way to convey to visitors, “We’re fancy and futuristic.”

Naturally, these animations often served no practical purpose. Did your accounting firm truly need a neon dollar sign bouncing across the screen? Probably not. But at that time, it wasn’t about subtlety or user experience—it was about capturing attention at any cost.

Horizontal Scrolling: The Ultimate UX Fail

Ah, the days of scrolling left to right to read a webpage. Screen resolutions were inconsistent, and web designers didn’t know better—or didn’t have the tools—to create responsive layouts. Instead, we built pages that required visitors to perform a digital cha-cha just to read a sentence.

Horizontal scrolling was a hallmark of early websites, and it was as frustrating as it sounds. But we didn’t see it as a problem back then. It was just part of the Wild West charm—like dealing with a cranky sheriff or tumbleweed in your path.

SEO: The Dark Ages of Digital Marketing

Before Google revolutionized search, SEO was like a secret club with no rulebook. Early search engines like AltaVista and Yahoo! were easily fooled by black hat SEO tactics, and everyone—including us—took advantage.

We stuffed keywords into the metadata like a digital piñata, hiding irrelevant terms in the background to trick search engines into ranking sites higher. The text color matched the background, rendering it invisible to users but visible to search crawlers. Did it work? Sometimes. Was it ethical? Not even close.

The results were frequently hilarious. A bakery could rank for terms like “free online games” or “celebrity gossip” simply because they buried those keywords in their site’s code. The entire system was chaotic, but it was the only option available.

The Flash Era: Form Over Function

In the late ’90s, Adobe Flash burst onto the scene, and we eagerly joined in. Flash empowered us to craft interactive, visually stunning websites with animations, sound effects, and even mini-games. It was akin to the Wild West discovering dynamite—powerful, flashy (pun intended), and a tad risky.

Visionary created some amazing Flash sites, pushing the boundaries of what web design could achieve. However, there was a drawback: Flash had significant functionality issues.

• Slow Load Times: Flash sites were heavy and often took forever to load, especially on dial-up connections. Visitors would give up before the homepage even appeared.
• Compatibility Problems: Flash required users to install a plugin, which many didn’t bother with. Apple famously refused to support Flash on its iPhones and iPads, effectively sealing its fate.
• SEO Nightmares: Search engines couldn’t crawl Flash content, making these sites virtually invisible online.
• Accessibility Failures: Flash sites were notoriously difficult for users with disabilities to navigate, violating basic accessibility principles.

By 2020, Adobe officially discontinued support for Flash, and its once-revolutionary capabilities slipped into history. Nevertheless, those early sites imparted the importance of balancing creativity with practicality—a lesson we still hold today.

What We Learned (And What You Can Learn Too)

Looking back at the Wild West of web design, it’s clear that every mistake and misstep taught us something valuable. Here are the key takeaways:

1. Strategy Matters—Early websites were created without much consideration for strategy, but today, having a solid plan is crucial. Define your goals, understand your audience, and develop a site that fulfills their needs.

2. Less is More—Flashy animations and crowded pages might have been cool in the ’90s, but simplicity and usability are more important now. Focus on clean, intuitive designs that enhance the user experience.

3. SEO Has Evolved – Black hat tactics are a thing of the past. Modern SEO is about providing valuable content, optimizing for user intent, and following ethical practices. The rules have changed, and playing by them is the only way to succeed.

4. Mobile Comes First – With mobile traffic dominating the internet, your site must be optimized for smaller screens. Responsive design isn’t optional—it’s a necessity.

The early days of web design were chaotic, experimental, and often absurd. However, they were also exhilarating—a period when anything seemed possible, and we were all navigating it together.

Visionary takes pride in its roots in the digital Wild West. Those early challenges shaped our approach to web design, teaching us the importance of strategy, simplicity, and adaptability. Today, we blend these lessons with cutting-edge tools and techniques to create functional and beautiful websites.

So here’s to the Wild West days of the internet—a time when spinning GIFs ruled the web and we all scrolled sideways. It may have been chaotic, but it was also unforgettable. What’s your favorite memory from the early internet?