The First Website: How It All Began at CERN

The first website ever created is still online at info.cern.ch, serving as a digital time capsule from the early days of the World Wide Web. This simple page, launched in 1991, represents the birthplace of what would become the modern internet as we know it today.

The Origins at CERN

The website was created by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland. Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, was working at CERN when he developed the foundational technologies that would become the web: HTML (HyperText Markup Language), HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), and URLs (Uniform Resource Locators).

At the time, CERN was facing a challenge common in scientific research: how to share and link information across different computers and operating systems. Berners-Lee's solution was to create a system of hypertext documents that could be accessed through a simple interface.

What the First Website Looked Like

The original site was remarkably basic by today's standards. It featured plain text with simple formatting, blue hyperlinks, and no images or complex styling. The content explained what the World Wide Web project was and how others could create their own web pages and set up web servers.

Visitors to the site could learn about:

• The concept of hypertext
• How to search the online documentation
• How to create their own web pages
• How to set up a web server
• The philosophy behind the web project

The Line-Mode Browser Simulator

One of the most interesting features available at info.cern.ch is the line-mode browser simulator. This allows modern users to experience what browsing the early web was like. The line-mode browser was one of the first web browsers, designed to work on simple terminals without graphical capabilities.

Using the simulator, you can navigate the early web using text commands, just as users did in the early 1990s. It's a stark contrast to today's graphical browsers and serves as a reminder of how far web technology has progressed.

Why It Matters

The first website represents more than just a historical curiosity. It embodies several key principles that Berners-Lee built into the web:

Openness: The web was designed to be an open platform where anyone could publish content and access information without permission from a central authority.

Decentralization: No single point of control exists in the web's architecture, allowing it to scale globally without bottlenecks.

Universality: The web was designed to work across different hardware, operating systems, and networks, making information accessible regardless of the user's setup.

Net Neutrality: From the beginning, the web treated all content equally, without favoring certain types of data over others.

Preserving Digital History

The fact that the first website remains accessible today is due to both the foresight of CERN in maintaining it and the durability of the web's core technologies. While countless websites from the early 1990s have disappeared, info.cern.ch stands as a monument to the web's origins.

In 2013, CERN launched a project to restore the first website and preserve the digital assets associated with the birth of the web. This restoration effort ensures that future generations can understand and appreciate the humble beginnings of a technology that has transformed nearly every aspect of modern life.

The Web's Evolution

From this simple beginning at info.cern.ch, the web has grown into a global platform connecting billions of people. The technologies have evolved dramatically - from static HTML pages to dynamic web applications, from dial-up connections to fiber-optic broadband, from text-only interfaces to immersive multimedia experiences.

Yet the core principles established by Berners-Lee remain intact. The first website serves as a reminder that the most transformative technologies often start with simple, elegant solutions to specific problems. What began as a way for physicists to share research papers has become the foundation for e-commerce, social media, online education, and countless other applications that shape our daily lives.

Visiting info.cern.ch today offers more than just a history lesson - it provides perspective on how far we've come and perhaps insight into where we might be headed next in the ongoing evolution of the web.