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The first Web page was the World Wide Web project page at info.cern.ch. Hosted at CERN on Tim Berners-Lee’s NeXT computer, it introduced visitors to the Web project. The evidence places its creation in late 1990, but does not establish an exact day when the page went live.
What was on the first Web page?
It provided information about the World Wide Web project. CERN describes the page’s purpose this way: “The world’s first web page address provided information about the World Wide Web project.” It was project information, rather than a modern-style collection of news, products, or multimedia.
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The historic address was info.cern.ch. CERN’s restored historical site remains available there, offering a reference to the first website.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsWhen did the first Web page go online?
The best-supported answer is late 1990, not a specific day. W3C’s history says Tim Berners-Lee wrote the first Web server and first client program—a browser and editor—in October 1990. CERN’s timeline says the first browser/editor and server software were running at CERN by Christmas 1990. Those dates describe related development milestones; neither source establishes the exact date the first page went live.
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The Web’s first proposal dates to 1989, but that is not the creation date of its first page. A proposal, the development of server and client software, and the appearance of a page are distinct milestones.
How are the first page, website, server, and browser different?
- Page: the content that introduced the World Wide Web project.
- Website and address: the first site was hosted at CERN and associated with info.cern.ch.
- Server: the software and computer that made Web content available. CERN says the first site ran on Tim Berners-Lee’s NeXT computer.
- Browser/editor: the client program used to view and edit Web pages. W3C dates the first client program to October 1990.
These terms are often blurred when people ask about the “first website.” The page is the content; the website is where it was served; and the server and browser are the software and hardware involved in serving and viewing it.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where can you see the first website?
Visit CERN’s restored historical site at info.cern.ch. It is a present-day restoration of the historic site, not a claim that the original computer or its original live environment is still serving the page.
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