History of the Development of Web Design

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 03:31:05 -0400

Since the first website was born in the early 90s of last century, the designers have tried a variety of visual effects page.The early pages is entirely made up of text, in addition to some pictures and there is no layout to speak of the title and paragraphs.However, the era of progress, next table layout, then the Flash, and finally the CSS-based web page design.

This article covers the different periods of the history of web design , and also includes different types of cases.

First page

In August 1991, Tim Berners-Leereleased the first of a simple, text-based Web site contains several links. A copy of the original page is still online.It has more than a dozen links, trying to tell people what is the World Wide Web.

Subsequent pages are relatively similar, entirely text-based, single-column design, with some links.The original version of HTML the contents of only the most basic structure: title (<h1> <h2> …), paragraph (<p>) and link (<a>,).Then the new version of HTML to allow the page to add Picture (<img>), and then began to support the tabulation (<table>).

The emergence of the W3C

In 1994, the World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C) was established, they will establish the HTML standard markup language for web. The move blocked any independent company wants the ambition of the development of the patented browser and the appropriate programming language, because the integrity of this network will have a negative impact.The W3C has been committed to the standards for establishment and maintenance of web programming languages (eg JavaScript).

The first web page (1992)

Yahoo! (1996)

Altavista (1996)

Based on the design of the form

The table layout so that web designer make the site more options.The intention of the table tags in HTML to display tabular data, but the designers quickly realized you can use the table to construct their design pages so that you can make more complex than previous works, multi-column page.

The table layout so popular, the integration of the background image slicing technology, often gives a structure to look more the actual layout is simple.

Structural design

The web design of this period is not yet concerned about the semantics and usability issues, still mainly the pursuit of the good aesthetics of the structure.

During the same period is also a large number of applicationsGIF placeholder imagecontrol blank period.Some mainstream companies and even training designers how to use the GIF placeholder; such as MicrosoftGIF placeholder in the HTML table.

The layout of the first batch of the main application form WYSIWYG web design software development to encourage the application of the table.In addition, some software automatically generated form is so complex that many designers can not scratch handwriting code (for example, each line is only 1px high, but includes hundreds of columns and the table).Even if it is slightly more complicated web pages (such as multi-column page), designers must rely on form to create.

W3C (1998)

Yahoo! (2002)

Altavista (2002)

Flash-based web design

Flash(originally known as FutureSplash Animator, and the Macromedia Flash, now known as Adobe Flash) was developed in 1996.At first only very basic tools and timeline, and eventually developed into a powerful tool to develop the entire site.Flash provides a visual representation of results can be achieved by the large number of far more than HTML.

Macromedia Shockwave

Before in Flash, Macromedia Shockwave (after Adobe the Shockwave).Shockwave for the production of the directory of the CD-ROM and multimedia content, the Shockwave file size is huge, taking into account the prevailing network connection to dial-up application Shockwave still not wise enough.In contrast, Flash video compact, online applications more feasible.

The advantages of Flash

HTML has a lot of limitations on the visual effects, especially in the early HTML.Complex design, people often need to make a lot of crazy table structure and / or rely on the image placeholder (as some WYSIWYG software is done).

Flash to create complex, interactive and web site with animated elements made possible.

Dynamic HTML (DHTML)

Flash first foray into the field of web design during the same period (20th century in the late 1990s and early 2000s), several network technologies (such as JavaScrip t and some server-side scripting language) composed of the DHTML for the creation of interactive / animated page elements technologies, but also in full swing in progress.

At this time, with the popularity of the development of Flash and DHTML, not just reading static content, but also allows the interaction of user interaction with web content page concept was born.

3DML

3DMLis a little-known Web design language used to produce three-dimensional site.Written in 1996 by Michael Powers, 3DML file is actually written by a non-standard XML language.

Flatland Roveris an independently developed 3DML browser, although there are corresponding Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, the AOL the browser and the Opera browser device plug-in, but with the development progress of the stagnation in 2005, the Firefox plug-in has not been able to come out.

Still have the application 3DML build website, but if not these browsers, or the corresponding plug-ins, 3DML is not visible.3DML has been used for the production of the world and the scene called “Sopts”.3DML the real killer is faster than most languages 3D model speed (even Flash also needs to open a Flash desktop application to create and edit Flash content) with a more compact file size.

CSS-based design

CSS design attention began in the early 21st century.Although CSS has a very long time, but at that time still a lack of mainstream browser support, and many designers it is very strange (even fear).

Form layout and Flash web, CSS has many advantages.First, it page content and style of phase separation, which essentially means that the separation of the visual representation and content structure.

CSS is the best practices of the page layout, table layout with CSS is not worth mentioning.CSS greatly reduce the confusion of the label also created a simple and semantics of the web page layout.CSS also makes site maintenance easier, because the structure and style of the pages are separated from each other.People can change a CSS design site-based visual effects without changes to the content of the site.

The file size of web pages designed by the CSS are often less than the table-based layout of web pages, this also means that the page response time improvement.First visit to the occupied bandwidth of a web site will download the style sheet, but the CSS will be cached in the visitor’s browser (default), so the next course of the visit, the page will quickly show the.

W3C (2003)

W3C (2009)

Yahoo! (2009)

Altavista (2009)

Web Designer

History of the Development of Web Design