A look at Apple’s web history
I recently stumbled upon the WayBack Machine. It is hosted by the Internet Archive and allows you to look back at archived versions of pretty much any web site. So, this morning I spent a couple hours traveling through time, looking at Apple’s homepage from 1997-2012. Â The changes that happen are pretty interesting. I’ve put together a little gallery with descriptions (below) that I think sums up all of the major changes in Apple’s history.
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- At first glance, this does not even look like an Apple website. Comprised of mainly text, I am really glad their site advanced.
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- This is looking much better. There is now the clean “Apple” text and an iconic Mac. Also worth mentioning is “Pro. Go. Whoa.” because it is Apple’s first little tagline.
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- Not much changed from May to December, but they did come up with a newer tagline.
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- Unfortunately not all of the images could be archived, but there is a Hal image. Not really sure where they were going with this.
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- This is the first implementation of the top navigation bar. Pay close attention to this, as while it changes, it never disappears.
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- “The world’s most advanced operating system.” This seems somewhat familiar…
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- Hello first iPod. 1,000 songs. Now that is crazy!
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- Apple’s new marketing approach: Attack PCs.
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- iSync. That button is definitely where Apple got its WiFi sync image from.
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- This is the click wheel that changed everything.
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- Way back in 2004, you could get an iPod for the same price as an iPad is now. If the 60GB is 600 dollars, they are charging $10 per GB!
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- Their mouse has not really changed since 2005.
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- This image featuring the iPod nano is starting to look like how Apple features their products today. Simple and elegant presentation.
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- The navigation bar finally changed. Another beautiful tagline as well.
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- Let’s just pause for a second and take in the beauty of the first iPhone.
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- This was the navigation bar in 2010…
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- As you can see, the bar just darkened, but that is about it.
As you can see, Apple changed and adapted throughout the years. As impossible as it is to believe, Apple did not start off as a pure and minimalist company they are today; They slowly evolved into the the magical company we all know and love.
To see Apple’s complete site history, click here.
How far back in Apple’s history did you recognize? Did anything surprise you? Let me know in the comments below. Also be sure to follow me on Twitter too.
I recognize Apple's website going all the way back to the first, text heavy image (Gil Amelio era). The "Hal" image was based on their TV ad showing that Macs would survive the Y2K crisis.
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