Anyone else miss 2000s web design?

Alternadiv

Alternadiv

Well-known member
Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with XenForo. XF is a forum software and forums by nature are very 2000s and XF is đź‘Ś.

Does anyone else miss 2000s web design. You know, when websites had personality? When nearly every website didn't look exactly like this:

1615904023293.png


I know I do. It has actually been a small hobby of mine to collect (bookmark) static HTML sites that use basic CSS and no JS but are still being updated in 2021 (whereas https://www.spacejam.com is obviously irrelevant now).

In doing so I have found other people around the web dev community that think this way and I think these types of sites are actually becoming a small trend for non-business sites.

I found this list of text-only sites that are still being updated in 2021: https://sjmulder.nl/en/textonly.html#notquite

And I found this collection of sites that are under 1MB in total size: https://1mb.club

Also, this blog post of someone ranting about "big fat websites" that I found on Reddit: https://herman.bearblog.dev/big-fat-websites/


If you appreciate sites like these and know of some, please share them. Bonus points for the old 2 or 3 column HTML table sites!
 
2000s web design was as fun as it was hilarious at times. Tables in tables with all sorts of colours, embedded midi files, horrible graphical backgrounds, and comic sans galore. Some of the better 2000s designs I do miss, though, some people knew how to build a great site!

I also really miss GameWinners.com, horrible beige pages, clunky boxy design, terribly dated logo, but the single best games database on the internet for cheat codes...it was fantastic :)
 
Last edited:
sixlxvi said:
I know I do. It has actually been a small hobby of mine to collect (bookmark) static HTML sites that use basic CSS and no JS but are still being updated in 2021

If you appreciate sites like these and know of some, please share them. Bonus points for the old 2 or 3 column HTML table sites!
Click to expand...

The one that comes to mind first for me is http://combinedfleet.com - which is a collection of historical information (like ship movements) about the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War 2.
 
You're welcome.

The thing I like most about that era of websites was it was a bunch of random people and geeks making sites about the stuff they loved or were interested in.

What changed? In my opinion...
  • Because the internet grew so much, directories were made obsolete and so did human curation of sites
  • HTML standards became increasingly complex--basically the barrier of entry rose.
  • There was an increased focus on monetization and ads, which spurred content farming and clickbait that drown "labor of love" sites out
  • Giant social media sites grew into the primary places most users spend their time
Nowadays, it seems like most websites are just:
  • Trying to sell something to you
  • Trying to grab your attention so they can display ads for the site(s) trying to sell something to you
  • Trying to collect your information, so they can sell it to the sites trying to display ads...for the site(s) trying to sell something to you
Basically, things got commercialized.
 
StarArmy said:
You're welcome.

The thing I like most about that era of websites was it was a bunch of random people and geeks making sites about the stuff they loved or were interested in.

What changed? In my opinion...
  • Because the internet grew so much, directories were made obsolete and so did human curation of sites
  • HTML standards became increasingly complex--basically the barrier of entry rose.
  • There was an increased focus on monetization and ads, which spurred content farming and clickbait that drown "labor of love" sites out
  • Giant social media sites grew into the primary places most users spend their time
Nowadays, it seems like most websites are just:
  • Trying to sell something to you
  • Trying to grab your attention so they can display ads for the site(s) trying to sell something to you
  • Trying to collect your information, so they can sell it to the sites trying to display ads...for the site(s) trying to sell something to you
Basically, things got commercialized.
Click to expand...
It’s the monetization for me. Nothing feels genuine anymore. This is especially true on YouTube when a channel starts getting big.

I run my forum as a hobby for something I’m passionate about. I’ve turned down many paid ad requests, etc. I will never put ads on my sites or sellout like most do. Not saying I’m better than someone who does and I understand why they would.
 
sixlxvi said:
I run my forum as a hobby for something I’m passionate about. I’ve turned down many paid ad requests, etc. I will never put ads on my sites or sellout like most do. Not saying I’m better than someone who does and I understand why they would.
Click to expand...
Forward those ad requests to me. I am tired of weight loss and gambling ads. Anything is better than that :).
 
Ralle said:
Forward those ad requests to me. I am tired of weight loss and gambling ads. Anything is better than that :).
Click to expand...
Just checked out your forum. I don't think Toyota Tacoma ads would do much in a Warcraft community.

But dang, your forum design is one of the best and most unique I've seen. It actually has that 2000s vibe I'm looking for, but in a modern/clean/usable way. Nice job.

(btw, I'm a former hardcore NE druid in WoW)
 
Yeah maybe not Tacoma ads. But I'd rather have that still :P.

sixlxvi said:
Just checked out your forum. I don't think Toyota Tacoma ads would do much in a Warcraft community.

But dang, your forum design is one of the best and most unique I've seen. It actually has that 2000s vibe I'm looking for, but in a modern/clean/usable way. Nice job.

(btw, I'm a former hardcore NE druid in WoW)
Click to expand...
Wow. Thank you so much. That was the most unexpected compliment. Thanks man :)
 
Japan ads? If anything, I could do with adding chinese ads. I have ~15000 chinese people visit the site per month.

Nvm. This is just me derailing the conversation further. Sorry about that.
 
I miss the simplicity of coding in HTML4.

But now I outsource everything so I never kept up with HTML standards nor anything over PHP 3.

Sheratan said:
How about https://www.yahoo.co.jp/
Click to expand...
I'm from Japan and nearly all huge corporate sites seem like they're built to work on 3G mobile phones. It's very hard to get people to move away from this style. Furthermore, companies pay $10,000 for this.
 
If you're smart enough you'd be getting into Adobe Creative Cloud and using Dreamweaver so you can design your own site like you want it.

I suggest you at least give the trials a go so that you can get the look you want.
 
I Still have old codes from back then.
I actually still have my old hard drives with files from those times.
I used to use Flashkit.com for tutorials using Macromedia flash. Yea I do miss those times, cause it was amazing.
 
Since this older thread was bumped,

I'm the OP and around a year after making this thread, I started working on a personal site made with XF, where I intend to go fully in on the Web 2.0 stuff. I haven't had time for it in a while, but I have 100s of bookmarks of great websites with designs like this, that I intend to make articles about. Plus, other relevant blog posts and XenForo styles. Peculiar & Retro Web Design || Alternadiv
 
sixlxvi said:
It’s the monetization for me. Nothing feels genuine anymore. This is especially true on YouTube when a channel starts getting big.

I run my forum as a hobby for something I’m passionate about. I’ve turned down many paid ad requests, etc. I will never put ads on my sites or sellout like most do. Not saying I’m better than someone who does and I understand why they would.
Click to expand...
You're one of the few exceptions to the rule. I've seen so many forums when they first start out and struggling say they will never put a single ad on their forum but then a few years later when their site is jumpin' and very successful they have ads littered all over the site. Unfortunately it's all about money. I mean we all need it to stay alive and I realize it makes the world go around but would be nice to see less ads for sure.
 

Similar threads

Scandal
XF 2.2 Load a xF2 page on <iframe> without blocking / render my own template
Replies
6
Views
292
Scandal
Scandal
L
Occasional MySql issue, hits 100% CPU
Replies
7
Views
732
Yoshiro
Yoshiro
Sprisa
Can anyone else here open this page?
Replies
5
Views
358
Sprisa
Sprisa
Hensmon
  • Question Question
XF 2.2 Having troubles changing my site icons
Replies
0
Views
91
Hensmon
Hensmon
V
  • Question Question
XF 2.2 Collapsing/expanding sidebar widgets
Replies
0
Views
146
valdet
V
Top Bottom