I was in high school in the mid-nineties when I first encountered the ever-expanding world of websites. At the time, I didn't realize that my future career would rely on this industry -- one which did not exist when I was in elementary school. Now in the year 2008, having created websites for over half my life, I look back and see how much websites have changed in the last decade and a half. At the same time, I can see how little they've changed as well, and I've realized that the internet as we know it today is only a teenager, with many years of growth still ahead. So in the vein of change, let's look at ten popular websites and their evolution throughout the last many years. (Note: All pictures can be clicked on to view a larger size.)
Apple Today / 5 Years Ago / 10 Years Ago Apple has always championed solid design and simplicity and their websites have followed these axioms. Except for their early websites which (like everyone else) utilized the upper-left logo and left-aligned website, all their websites in recent memory have employed center-top navigation, ample use of Helvetica, and gridlike simplicity.
Amazon Today / 9 Years Ago Amazon has changed very little over the years, perhaps because they made sure it was right the first time. Amazon has always pioneered customer experience and although they have the least-updated design of any website here, it's probably because it works. Because in website design (especially in the retail world), a website's first concern is not a "cool design," but fulfillment of its purpose (in this case, maximum sales).
Adobe Today / 5 Years Ago / 9 Years Ago / 12 Years Ago Over the years, Adobe has had the difficult task of portraying themselves as a software company (product links and information first) and as a creative company (large pictures and imaginative layouts). I think their current design does both well. It's interesting to see that the early site has as many images as it does in a time when 56k modems were "blazing fast."
CNN Today / 5 Years Ago / 8 Years Ago At first glance, it seems that a news site like CNN hasn't changed much, but when you look at the layout, typography, and inclusion of new media (like web video), you'll see how much better the current website is. (Granted, it looks like the oldest version here might be missing its CSS, but it's still lagging behind in design.)
Nike Today / 5 Years Ago / 8 Years Ago As you can see below, even their early sites strove to be hip with consumers. The second image shows how in the last several years, most larger websites require international compatibility and like many other companies, Nike requires new visitors to pick a locale. Nowadays, Nike uses almost all Flash in their site and they continously win Flash awards for these sites.
Yahoo Today / 4 Years Ago / 8 Years Ago / 12 Years Ago Yahoo defined the gateway/homepage concept and they've always had a text-heavy front page. In recent years, they've really cleaned up their design to incorporate straighter lines, more uniform typography, and easier-to-manage content (via DHTML tabs). Also note that among all these sites, the last few years have really helped the design quality of websites. I wonder if that's because more great designers are now being educated and entering the field of website design whereas before, many sites were designed by "techies."
Microsoft Today / 5 Years Ago / 10 Years Ago Microsoft has always been a technology company with a strong audience among technologists and programmers. As you can see, their past sites have always followed this demographic, disseminating content as quickly and efficiently as possible. Only in the past couple years has Microsoft's website really begun to appeal to consumers in a fun way. Many feel it's a bit pretentious, but Microsoft really does need to adjust to a world where "look and feel" has become so paramount to computer users.
ESPN Today / 8 Years Ago ESPN has always followed a simple formula: Show the main stories on the front page, supplement them with links to other popular stories, and then have easy-to-find linkage for every sport they cover. As the years have gone on, they've continued to find more ways to utilize Flash, javascript, and asynchronous technologies to deliver more information in better ways (like the rotating scoreboard in their current site). Now if only the audio on their current site wouldn't autoplay...
Starbucks Today / 7 Years Ago Although their website from seven years ago looks dated, it's still much "cooler" than what you would expect from 2001. Furthermore, you can see that good use of CSS and actual text has all but eliminated the kind of sites where the entire front page was sliced images.
MTV Today / 5 Years Ago / 10 Years Ago / 11 Years Ago The problem with trying to cater to current trends of culture is that you regret it all the more in the years ahead (flannel shirts anyone?). It's hard to believe that they had a Java version of their site and even harder to believe that they sported a "Best Viewed with IE" badge. In the second image, they seemed to swing too far in the "news" direction, but nowadays, have settled down nicely.
In Conclusion Although it's easy to laugh at the past designs of many of these websites while praising current designs, remember that you are a contemporary of 2008 and five years from now, you might think that even these current sites are a mess. Overall, I'm sure most would agree that design standards have been raised over the last decade, and it will be exciting to see what the next ten years hold...
译文:
网站的变化：10个流行网站的变与不变
第一次知道不断发展的网络世界是在90年代中期，我那时在念高中，也没想到我的未来生涯会赖上这个产业——小学时还不存在。现在，2008年，我生命的一半都用来做网站。回顾过去的十五年，网站发生了很大改变，同时，也没什么变化。这个众所周知的网络还是个青年，已经成长了很多年，仍旧以前进之势向前发展。让我们沿着变化的脉搏，看看这10个流行的网站，最近这些年发生的变革。（注：点击图片看大图）
Apple
Apple的网站始终捍卫着设计纯粹简单的真理。除了它早期的网站使用（千篇一律的）左上角的Logo和左对齐的网站结构。印象里他们近几年所有的网站都采用顶上居中的导航栏，大量采用Helvetica字体，和简单的网格。
现在的Apple
五年前的Apple
十年前的Apple
Amazon
亚马逊网站这几年变化很少，可能因为他们确信从开始就是正确的。亚马逊一直在开拓消费者的新体验，尽管他的网站设计模式很少更新，可能因为网站能正常运作。网站对零售行业来说，设计是否“酷”并不是最重要的，关键是网站能充分实现他们的目标——最大化的销售
今天的Amazon
九年前的Amazon
Adobe
很多年了，Adobey网站的难题是既要保持软件公司的形象——产品链接和信息列表，又要看起来有创意——大量的图片和充满想象力的组合。我认为他们现在的设计，两者都兼顾得很好。有趣的是，他们早期的网站图片很多，用56k的modem打开却超快。
今天的Adobe
五年前的Adobe
九年前的Adobe
十二年前的Adobe
CNN
第一眼看上去像个新闻网站，和CNN的版面差不多，但当你仔细看它的布局，版面和新媒体的应用（网络视频），你就会看到现在的网站做得有多好。（当然，这个看起来版本很老的网站可能CSS格式失效了，但它的设计也很落后。）
今天的CNN
五年前的CNN
八年前的CNN
Nike
正如第三张图中看到的，他们早先的网站极力的想让消费者知道Nike的产品。第二张图片展示了近几年，中型网站增加国际包容性，像其它那些网站一样，网站为新访客提供了本地语言站点。今天耐克的网站几乎用全Flash，Flash也不断的为网站赢得不少赞许。
今天的Nike
五年前的Nike
八年前的Nike
Yahoo
雅虎定义了搜索窗和网页的概念。他们的首页总是有大量的文字。近几年，他们更改原来的设计，加入了前沿的东西，版面变得统一，内容易管理（通过DHTML标签实现）。留意DHTML在所有网站里的运用，这几年对网站设计确实有帮助。我猜这是否是因为现在更多的优秀设计师进入网络行业前，都受过良好的教育。而以前许多网站是由“粗暴者”设计。
今天的Yahoo
四年前的Yahoo
八年前的Yahoo
十二年前的Yahoo
Microsoft 今天/五年前/10年前
微软技术公司在技术和编程领域一直有大量支持者，所以你可以看到他们过去的网站尽可能快捷高效的传递信息。只是在最近几年微软才以一种趣味的方式来迎合消费者。也许有人觉得它有点自命不凡，但微软确实需要将网站调整为一个让人看了，就感到这是个对计算机使用者至为重要的世界。
ESPN
ESPN总是沿着一个简单的程式：在首页显示主要的新闻故事，再填充一些其它受欢迎的新闻连接，每个体育报导都有简单易找的链接。随着时代进步，他们不断的找到更多方法利用Flash,javascript和异步技术用更好的方式传递更多的信息（如目前站点上使用的记分板）。现在如果他们现在网站上的音频不能自动播放,那么……
今天的ESPN
八年前的ESPN
Starbucks
尽管他们七年前的网站看起来有些陈旧，但在那个年代（2001），已经比我们想象的要“酷”很多，你可以看到网站很好的运用了CSS样式，所有文本原件都从网站首页消失，而用矩形分割的图片作为入口。
今天的Starbucks
七年前的Starbucks
MTV
过度迎合当时文化潮流，让人叹息那太前卫（人人都穿法兰绒？）。很难相信他们那时有了网站的java版本，甚至更难相信他们炫耀了一个“IE浏览最佳效果”的标记。第二张图片，他们看起来在新闻方向迷失得太深。但今天，总算尘埃落定。
今天的MTV
五年前的MTV
十年前的MTV
11年前的MTV
结论
尽管在感概当代设计的优秀同时，很容易嘲讽许多过去网站的设计，但记住你是站在现在，2008年，那些旧设计离现在有五年之隔。有的人甚至可能认为现在的这些网站是一团糟。总的来说，我确定大部分人会赞成过去的这十年里，设计标准在提升。并且我很兴奋的期待看到下一个十年是什么样……