World Wide Web
Image Source: geralt – Pixabay.com / License: CC0 Public Domain

Have you ever wondered how web hosting services started? Just like the ever increasing number of internet users nowadays, the demand for web hosting has skyrocketed. Looking back from the past, it can be said that web hosting services have come a long way to be what they are today. Now let us backtrack a little bit and discover the fascinating and interesting history of web hosting.

Web hosting services timeline

Web hosting wasn’t at all the same to what is has become today when it first came out. In fact, several developments and enhancements were made throughout the years. To backtrack the history of web hosting, below is a timeline on how web hosting was born and developed over the years.

1989 – Tim Berners-Lee’s creation of World Wide Web

It was in the year 1989 when the World Wide Web, commonly known as WWW, started. Originally it was part of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research Project, as one of its projects which were referred to as the ENQUIRE. A British scientist named Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web to address the need for a reliable, automatic system that makes sharing of information between scientists in various institutes around the world more convenient.

Internet Evolution
Image Source: PeteLinforth – Pixabay.com / License: CC0 Public Domain

In that same year, the first ever website was born, and it was hosted by a NeXT computer owned by Berners-Lee. The website’s functions were all basic, which mostly involved accessing essential data. The NeXT computer machine can still be found in the CERN headquarters up until now.

1991 – World Wide Web was introduced to the world

The National Science Foundation lifted the restrictions concerning the WWW. It was in the same year that the HTML computer language was introduced and URLs were used to determine the web addresses’ location quickly. Because this electronic innovation was perceived as promising, more and more companies became interested in web hosting.

1993 – World Wide Web as a public domain

CERN had decided to put the World Wide Web in the public domain in 1993. It was released with an open license to make a wider dissemination. This move prompted the software to require and run a web server. Since then, the web that we have today began to grow. The New York Times reported about the creation and referenced it as the buried treasure of information age.

1994 – GeoCities was launched

Computer Network
Image Source: geralt – Pixabay.com / License: CC0 Public Domain

A year after the WWW became public domain, David Bohnett and John Rezner founded GeoCities in 1994 known as Beverly Hills Internet (BHI). It’s a web hosting and development company located in Southern California. Four major internet access points were also announced by NSF (The National Science Foundation) which included Washington DC by Metropolitan Fiber System, New York by Sprint, Chicago by Ameritech, and San Francisco by Pac Bell.

GeoCities continued to grow in the following years and millions of people (called homesteaders at that time) signed up on the website, making it the fifth most popular website in 1997. When the platform was bought by Yahoo! in 1999, users were able to upload content pages, which GeoCities hosted, in the virtual cities.

Web hosting – then and now

In the past, web hosting was primarily used by universities and institutions to share essential information. When it was first introduced to the public, not all people were privileged to avail the services. Mainly due to the fact that web hosting was very expensive, and only a few were able to afford to have their website server, not to mention that it followed a complicated pattern before.

Internet User
Image Source: geralt – Pixabay.com / License: CC0 Public Domain

Nowadays it is quite the opposite, as the internet has significantly become a vital part of our lives. With the growing popularity of the internet, the demand for affordable web hosting services increases as well. More and more companies realize the endless possibilities the internet can provide for their businesses. Hence, consumers and companies around the world are looking for affordable and reliable web hosting services to host their websites, online shops and other business models.

Evolution of web hosting services

Web hosting services have since distinctly evolved from their first appearance in 1991. Today there are different kinds of web hosting services you can take advantage of and opt in for according to your needs and requirements. From a simple web server to a cloud-based system, web hosting is undeniably one of the most revolutionary electronic commerce inventions thus far.

First web hosting server

Website Hosting Server
Image Source: OpenIcons – Pixabay.com / License: CC0 Public Domain

When the first web hosting was utilized, it was only composed of a simple web server run on a regular workstation. That kind of web hosting had no physical security at first and the data storage was only limited. Berners-Lee’s NeXT computer machine, which was used as a server, had the message This machine is a server. DO NOT POWER DOWN! on it.

Virtual servers

Nowadays, virtual servers allow users to share server resources with others. Different web servers from various locations can be installed on a single physical server. The server virtualization allows the administrator to convert a physical server into multiple, small virtual machines. Website owners can administer and control it as if they have their own server.

Cloud-based servers

The latest trend when it comes to web hosting is cloud-based web hosting. Cloud-based web hosting has taken web hosting to the next level by providing a vast array of services, software, solutions, and much more. Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Google are some of the prominent companies that offer advanced cloud computing and hosting services.

Cloud Hosting Services
Image Source: stux – Pixabay.com / License: CC0 Public Domain

These cloud-based services provide users with high-performing servers, a massive data storage, advanced IT solutions, and many other useful and convenient web hosting services that you might need to run your website smoothly and without any issues.

Wrapping it up: History of web hosting

Until web hosting has become what it is today and how we know it, a couple of years passed by. And what originally started out as an information sharing system for a few, eventually evolved to become a world wide web with the need to store data and host websites. In order to provide this kind of functionality and services, the web hosting industry constantly grew and established its own field.