1st generation (Web 1.0): According to the theories of David Siegel, the web can be analyzed as going as far back as the 1980s, when scientists predominately used the internet for their research. This generation displays a linear, yet functional internet that scientists used to communicate their research, before the average Joe was surfing the web. The 1st generation of web design did not contain graphics, but usually had headline banners, edge to edge text that ran for the full page with blank lines for segmentations. While this inaugural version of web design was not focused on the visual aesthetics, but rather the transfer of information and practical usage.
6 characteristics of the 1st generation web design include:
- slow modem connections (electronic devices that connect computers to the internet)
- monochrome monitors
- inability of service providers (i.e. computers where the web pages areactually hosted) to transfer the data quickly.
- In addition, the layout of the first generation web page design was:-
- top to bottom
- left to right sequence of text and images.
- interspersed layout, with numerous carriage returns and other data-stream separators such as bullets and horizontal lines.
2nd generation (Web 2.0): David Siegel characterizes the second generation of web design as virtually the same as the first generation, with the addition of a few web design elements. These advancements can be attributed in the growth and development of html. Most web designers at this time got carried away with the innovation of the internet but overusing graphics and updated web design techniques. The major downfall of this generation was the speed of downloading. Because people were utilizing graphics in a superfluous manner, web pages took an excessive amount of time to load.
These 5 elements are
- icons replacing words
- tiled images for backgrounds
- buttons with bevelled edges
- banners replacing headlines
- and use of a top to bottom, bullet-list menu driven system to present a hierarchy of information.
3rd generation (Web 3.0): The third generation of web design experienced somewhat of a technological boom. Multimedia aspects were introduced to the internet, including elements of sound and animation, database, e-commerce, and 3D worlds, such as vrml. The birth of the Flash plug-in allowed for web designers to include interactive graphics and 3D images. The third generation is commonly tied in with marketing and advertising, curating the AIDA marketing strategy because the same amount of attraction and interest grabbing is required on the internet. "This web design strategy is directly influenced by presenting the what, why and who rather than a technology–based design."
A: attract the audience
I: hold their interest
D: create desire for attracted audience
A: motive audience to take action
4th generation (Web 4.0): Referred to as "the multimedia rich site with all the bells and whistles." The fourth generation of web design is simply an extension of the third generation web design except it includes remote access capabilities that allow for things such as online education.
1st generation to 2nd generation: The first generation website I have selected solely contains text and active links to other websites that only display text as well. An easy way for this website to upgrade to a second generation website would be to add graphics. While the first generation website I chose does not have any elements that make it seem as though the web design is attempting to be visually appealing to the audience, websites created at this time were written out with extensive code. While it may not seem to impressive to us today, the fact that the website has a header and two different colors , giving it a color scheme is pretty advanced for a first generation website.
The second generation website I chose still is predominately text, but it contains multiple graphics that grab the users attention. The webpage is still dominated by text and links, but the small graphics in the center of the page show the progression of the website design and how web designers were moving towards a more visually appealing agenda.
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