The wonders of the internet are as vast as they are weird. This is especially true when you think back to the years when the internet was first gaining traction. From the mid to late 1990s many websites started to pop-up that were just strange, old websites are now an internet treasure.
Below we have compiled a list of 27 old websites that are all equally enthralling. From a website devoted completely to the sport to classic online games, this list has something for everyone. We give you a brief overview of every site so you know what to expect when you visit.
27 Old Websites You Won’t Believe Still Exist!
1. Space Jam Site (1996)
Welcome to the Space Jam! This is a website created in 1996 to promote the cartoon reality crossover movie Space Jam. This site offers behind the scenes footage, biographies for all of the characters, and production notes for the movie.
There is a section for kids to learn more about the cartoon characters and get a even get coloring book, although we doubt it stills works. You can test your knowledge of the popular 90’s movie in the trivia question section.
To top it all off, If you are craving to feel some nostalgia, you can check out the Space Jam soundtrack and sound clips from the movie.
2. RuneScape (2001)
If you played fantasy games on your computer in the early 2000s then you are probably very familiar with the iconic fanfare that slowly plays on the login screen of this website. RuneScape was launched in 2001 by the company Jagex as a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
The game is a nonlinear sandbox that drops you into a medieval world with little to no guidance and allows to player to grind and level up skills instead of choosing a class like most RPG’s.
While the original game servers from 2001 have been shut down, Jagex now runs servers specifically for “Old School” RuneScape. This is by far one of my favourite old websites!
3. The Chupacabra Home Page (1996)
This is another strange site created in 1996 by Tito Armstrong. According to the website, Tito Armstrong is a graduate of Princeton and the sites URL is even from princeton.edu. The entire site is about the Puerto Rican Legend of the chupacabra, a beast that sucks the blood out of farm animals.
The site includes sightings, a sketch of the beast, and research about the chupacabra. It also has information on conspiracies of governments covering up the existence of the chupacabra. Could it actually exist? You decide.
4. PageWorks (1996)
Page works is an artist’s site full of cartoon animations that you can download and use. It was created in 1996 by Kelly Roach and has been updated in 2011. It even has a section that lets you read animated stories to children. It’s full of colorful family-friendly cartoon animations.
This is another strange site created in 1996 by Tito Armstrong. According to the website, Tito Armstrong is a graduate of Princeton and the sites URL is even from princeton.edu. The entire site is about the Puerto Rican Legend of the chupacabra, a beast that sucks the blood out of farm animals. The site includes sightings, a sketch of the beast, and research about the chupacabra. It also has information on conspiracies of governments covering up the existence of the chupacabra. Could it actually exist? You decide.
5. CNN OJ Simpson Trial Page (1996)
This website page was created by news organization CNN to keep the public up to date on the notorious O.J. Simpson trial. This was a very controversial court case and there are dozens of articles on this that give you an in-depth view of the entire proceeding from start to finish. Also to look at the traffic, it’s quite incredible how much traffic old websites like these receive.
6. Sporks (1996)
If you think spoons are old fashioned and forks are too dangerous then this is the site for you. This site was created in 1996 to explain everything you could possibly want to know about the spork.
As ridiculous as it sounds, it can even be educational. It will even teach you how to make a foon and you can impress all your friends with your awesome sporfoontapult.
7. Froggy Page (1994)
Froggy page is the site for all things frog-related. This site was created in 1994 and hasn’t been updated since 2006. You can hop around this simple yet charming site to learn all sorts of scientific facts about the frog, look at pictures of frogs, read stories written about frogs, and read lyrics of songs about the frog.
This site’s creator seriously loved these little green amphibians. If your up for it you can check out all the links to other frog lovers websites, most of which are still up and running. We will be sad to see the day that this site finally croaked.
8. Fogcam (1994)
This website is dedicated to one of the oldest running webcams in the history of the internet. It was created as a student project back in 1994. The webcam gives you a window into San Francisco State University.
The famous camera has been relocated several times over the years to keep from being shut down by the university but is still running today updating every twenty minutes. It’s a nice site to check in on every now and then when you are bored.
9. The Klingon Language Institute (1996)
Even in the early years of the internet, there was always a place to nerd out about star trek. This is the official site for people who want to learn to the alien language of the hit TV series and conversate with other like-minded individuals.
It was created in 1996 and has been updated out of its original aesthetic. The site is very serious about the linguistics of the Klingon language and offers a dictionary, pocket guide, and quarterly journals on the subject. Pe’el! (Come in!)
10. Washington Post 1996 Year in Review
This site is a brief snapshot of the news in 1996 and preserves a small piece of history. It covers stories such as the massive blizzard that hit the DC area, the US women’s gymnastics team taking the gold medal in the Olympics, and the arrest and imprisonment of the notorious Unabomber.
It even proclaims that the macarena was still top of the music charts and dominating dance floors. It can be an interesting piece of history to show to older children.
11. Jeff’s Classic Computer Haven (1997)
This site acts as a museum dedicated to all things computer. It was created by Jeff Hellige in May of 1997 and was last updated in 2009. It gives a detailed history of computing from the beginning of microcomputers to the GUI revolution.
It also gives information on hundreds of computing systems such as the Apple II, Atari 800, and Zenith Z 100. This is a must read website for anyone who enjoys retro technology.
12. Milk.com (1994)
Milk is an extremely quirky website created in 1994 by Dan Bornstein aka “Danfuzz”. The site has a bunch of hidden funny gems and just plain strange content. You can find links to Fuzzboy which is a musical group consisting of Danfuzz.
You can listen to playlists of music created by DJ Danfuzz or read jokes about various topics. Danfuzz also answers monumental questions like “Does the universe exist?”. The domain for the website is for sale for the right price and that price is a whopping 10 million dollars.
13. ITcorp.com (1986)
This site is the oldest site we have found in our search for these pioneer sites. The domain was registered in 1986 and went online later. The creators are a small software consultant business called Interrupt Technology Corporation or ITcorp.
The website is very plain and is supposed to act as a homepage for the corporation. The entire tone of the message gives us the feeling they were not happy to make this website.
14. Acme Laboratories (1991)
This is an open source software organization created by Jef Poskanzer. It houses a hodgepodge of information on UNIX, freeware, graphics, and networking. The site was launched in 1991 and is still operating with an update in February of 2019.
The name of the site is just a funny joke and has no connection to the old cartoon company other than the owner likes Wile E. Coyote. The owner of the site has chosen to keep that classic 90’s look and feel.
15. Toastytech.com (1995)
Toastytech.com is a site created by a programmer named Nathan Lineback. Nathan is not afraid to state his opinions on Microsoft. The site is full of his opinions on various programs and technology.
The thing that stands out most about this site is a section called “IE is evil”. This entire section pokes fun at the browser wars in the mid-1990s and how bad Internet Explorer is. The site still has the 90’s feel complete with moving pixelated flaming backgrounds.
16. Texas Internet Consulting (1987)
The second oldest site we found belongs to a company called Texas Internet Consulting. This domain was registered in 1987 and launched in 1991. The company specialized in networking, Linux architecture, and open source software.
It gives a nice view of how technology professionals marketed themselves when the internet became a useful and important tool. It can also be a great reference point for people who are studying networking in college.
17. Strawberry Pop-Tart Blow-Torches (1994)
Our next site is another strange one. This simple site was created in 1994 by Patrick R. Michaud for the sole purpose of scientific discovery. A year prior a prominent newspaper columnist named Dave Barry wrote that strawberry pop tarts were extremely flammable if left in a toaster too long and would go off like a “blow torch”.
The owner of this site sought to accurately test this theory and document his findings. This is his story all recounted on one simple website.
18. Netscape (1994)
This is the homepage of one of the first internet browsers, Netscape. It was created in 1994 and gives a brief explanation of how to navigate using hyperlinks to get around the web.
It also has hyperlinks to other pages of the time, such as a link to Yahoo when it was just a directory of sites instead of a search engine like today. Also, there are links to a movie database and an underground internet music archive.
19. A little history of the world wide web (1995)
This website is exactly what the name implies. Created by Dan Connolly in 1995, it chronicles a simple history of the creation of the world wide web. The site has short facts starting from 1945 to 1995. If you want to know more about how the thing you are reading this article was created this is a good place to start.
20. Mystical head of Bob (1995)
The site is called The Resort and was created by a group of 7 geeks who all lived in the same house located in Santa Cruz. They used the site to document the shenanigans of The Resort and nag each other about chores.
The site was made in 1995 and has been updated was in 2006. The group’s site is pretty comical and includes the floating head of a dapper man smoking a pipe who can tell you your future. What’s not to like? This has got to be one of the best old websites out there.
21. Neopets (1999)
The website was originally launched in 1999 by Adam Powell and Donna Williams. On the site you can care for virtual Neopets and buy them virtual items using a virtual currency called Neopoints.
You can earn Neopoints by playing fun games with your Neopets. Even though the site is still somewhat used today it has maintained that 1990’s feel. The site used to have a huge community and an extremely active forum before it died off in the mid 2,000s.
22. Bob Dole/Jack Kemp campaign Page (1996)
This is an online campaign website for the Republican nominee for the 1996 US presidential election. It has still up and running even after Bob Dole lost to the Democratic nominee Bill Clinton.
You can click through to read interesting bios about the Dole family and see all the locations they visited on the campaign trail.
23. CNN 1996 Year in Review (1996)
Similar to the Washington Post, CNN also created a review of the year 1996. They list the top 10 stories of the year. Articles on this page include a report about the Khobar Towers Bombing in Saudi Arabia, Russia’s re-election of Boris Yeltsin, and the crash of TWA Flight 800.
It gives you a great window into what was most important during that time according to this media outlet.
24. Cyber Beach (1996)
Cyber Beach is a 90’s website frozen in time. We only wish it was still operational so we could send an electronic postcard to our favorite person via email. You can browse through posts written went the site was up and running back in 1996.
These include everything from personal ads to conversations from across the world. Cyber Beach says they are one of the oldest personal website still online today.
25. Lost World – InGen (1996)
This site was a marketing promotion for the second movie in the Jurassic Park franchise, The Lost World: Jurassic Park. It is made to resemble the computer system of the company in the movie, Ingen.
You can flip through and read notes left behind by security personnel, check out all the dinosaur profiles, and tour John Hammons office. Don’t forget to check out the employee handbook before you leave and don’t go into the long grass!
26. Fluffy’s World (1994)
Fluffy’s world is a quaint little site launched in 1994. It is a collection of writings and artwork curated by a retired scientific researcher named Cathy Rudolf aka “Fluffy”.
The artwork is surprisingly beautiful for such an old site. On the front page, they boast about being Yahoo’s cool site of the day in 1995. That same year was the last time the site was updated.
27. McSpotlight (1996)
This is a website created in 1996 devoted to outing what they consider to be the evil business practices of the chain fast food restaurant McDonalds. The website was last updated in 2003 and the links are even animate spotlights shining on the titles of each section.
Most of the information focuses on a lawsuit from 1997. The site also has links to topics on other corporations and has a debate forum you can read through to gauge their audiences opinions.
Well that rounds up my old websites list! Hope you enjoyed!