author img
Adam Judd
Managing Director

Discover Digital was 20 years old this past July. We were incorporated on 24th July 1995. In terms of Internet company history, this makes us virtually primordial. At a time that Facebook, eBay, Google didn't exist and Amazon had only just got started.

I’m not going to attempt to gaze in the crystal ball to see what will change in the next 20 years. However, to repeat Bill Gate’s recent statement, “computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before”.

But, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at 1995 and see what Discover Digital and the Internet looked like then.

Discover IT 1996 Home Page

The fascinating WayBackMachine Internet Archive doesn’t quite go back that far, but our Home page from 1996 is available. 

What has changed? The numbers spell out the global phenomenon that has been and is the Internet.

  • In 1995 there were just under 45 million Internet users worldwide. 20 years later there are 3.2 billion users. Internet users have expanded over 70 fold in the past 20 years. However, in 1995, worldwide, the Internet was accessed by users for an average of less than 1 hour per day. Today, that has expanded to over 7 hours per day, meaning that Internet usage has expanded 500 fold!
  • In 1995, computer displays were relatively primitive . . . 14-inch 640 x 480 displays were commonplace. 20 years later 2,560 x 1,440 high definition displays are becoming common.
  • Back in 1995, the Internet was accessed from desktops and laptops. In 2015, 40% of Internet access is from smartphones and very soon that will account for over 50% of access. Responsive design, where modern web pages can adapt automatically for small screen display when accessed from a smartphone or small tablet, is fast becoming a mandatory requirement for websites.
  • The style of design on the Internet has changed for sure. Time is rarely kind on design and, maybe, early website design will one day have some kind of kitsch appeal. But, even today’s cutting edge designs will look passé quite soon as technology and trends move on. However, bizarrely, it’s worth noting that the 640 x 480 optimized pages work well on a smartphone, without the need for any responsive code!
  • In 1996, for our introductory package, we asked to be supplied “with up to 4 small images and 1,000 words of text on a floppy disk”.
  • The 1.44MB capacity of a floppy disk would not be anywhere near enough storage for today’s high-resolution displays, and there is now a whole generation who are unaware of the origins of the “Save Icon”.
  • We can advise you how the World-Wide Web can help you and your business.
  • We can communicate your message effectively and target it to your selected audience anywhere in the world.
  • Discover Digital can help you to promote your business on the Internet.
  • Discover Digital can help you build and project your online brand. And build online business solutions that will enable you to realise a complete range of business benefits afforded by the Internet.

These fundamentals will not change any time soon.