See Google from 1998. This is how the search engine has changed over the years

Google celebrates its 25th birthday today, and do you remember what the famous search engine looked like in 1998? The old interface was recreated by one of the Internet users and you can visit the legendary website yourself.

On September 27, Google celebrates the 25th anniversary of the most popular browser in the world, which can be seen in the commemorative doodle. However, not everyone remembers the very beginnings of the legendary website, when it was extremely simple and even included the note “Beta” in the logo.

Google from 1998 for the 25th anniversary of the search engine

Google Search was the first service in what is now a huge umbrella of apps, devices and add-ons from the company, but it remains a central element of the company to this day. However, over many years the search engine has been adapted to the needs of users and advertisers, and its graphic design has been revised several times.

Initially, the search engine was a student project of Larry Page and Sergey Brin as part of their studies at Stanford University. Less than two years later, in 1998, the service was made available to Internet users. Already in 1999, the growing popularity of the search engine was noted in the weekly Wprost.

If you miss a very simple look, an exclamation point in the title or the classic display of 10 results (or you just want to go on a nostalgic trip), you are not the only one.

Old Google – an interesting project shows the past of the search engine

One of the Internet users created an Old Google page in the Neocities service. As the author himself says, it is a “personal project in which he rebuilds the old look and interface of the Google search engine.”

Work on the unusual project has been ongoing since 2016, and currently curious Internet users can choose from many different versions of the search engine. The creator tried to preserve the atmosphere of subsequent periods of the website’s development. Currently, versions from 1998, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 are available. These were years of great changes, which can be clearly seen when you click.

The oldest website has very few functions and only a few pieces of information, including: about Google itself or the possibility of subscribing to the newsletter. The results are clearly displayed in dozens, one below the other. Already then, however, the “I’m feeling lucky” button, i.e. Happy Luck in the Polish edition, was present in the interface.

New links gradually appear on the website, e.g. to Gmail, Images and Maps. The interface layout and, of course, the recognizable logo also change.