What is Web 1, Web 2 and Web 3?

The Evolution of the Web

The internet has evolved immeasurably from those early days, and it now has more than 5 billion regular users, roughly 63% of the world’s population.

The evolution of the web is often partitioned into three separate stages: Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0.

What is Web 1.0?

Web 1.0 was the first iteration of the web. Most participants were consumers of content, and the creators were typically developers who built websites that contained information served mainly in text or image format. Web 1.0 lasted from 1991 to 2004.

Web 1.0 consisted of sites serving static content instead of dynamic HTML. Data and content were served from a static file system rather than a database, and sites didn’t have much interactivity at all.

You can think of Web 1.0 as the read-only web.

What is Web 2.0?

The term Web 2.0 first came into use in 1999 as the Internet pivoted toward a system that actively engaged the user.

In general, Web 2.0 refers to the 21st-century Internet applications that have transformed the digital era in the aftermath of the dotcom bubble.

For many web2 companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others, more data leads to more personalized ads.

In web2, you don’t have any control over your data or how it is stored. In fact, companies often track and save user data without the users’ consent. All this data is then owned and controlled by the companies in charge of these platforms.

Web3 aims to solve many of these shortcomings by fundamentally rethinking how we architect and interact with applications from the ground up.

What is Web 3.0?

Web 3 also known as Web 3.0 is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics.

The term “Web3” was coined in 2014 by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, and the idea gained interest in 2021 from cryptocurrency enthusiasts, large technology companies, and venture capital firms.

This vision of Web3 tends to be a more democratic version of today’s online world. It’s centered around the idea of ownership, removing control from the dominant big data companies and other central authorities, and handing it to the masses.