Code Through Time: Exploring the History of Web Design Through HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Faculty Mentor
Travis Masingale
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
4-14-2026 11:20 AM
End Date
4-14-2026 11:40 AM
Location
PUB 321
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Design
Abstract
This project explores the history of web design by building a website that demonstrates how the web has evolved through its three core technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The site, History of Web Design, functions as both a historical overview and a technical experiment. Each section focuses on one of these technologies and walks through major eras of its development, highlighting the tools, design patterns, and key people that helped shape the modern web. Instead of simply describing these changes, the site recreates them directly in code so visitors can see how web design practices developed over time. A central goal of the project is historical accuracy in how each section is constructed. The HTML portion of the site is written using only HTML, reflecting the limitations and structure of early web pages before CSS and JavaScript were widely used. The CSS section introduces styling and layout techniques from different periods of CSS development, but each era only uses the properties and approaches that existed at the time. The JavaScript section then incorporates all three technologies together while still remaining faithful to the tools available in each historical moment. By restricting the code to what existed in each era, the project demonstrates how web designers worked within the technical constraints of their time. Alongside the technical demonstrations, the site also highlights the historical context behind these developments. It discusses the people, communities, and technological changes that influenced how the web grew, from early browser development to the expansion of CSS layout systems and the rise of JavaScript as a core part of modern web applications. These changes shaped not only how websites are built but also how designers and developers think about structure, interaction, and user experience. The project ultimately aims to show that web design is deeply connected to the evolution of technology. Tools such as modern layout systems or dynamic scripting did not appear fully formed but developed gradually through experimentation, standards work, and the contributions of many individuals. By presenting these eras through working code examples and historical explanation, the site helps make the progression of web design visible while encouraging a deeper understanding of how the modern web came to be.
Recommended Citation
Wallace, Brittany, "Code Through Time: Exploring the History of Web Design Through HTML, CSS, and JavaScript" (2026). 2026 Symposium. 7.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2026/op_2026/o3_2026/7
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Code Through Time: Exploring the History of Web Design Through HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
PUB 321
This project explores the history of web design by building a website that demonstrates how the web has evolved through its three core technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The site, History of Web Design, functions as both a historical overview and a technical experiment. Each section focuses on one of these technologies and walks through major eras of its development, highlighting the tools, design patterns, and key people that helped shape the modern web. Instead of simply describing these changes, the site recreates them directly in code so visitors can see how web design practices developed over time. A central goal of the project is historical accuracy in how each section is constructed. The HTML portion of the site is written using only HTML, reflecting the limitations and structure of early web pages before CSS and JavaScript were widely used. The CSS section introduces styling and layout techniques from different periods of CSS development, but each era only uses the properties and approaches that existed at the time. The JavaScript section then incorporates all three technologies together while still remaining faithful to the tools available in each historical moment. By restricting the code to what existed in each era, the project demonstrates how web designers worked within the technical constraints of their time. Alongside the technical demonstrations, the site also highlights the historical context behind these developments. It discusses the people, communities, and technological changes that influenced how the web grew, from early browser development to the expansion of CSS layout systems and the rise of JavaScript as a core part of modern web applications. These changes shaped not only how websites are built but also how designers and developers think about structure, interaction, and user experience. The project ultimately aims to show that web design is deeply connected to the evolution of technology. Tools such as modern layout systems or dynamic scripting did not appear fully formed but developed gradually through experimentation, standards work, and the contributions of many individuals. By presenting these eras through working code examples and historical explanation, the site helps make the progression of web design visible while encouraging a deeper understanding of how the modern web came to be.
