Thirty years ago, at its inception, hardly any of us knew what the World Wide Web even was. And yet today, none of us can imagine our lives without it. At WGBH, our web presence has continued to evolve across our local and national programs, from “online brochures" to engaging, media rich digital experiences.

Recently we launched a completely redesigned WGBH.org, a multimedia platform that provides audiences with a personalized user experience, optimized for streaming audio and on-demand video across multiple platforms. It’s a robust source for the trusted, substantive news and information produced by our award-winning news team. Additionally, anyone can stream their favorite podcasts or recent programs right from our homepage, while WGBH Members can access our vast library of on-demand video through WGBH Passport. The web has been a tremendous tool in furthering our mission, allowing us to give our audiences anytime, anywhere access to our content. So, from all of us here at WGBH, a very happy 30th birthday, WWW!

Check out the websites old and new from across the Foundation below:

WGBH.org: Then (2000)
From a glorified "online brochure" of our programs and offerings...
WGBH.org: Now
...to a multimedia rich digital experience, connecting our audiences to the news and information they trust and the programs and projects they love, where they are, when they want it.
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Website: Then (2004)
"We’re highlighting a different type of ‘antique’—an early version of the ANTIQUES ROADSHOW website homepage!"—ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Team
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Website: Now
"The value of ROADSHOW nostalgia? Priceless."—ANTIQUES ROADSHOW Team
NOVA Website: Then (1996)
"Since publishing our first website in 1996, NOVA has always sought to utilize digital spaces to extend its broadcasts to new audiences. That said, we’ve made a lot of progress: whereas our first sites in the ‘90s focused on program- and topic-centric topics (viewed by very few people compared to our broadcasts), our website now houses thousands of pieces of multimedia content engaged with my millions of people every month."—NOVA Team
NOVA Website: Now
"With the ubiquitous knowledge that current and future media audiences will demand digital-first content consumption, it’s never been more important to build digital platforms (like our website) that properly showcase NOVA’s content in the way audiences will respond to."—NOVA Team
American Experience Website: Then (1998)
"Happy 30th Birthday to the World Wide Web! Here's our website in 1997."—American Experience Team
American Experience Website: Now (2019)
"And here's our website now. We'd call it a glow up!"—American Experience Team
The World GIF
“This GIF is actually a trip through time in the evolution of web design. You can see when background colors were the design style of choice, the addition of table-based layout and then the evolution of mobile-friendly pages.”—The World Team