The Hand-Woven Web
Web 1.0 was built, not "used." To exist online, one had to learn the language of the machine (HTML). This created a specific aesthetic of amateurism—construction signs, MIDI background music, and guestbooks. It was a commons of individual plots, connected by the "Webring," not a centralized feed.
Its primary architectural feature was the hyperlink. Discovery happened by surfing from one specific node to another, a manual act of exploration. In contrast, Web 2.0 (The Social Web) replaced the link with the "feed," centralizing discovery into a corporate algorithm.
Field Notes
The "Under Construction" GIF: This ubiquitous icon of Web 1.0 signaled a philosophy: the web was a project, forever incomplete, being built by human hands in real-time. It was an invitation to return later, a promise of future effort.
The "Read-Write" Myth: Web 2.0 is often called the "Read-Write" web, implying Web 1.0 was "Read-Only." This is historical revisionism. Web 1.0 was deeply "write-enabled," but the writing happened on your own terms (your blog, your site), not in a comment box owned by Facebook.
Ephemera
Web 1.0 is the foundational stratum of the internet. While its visual style (tables, frames) is extinct, its protocols (HTTP, URL) remain the bedrock. It is the "Roman Road" beneath the modern highway.