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Department of Internet Archaeology

Bureau of Digital Antiquities

Preserving historically significant digital heritage since 1998.

Public Records and Research Administration

Curated Bureau Collection

COL-000001

The Dawn of Commercial Websites

A curated collection examining some of the earliest commercially significant websites that helped define the public Internet.

Collection ID
COL-000001
Status
Current
Published
2026-08-03
Digital Objects
2
Publications
1

Collection Documentation

Curatorial Record

Overview

The early commercial web represented a period of rapid experimentation, creative design and emerging online business models.

This collection documents Digital Objects that illustrate how commercial organisations, advertisers and media companies adapted to the growing World Wide Web during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Curatorial Note

Rather than preserving isolated websites, this collection examines them as part of a broader historical movement that shaped the modern Internet.

Collection Chronology

Origins of the Digital Objects

First-publication dates recorded in FWX, from earliest to latest. Date precision follows each record.

  1. 1996
    Space Jam Website

    FWX-000002 · First published

  2. 2005-08-26
    The Million Dollar Homepage

    FWX-000001 · First published

Collection Holdings

FWX-000001

Website

The Million Dollar Homepage

The Million Dollar Homepage is a commercial advertising website created by Alex Tew in 2005. The site divided a fixed image area into one million pixels that were sold as advertising space for one US dollar per pixel. Its rapid circulation and commercial success made it a notable example of web-native advertising, viral marketing, and Internet entrepreneurship during the mid-2000s.

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FWX-000002

Website

Space Jam Website

The Space Jam website is a surviving promotional website published in connection with the 1996 Warner Bros. film. Its distinctive graphics, navigation, page structure, and promotional material remain publicly accessible and provide a notable surviving example of commercial web design from the mid-1990s.

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Supporting Documentation

PB-000001Preservation Bulletin

Continued Accessibility of Active Legacy Websites

This bulletin establishes the Bureau's position on the continued observation and preservation of historically significant websites that remain publicly accessible at their original network locations.

2026-08-03Current

Tags

  • Commercial Internet
  • Early Web
  • Preservation