The First Website Turns 25: How the Web Surprised, Charmed and Changed Us

This month, the first website turned 25.

Of course, the internet has its share of milestones. Some trace its birthday to the first message sent from one computer to another in 1969 as researchers developed ARPANET, what would become the Internet. Some call that the web's "first breath."

And we can hardly ignore March 12, 1989, when an information management system was first proposed to help drive the web's structure and architecture.

But the lives of everyday people -- and entrepreneurs -- weren't yet transformed. Those shifts became more possible later in 1991. On Aug. 6 of that year, the first website went live and was publicly available.

On this day, like so many big days, there was no ticker tape. There were no formal announcements. Most people didn't even have computers at home. But by 2000, more than two in five households would have Internet access. This access would revolutionize how we work, play, learn, connect and build our lives.

Today, Internaut Day, celebrates the Internet and how far it has come. To mark this great date, we've pulled together a special collection of stories. In them, we share screenshots of early homepages that might shock and surprise you. We connect with early online pioneers to find out what they've learned -- and what they regret. And we round up the moments that helped shape the world in which we currently live.

Take a look and enjoy a trip down memory lane -- or what we once called the Information Superhighway.

Founders of AOL, Twitter and More Share the Best and Worst Moments in Internet History

13 Pivotal Internet Moments That Forever Changed How We Live, Work and Play

15 Throwback Web Pages That Show Us How the Internet Has Changed

Why the Internet Needs the WayBack Machine, the Site That Archives the Web

15 Internet Relics We Miss (and Some We Don't)