6 August 2026: 35 years of the Web open to the public

On 6 August 1991, Tim Berners-Lee (often nicknamed TimBL) shared a project he called WorldWideWeb and simply invited people to try it. Thirty-five years later to the day, we mark not the idea sketched at a CERN desk, but the moment the Web began to become public — reachable beyond a circle of insiders.

Two dates, one story

Two milestones are often mixed up:

• March 1989 — TimBL proposes an information-sharing system at CERN. That is the birth of the idea.
• 6 August 1991 — he announces the project and opens the door: the first site (info.cern.ch) becomes an entry point for the world. That is the birth of the Web open to the public.

Today we celebrate 35 years since that second date: the shift from a lab tool to a global invitation — try it.

What “open” meant

The Web of its origins was not a commercial product. The ambition was a decentralised system: anyone could publish a page, create a link, without paying an entry fee or going through a single gatekeeper. Later, CERN made the software freely available — a move that sped up worldwide adoption.

“Open” did not mean “without rules”. It meant: no owner of the protocol, readable addresses, links anyone could follow. The technical directory behind names (example.com) and the www prefix (World Wide Web) were part of that landscape: you knew you were knocking on a domain’s web door, just as you might have used mail or ftp for other services.

A concrete tribute: keeping www

In my practice, I systematically add the www subdomain on my sites and my clients’, and I make sure both example.com and www.example.com work (often one redirects to the other). It is not a technical whim: it is a nod to TimBL and to the Web of its origins — a readable landmark, heir to that first web door.

To understand what www means on the DNS side, and how to check it from the Terminal, see Querying a domain name from the Terminal.

Thirty-five years on

The Web has changed face: platforms, algorithms, personal data. TimBL himself regularly points out the gap with the original vision — collaboration, creativity, compassion. Marking 6 August 2026 is not only about blowing out candles. It is remembering that before it was a market, the Web was an invitation: publish, link, try.

Happy birthday to the Web open to the public — and thank you, TimBL.