YouTube founders Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim (2005)
Source: newmediarockstars.com
YouTube Launches (2005)
Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim launched YouTube in 2005, apparently as a
dating site concept. An important point to note here: while the internet is fond of
displaying this image
with a broken layout as the first version of YouTube, we don't believe that's how the site truly looked. Most likely,
this was a screenshot taken from the Wayback Machine that failed to render properly,
leaving important elements off the page. And because we don't believe that's how YouTube really looked,
we don't include it in our archive.
The early homepage in 2005 was spartan by today's standards, with only five videos, a search box, and a bunch of video tags to explore.
YouTube's first video player had an enormous logo watermark in the bottom right corner and very few controls. There was
no timer or fullscreen button, for example. But it didn't matter for fans of the site at the time. YouTube was
the first website that made it easy to upload and share videos by relying on
Flash, which that worked seamlessly
in the browser. It was much easier to use than other video player plug-ins at the time, such as
RealVideo. Later in 2005, the homepage became busy with tabs and additional content.
Early YouTube homepage (2005)
Source: webdesignmuseum.org
YouTube homepage in August (2005)
Source: imgur.com
YouTube video watch page with first version of player (2005)
Source: web-strategist.com
YouTube Evolution & Massive Growth (2006)
YouTube averaged 100 million video views per day by mid-2006.
Features like full-screen video view, subscriptions, video ratings, and personalized user profiles were added throughout 2005 and 2006,
leading to various design and usability changes to the site layout and video player.
The video player was upgraded and redesigned with
additional controls, and thankfully lost the huge watermark (although it remained on the embedded player at the time).
Google announced the purchase of YouTube in October 2006, for an estimated price of $1.65 billion.
YouTube homepage (2006)
Source: webdesignmuseum.org
Video watch page with the redesigned 2006 video player (2006)
Source: ouriel.typepad.com
YouTube most watched videos page (2006)
Source: reddit.com
YouTube branded channel page (2006)
Source: adverlab.blogspot.com
YouTube Homepage, Login, and Video Watch Pages (2007)
YouTube login page (2007)
Source: googlesystem.blogspot.com
YouTube homepage (2007)
Source: web.archive.org
Video watch page showing "Me at the zoo," YouTube's first video (2007)
Source: newmediarockstars.com
YouTube video watch page (2007)
Source: techradar.com
YouTube video watch page (2007)
Source: newmediarockstars.com
YouTube embedded player screenshots (2007)
Source: googlesystem.blogspot.com
YouTube Homepage and Watch Page (2008)
YouTube homepage (2008)
Source: web.archive.org
YouTube video watch page (2008)
Source: warosu.org
YouTube Homepage and Watch Page (2009)
YouTube homepage (2009)
Source: web.archive.org
YouTube video watch page (2009)
Source: gigaom.com
Warning About Internet Explorer 6 (2009)
YouTube homepage warning about IE6 (2009)
Source: vg.no
YouTube Offers TV Shows For Rent (2009)
YouTube offers long-form TV (2009)
Source: googlesystem.blogspot.com
YouTube Homepage and Watch Page (2010)
YouTube homepage (2010)
Source: web.archive.org
YouTube video watch page (2010)
Source: gigaom.com
YouTube Homepage and Watch Pages (2011)
YouTube homepage (2011)
Source: web.archive.org
YouTube video watch page (2011)
Source: searchresearch1.blogspot.com
Nyan Cat video watch page (2011)
Source: brianlechthaler.blogspot.com
YouTube Homepage and Watch Page (2012)
YouTube homepage (2012)
Source: inquirer.net
YouTube watch page before redesign (2012)
Source: neowin.net
Gangnam Style video after redesign (2012)
Source: gadgethacks.com
YouTube Homepage and Watch Page (2013)
YouTube homepage (2013)
Source: web.archive.org
Gangnam Style video using redesign (2013)
Source: gadgethacks.com
YouTube Homepage (2015)
YouTube homepage (2015)
Source: web.archive.org
2017 Layout Before Redesign (2017)
YouTube homepage before redesign (2017)
Source: techcrunch.com
YouTube channel page before redesign (2017)
Source: techcrunch.com
Layout and Logo After 2017 Redesign (2017)
New YouTube Logo for 2017 Redesign (2017)
Source: theverge.com
YouTube homepage after redesign (2017)
Source: techcrunch.com
YouTube channel page after redesign (2017)
Source: techcrunch.com
YouTube dark theme homepage (2017)
Source: techcrunch.com
YouTube Homepage and Watch Page (2019)
YouTube homepage (2019)
Source: YouTube.com
YouTube video watch page (2019)
Source: YouTube.com
Next: History of Google Search and Google Maps
Did you enjoy seeing the history of YouTube? See our
design evolution of Google Search starting in 1996.
Plus, check out our article on the
visual design history of Google Maps which launched in 2005.
Do you like seeing nostalgic stuff like this everyday?
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