33 sites · every link checked daily
Retro websites
The old internet did not entirely disappear. It was preserved, rebuilt, emulated and archived by people who refused to let it go. The retro websites in this category are where you can still visit it.
Some are time machines you can run. Webamp rebuilds Winamp 2 in your browser, complete with skins. 98.js puts a Windows 98 desktop in a tab, and Infinite Mac boots classic Macintosh systems with emulation, so nothing is installed. Some are museums: Internet Artifacts walks through about 60 milestones from 1977 to 2007, and the Web Design Museum catalogs how sites used to look. Some are love letters. Cameron's World is a collage built from archived GeoCities pages, glitter text and all.
A caution for the nostalgic: the old web has a high mortality rate. Many beloved sites have been parked, sold or hijacked, and we check every link daily so you do not land on a gambling page where a childhood favorite used to be. Several entries here, like Webamp, Windows 93 and Infinite Mac, are desktop-only.
To keep going, the Nostalgic Websites list is the full tour, and Hidden Gems digs up the stranger corners. History & Time covers archives beyond the web itself.
The sites
All the sites
The sites (33)
Windows 93
A deranged fake operating system with surreal apps.
- Rabbit hole
- Desktop
- Flashing images
- Loud audio
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Cameron's World
A web collage built from archived GeoCities pages, 1994-2009.
- 5 minutes
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
oldweb.today
Browse archived pages inside emulated period browsers.
- Rabbit hole
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Wiby
A search engine for the classic web, with a surprise button.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Internet Artifacts
A museum of about 60 internet milestones, from 1977 to 2007.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive
Flashpoint Archive
A huge preservation project saving Flash games and animations.
- Rabbit hole
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Infinite Mac
Run classic Macintosh and NeXT systems right in your browser.
- Rabbit hole
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Telehack
A simulation of the old ARPANET you play from a terminal.
- Rabbit hole
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Homestar Runner
The cartoon website that defined early web animation.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Space Jam (1996 website)
The original 1996 Space Jam site, preserved exactly as it was.
- 5 minutes
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
JS Paint
MS Paint, faithfully rebuilt for the web.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
TEXTFILES.COM
Jason Scott's archive of text files from the BBS era.
- Rabbit hole
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
16colors
An archive of ANSI and ASCII art from the BBS days.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
A Dark Room
A text-based game that begins with a fire in a dark room.
- Rabbit hole
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Hundred Rabbits
A tiny studio on a sailboat making open-source tools and games.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
The Million Dollar Homepage
A million pixels sold at a dollar each, preserved in all its glory.
- 5 minutes
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Powder Game
A classic particle sandbox: fire, water, gunpowder and more.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Dinosaur Comics
A comic that reuses the same six panels and still updates.
- 5 minutes
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Bouncing DVD Logo
Watch the DVD logo bounce and wait for the perfect corner hit.
- 30 seconds
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Neocities Browse
Browse the hand-made personal sites of the modern indie web.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Wayback Machine
Type a URL and travel to how it looked years ago.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
The Internet Arcade
Classic arcade machines, playable in the browser.
- Rabbit hole
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
CSS Zen Garden
One HTML page, hundreds of wildly different designs.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
ASCII Art Archive
Thousands of ASCII drawings, sorted by subject.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 16 days ago
Frequently asked questions
What are some good retro websites?
Webamp, Cameron's World, Windows 93, 98.js, Infinite Mac and the Space Jam 1996 site are great places to start. They recreate or preserve the look and feel of the 1990s and early 2000s web. Most work best on a desktop browser, and each profile notes whether mobile is supported.
Can I still visit old GeoCities pages?
Not on the original servers, but the pages were archived. Cameron's World assembles text and images from GeoCities archives into a scrolling collage, and GifCities lets you search animated GIFs rescued from the archive. Both are checked daily in this directory.
Can I play old DOS or arcade games in a browser?
Yes. DOS Zone launches DOS-era games in a web player, and The Internet Arcade offers hundreds of classic arcade machines through emulation. Both are best on desktop with a keyboard. Neither requires a download, though loading can take a moment.
Why do so many old websites stop working?
Domains expire, owners lose interest, and abandoned names get bought by parking companies or hijackers. That is why this directory checks every link daily and treats parked or redirected domains as dead, preserving a rest-in-peace page instead of sending you somewhere unsafe.
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