Bruno Simon's Portfolio
A portfolio you explore by driving a toy car around a 3D world.
- 5 minutes
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
31 sites · every link checked daily
Interactive websites that show off the web
A browser can do much more than show text and pictures, and these interactive websites are the proof. They respond to your mouse, keyboard, scroll wheel or voice, and the interaction is the point, not an add-on.
The showpiece is Bruno Simon's Portfolio: instead of scrolling, you drive a small car around a 3D world filled with hidden things. It loads heavy and wants a desktop, but it is a famous example of playful web design. Internet Roadtrip turns Google Street View into a car dashboard with a map, an FM radio and a live count of drivers, all steered by the crowd. Silk turns a cursor into glowing, mirrored ribbons. Patatap maps every key to a sound and an animation, with a flashing-images warning. Chrome Music Lab is a playground of music tools that anyone can use.
There are serious entries too. earth animates the planet's winds and currents, Stellarium Web puts a planetarium in a tab, and NASA's Eyes lets you fly through the solar system.
If you want a technical angle, three.js Examples, Shadertoy and OpenProcessing show the code behind the magic.
Use "Surprise me from this list" for a random pick. The cards flag desktop-only sites, loud audio and flashing visuals.
The sites
All the sites
The list (31)
Internet Roadtrip
A shared Street View road trip steered by everyone online at once.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive
Silk
Draw flowing, symmetrical ribbons of light with your mouse.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Patatap
Every key on your keyboard triggers a sound and a burst of animation.
- 5 minutes
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Chrome Music Lab
Playful experiments that make music easy to explore.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
earth
A gorgeous live globe of the world's winds, weather and ocean currents.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
The True Size Of ...
Drag countries around the map to see their real size.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Radio Garden
Spin a 3D globe and tune into live radio from any city.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Typatone
Every letter you type plays a note, so your writing becomes music.
- 5 minutes
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Zoomquilt
An infinitely zooming painting that never stops falling in.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Stellarium Web
A free planetarium that runs in your browser.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
NASA's Eyes
Fly through the solar system, Earth and spacecraft in 3D.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
WindowSwap
Look out of a stranger's window, anywhere in the world.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
three.js Examples
Hundreds of 3D demos showing what the browser can do.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Dwitter
Tiny JavaScript animations made in 140 characters or less.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
tixy.land
Make animated art with a single tiny JavaScript function.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
WebGL Fluid Simulation
Swirl glowing fluid around with your cursor.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Sandboxels
A falling-sand sandbox with hundreds of elements to mix.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Powder Game
A classic particle sandbox: fire, water, gunpowder and more.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Explorable Explanations
A hub for interactive essays that you learn by playing.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
The Evolution of Trust
A playable explainer on why we trust each other, with game theory.
- Rabbit hole
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Google Arts & Culture
Museums, art and cultural treasures you can zoom into.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
BeepBox
Sketch chiptune songs and share them as a link.
- Rabbit hole
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Online Sequencer
A free browser music sequencer with a huge community library.
- Rabbit hole
- Desktop
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Little Alchemy 2
Combine basic elements to discover hundreds of things.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive · checked 15 days ago
Infinite Craft
An endless crafting game that starts with Water, Fire, Wind and Earth.
- Rabbit hole
- Works on phones
- Alive
The Deep Sea
Scroll down through the ocean and meet what lives at every depth.
- 5 minutes
- Works on phones
- Alive
How we picked. The test is whether the page would lose its meaning as a static screenshot. We favor sites where interaction is fluid, surprising and well designed, and we mix art, music, maps, science and games so the list shows range.
Pick by input.
- Cursor-led: Silk, Zoomquilt, WebGL Fluid Simulation.
- Keyboard: Patatap, Typatone, Bruno Simon's Portfolio.
- Scroll: The Deep Sea and Space Elevator.
- Code: tixy.land and Dwitter, where you write a tiny function and the screen responds.
Performance and compatibility. 3D and shader-heavy sites can be demanding. If a page is slow, close other tabs, try full screen, or try a different browser. A handful of entries, such as Bruno Simon's Portfolio, Patatap, Shadertoy and BeepBox, are best on a desktop. The mobile badge on each card tells you before you try.
More like this. If you want the full set of showpieces, see Cool Websites to Visit Right Now. For tools and toys, try Fun Websites to Play With, and for the category hub with a looser definition, visit Cool Interactive Websites. Or take me somewhere odd.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best interactive websites?
Bruno Simon's Portfolio, Internet Roadtrip, Silk, Patatap, Chrome Music Lab and earth are widely admired examples. They use the browser for drawing, 3D, sound and maps without any plugins. All are on this list and are checked daily for link health.
What makes a website interactive?
An interactive website responds to your input in a meaningful way, such as moving objects, making sound or changing a view as you scroll. In this list the interaction is the main attraction, not an extra on top of an article.
Why are some interactive websites slow?
3D worlds and shader-based visuals use a lot of your computer's graphics power. Close other tabs, use a desktop if possible, and give heavy pages a moment to load. Bruno Simon's Portfolio is a good example of a page that is worth the wait.
Do interactive websites work on phones?
Many do, but not all. Scroll-based and touch-friendly sites such as The Deep Sea and Radio Garden work well, while keyboard-led pages like Patatap do not. Each card has a mobile badge, so you can see which is which before you open it.
