Subscribe Via RSSNumber Of Websites Hits A Billion and Counting
According to Internet Live Stats (ILS) the number of registered websites passed the one-billion mark sometime in September 2014, the exact time and date has yet to be verified.
- For tracking purposes, a website is defined as a unique hostname (a name which can be resolved, using a name server, into an IP Address).
In 2013 alone, the web grew by more than a third: from about 630 million websites at the start of the year to over 850 million (180 million active) by December.
Internet Users
The table shows the number of global internet users per year since 1993.
The statistics given by Internet Live Stats show that in September 2014, around 40% of the world population has an internet connection. In 1995, it was less than 1%. This means that the number of internet users has increased tenfold from 1999 to 2013. The first billion was reached in 2005. The second billion in 2010. The third billion will be reached by the end of 2014.
The chart shows the number of global internet users by region in July 2014.
This number continues to rise as more people and business register their preferred website domain names before they’ve all gone. ILS added, 75 per cent of these websites are not currently active, but have simply been registered, also known as ‘domain parked’.
Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, known as the inventor of the World Wide Web.
- Sir Timothy John “Tim” Berners-Lee, also known as “TimBL”, an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, also touted the milestone on Twitter.
Internet Domains Expand
The milestone comes as the choice of internet domains expands beyond the normal ‘.com’ postfixes to include the new domains such as ‘.london’, ‘.shop’, etc. to provide more options for the increasing number of sites.
Given the sheer number of new options, web hosting provider 1&1 recently launched a new tool that lets you see which of these new domains is available to buy.
If you’re looking to get online, then read my article, Where to Register Domain Names and Host Your Web Site as a first step. For more help and tips just browse the SiteMap.
Finally, if you have any thoughts or suggestions relating to this billion website milestone, don’t forget to let me have them in the comment box below. Thanks for dropping by.
