Button Gallery

A history of 88x31 website buttons

There are many theories of how the standard 88x31 web button format came to be.

Some say that the reason the 88x31 size was chosen was because it had a small enough footprint to fit on most webpages, but large enough to be visible.

But what about their origin? There are three leading theories:

1. Geocities: At the time of the emergence of these buttons, GeoCities was the most prominent hosting service. In order to improve brand awareness of their site, GeoCities required that all users with free hosting linked back to the GeoCities homepage somewhere in their site. Many users wanted to customize their pages, and so they created their own buttons. This theory is somewhat unsupported. Although the earliest archive of a Geocities site, created 10/22/96, has several 88x31 buttons in the sidebar, it has no GeoCities button. To add, the GeoCities FAQ does not provide nor reference buttons. This may suggest that GeoCities is not the true origin of 88x31 buttons, but helped to popularize them.


2. Netscape: Because Netscape wanted their browser to be used, they introduced many HTML tags specific to their service. The only way to view these websites was through a Netscape browser. Due to this, the webmaster would inform the user through an 88x31 Netscape button on their site. The Internet Archive seems to support this theory. The earliest archived Netscape website, captured on 10/20/96, features a Netscape Now! 3.0 button as well as other navigation buttons in the 88x31 format. The Now! Button is related to the Netscape Now affiliate program. It was somewhat exclusive, as you would have to submit an application and follow the usage guidelines. The combination of bragging rights and aesthetics may have caused this style of button to gain traction.


3. Yahoo Business: The default 88x31 size for Yahoo Business (and partner IAB) ads became standard, leading to widespread usage. An ad of this size became known as a micro-bar.

Enough history, on to the buttons!