88x31 Pixels of Personality

Before social media was a thing and before I really got access to the internet, people would create their own websites. Since the websites were not connected by a common platform, it was customary to link to other personal websites, to form what’s know as a web-ring. Even back then, people knew that words were boring and images were intereseting. Therefore, these links were vibrantly displayed in the form of these buttons, which all had the de-facto standard size of 88 x 31 pixels.

The buttons were also often used to represent ideas, values or interests. It was common to see walls of these buttons, summarizing the digital personas of early internet people. Below is an example of an 88x31 button.

The origin of this size seems to be from buttons made by the popular GeoCities, but the source is not credible. The 88x31 buttons have had a resurgence lately, as retro web design has been on the rise, especially on the GeoCities spiritual successor NeoCities. I decided to make some of my own buttons, which are displayed below. You can copy them if you like.

I also went on a scavenger hunt for 88x31 buttons, and collected some of my favourites. Each button has a link attached, and clicking them leads to a relevant webpage. Some of them are really interesting :)