I began making websites in the 1990s. I wrote those early sites completely myself, line by line. MAoB was my own name turned into a short identity: Mario Obst.
At the time, I often felt that people around me were not interested in what I was doing with the web. In 2026, I am building with AI, and I recognise some of that scepticism again. That is my personal experience, rather than a claim about what everyone thinks.
1990s — learning by building
Writing the code myself meant working through the details. A misplaced character could change the result, and finding it was part of learning.
1997 — introducing MAoB
The preserved MAoB edition uses frames to place separate documents within one browser window. It is a record of my early personal presence online.
1999 — ScreenDesign & WebBuilding
The next preserved edition presents MAoB as “ScreenDesign & WebBuilding”. Its fallback text recommends obtaining a newer browser on a computer magazine’s CD. That small detail says a great deal about how people obtained software at the time.
More early projects
Shopping Galeria organised links to online shops through affiliate links. Amsterdam Easy Apartments presented self-catering apartments and studios in Amsterdam, with location, prices and contact information.
I place the beginnings of these projects in the 1990s. The retained files include later updates: Amsterdam Easy Apartments contains a 2003 copyright notice, and Shopping Galeria shows an April 2008 update. Those are preserved version details, not established launch dates.
Visit the apartment website archive
2006 — a broader practice
The preserved MAoB page from 2006 describes website design, maintenance, training and work across printed communication. It also states that I had been creating websites and other design work since 1996.
2026 — working alongside AI
Today, AI helps me turn ideas into websites, explore alternatives and work through code. I bring the subject, the experience and the decisions. Generated code still needs to be read, tested and questioned.
Then & now
The historic pages are evidence of their time. Frames and layout tables are useful to discuss historically; they are not the patterns this lexicon teaches for new websites. Today, semantic HTML and flexible CSS layouts offer a different foundation.
Historical account based on my recollections and the archived files supplied for this project. This draft has not yet received my final editorial review.