Web2 vs. Web3: Complete Guide

With time, technology grows in almost every field. The inception of the internet has proved to be a significant technological revolution, which influenced the world extensively. We are fortunate as we took birth in this generation, where we got a chance to taste the benefits of the internet.

Talking about today, we have witnessed various phases of the web until now. 

First was Web1, also known as the Internet; most of us know about it and even applaud it. 

Next arrived Web2, the user-generated web; it caught up with indications on the commencement of social media. 

Nowadays, we hear people talking about Web3, sometimes known as web 3.0. 

In the world of blockchain, you might have frequently heard the terms, “Web2” and “Web3”. 

Do you know about web1, web 2, and web 3? Do you know the difference between these, the features, anything? 

These phrases usually leave people confused. 

This post will introduce these terms, examples, advantages, disadvantages, and differences between web2 and web 3, in detail. 

Keep reading to know more!

Evolution of Web

Let’s get deeper and explore the information on the inception and growth of the web. 

1. Web 1

In the first stage of the WWW revolution, Web 1.0 is usually cited as a read-only web. 

In the beginning, websites were used to showcase static content and were merely informational. They were connected by hyperlinks and deficit design elements or any interactive content. 

Moreover, in this era, people were just able to write and send text emails, but attachments, pictures, or images upload was not possible.

Personal pages were the common aspect in the past, holding various static pages hosted on free web hosting services or ISP-run web servers. 

An interesting point to note here is it priced the users as per the pages viewed. The user needed to retrieve a piece of information they wanted from the available directories. 

In brief, Web 1.0 was a content delivery network (CDN) that used to permit the exhibition of information on websites where users caught up with static information with no opportunity to share their views, feedback, or comments. Here, the content was served from the server’s file system, and the pages were crafted using Common Gateway Interface(CGI) or Server Side Includes (SSI). Interestingly, the tables and frames were used to align and position the elements on a formerly web page. 

It also brought the dot-com bubble that lasted from 1995 to 2000 and carried various internet-based businesses. 

The brands that emerged with Web 1.0: Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves

2. Web2

The second phase of web evolution, Web 2.0, was also known as the read-write web. At this stage, the websites flourished concerning user interaction. Previously, sites were developed targeting user-generated content, interoperability, and usability for end-users and emerged as participative social web.

During Web 2.0, various terms attained popularity, such as social media, blogs, and video streaming. This phase is also recognized for the easy exchange of music and video clips. It finds a way towards podcasting, tagging, blogging, social bookmarking, curating with RSS, social networking, web content voting, social media, etc. 

This web phase gave birth to Wiki, Youtube, Facebook, Flickr, etc. 

Besides, blogging was also applauded with WordPress, which was initiated as a PHP & MySQL-led blogging platform. 

That’s why Web 2.0 came with a fundamental shift where people became able to share their perspectives and experiences via several online platforms and tools. 

Web as Platform, this concept arrived with Web 2.0, where software apps are developed on the Web instead of on the desktop. At this time, websites started using web browser technologies, like JS and AJAX frameworks. It witnessed the emergence of APIs (Application Programming Interface), a software intermediary that permits two apps to interact with each other.

3. Web3

The next generation of web, Web 3.0, is the read-write-execute web or the executable web. It took its first step with the beginning of dynamic apps, machine-to-machine interaction, and interactive services. 

It also describes various web pages evolutions and communication between many paths. Data is not owned but shared instead, with services exhibiting distinct views for the same data/web.

Web 3.0 is also named Semantic Web, which states that it’s a web in which machines would process content like a human where entire data would be linked and grasped both conceptually and contextually, leading to the release of AI and ML. 

Moreover, semantic metadata shows the information that makes users stay more connected. Resultantly, the user experience jumps onto another connectivity level that uses the complete available information. 

Benefits Of Web 2.0

Let’s now check out the advantages of Web 2.0:

• Permission is not required to use Web 2.0. Anyone can use it from anywhere at any time. 
• It offers a wide variety of information in just one click.
• This web stage is easy to handle. 
• It holds the caliber to search information and data that appeared recently. 
• It can search for information easily in various languages.
• Social media websites are available to share content happening worldwide. 
• Moreover, Web 2.0 permits people to correct the wrong information.
• It facilitates people to interact with people via email and more services. 
• Also, Web 2.0 is capable of sharing documents or files with family and friends.
• It’s the best, cheap, and easy way to promote businesses online. 
• It allows sharing of good quality video, images, and lots of information simply being at home. 
• It can craft dynamic learning communities and offers real-time discussion.

Disadvantages Of Web 2.0

Web 2.0 comes with some disadvantages also. Let’s go through:

• Sometimes, it shows different results from what it’s asked.
• Not always, but Web 2.0 takes quite a long to reveal search results.
• Also, sometimes the results’ translation is of bad quality.
• The chances of receiving wrong information exist.
• You can’t connect with people without their website or email address.
• Sometimes you catch up with a lack of privacy.
• There’s a risk of fraud, spamming, and virus attacks.

Benefits Of Web 3.0

It’s time to review the benefits of Web 3.0. 

• In Web 3.0, end-users will get complete control and ownership of their data and have encryption security. This way, information will be shared based on the need or permission or case-by-case basis. 
• People can access data from anywhere and mainly by the excess use of Cloud and Smartphone apps. This way, users can access information from anywhere worldwide. 
• The blockchains such as Ethereum offer a trusted platform in which you will get fully encrypted data, and no one can break the rules. Therefore, the intermediaries are deleted from the equation. 
• People can create an address and communicate with the blockchain network. People can transfer digital assets and wealth quickly, efficiently, cross-border, anywhere worldwide. The users will not be stopped concerning their income, orientation, geography, gender, or other sociological or demographical factors. 
• The denial of distributed services and the account suspension is diminished dramatically. Uninterrupted services will be offered as there is no failure point. 
• We can personalize our online browsing experience as Web 3.0 is capable of recognizing preferences. 
• It will use decentralized networks to confirm that users always catch up with control over their online data. 

Disadvantages Of Web 3.0

• As per some experts, decentralization will make it tough to regulate and oversee Web 3.0, leading to increased online abuse and cybercrime. 
• It will be inaccessible to the less-advanced gadgets. 
• Moreover, Web 3.0 is hard for novices to grasp. 
• It’s easy to obtain information relevant to a user’s private and public life.
• Web 3.0 will demand faster CPUs and will be incompatible with the older devices. 
• It will demand current website owners to modernize as websites and apps that use this web stage become more popular, and existing firms will be required to improve their digital services to grab the market share.
• It’s easier to access one’s political and personal data as it’s linked and a vast network. 
• The lack of integration makes this web phase less accessible to various users. 
• To interact with Web3 apps, one needs extra software, steps, and education. 
• Different top dapps prefer putting little parts of their code because the blockchain is expensive.

Centralization Vs. Decentralization 

Let’s differentiate between these two following a tabular format.

What are the Features of Web2?

The top features of Web 2.0 permit users to classify collectively and catch up with dynamic information that flows between the site user and site owner through comments, evaluation, and reviews.

Let’s check out more features of Web 2.0:

Folksonomy

It’s a web phase that doesn’t stick to the current framework of classification; it permits users to make free arrangement/classification of information, which is social tagging. 

Example – Flick

Rich User Experience

Web 2.0 uses HTML5 (for interactive video and audio), presenting dynamic, Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript + XML), and rich user experience to users. Such technologies offer webmasters the caliber to insert dynamic video directly into HTML code. 

Example – Google Maps

Long Tail

In web 2.0, the niche product is not sold straight but offered as a service based on the demand and income generated as pay per consumption and monthly fee. 

Example – Google apps

User Participation

In this web phase, the user participates in content sourcing, also known as Crowdsourcing. 

Example – YouTube

Dispersion

The content delivery utilizes various channels, including permalinks and file sharing.

Example – Mashup

Basic Trust

The content is available to reuse, share, edit, and redistribute. 

Example – Wikipedia.

What are the Features of Web 3.0?

Let’s discuss the main features of Web 3.0:

Artificial Intelligence

In Web 3.0, blending this caliber with natural language processing (NLP), computers can understand details like humans do to offer more relevant and faster outcomes. They become smarter to meet the users’ needs. 

Connectivity

With this web phase, information is more connected, and the credit goes to semantic metadata. Resultantly, the user experience emerges to another level of connectivity that utilizes all the available details. 

Semantic Web

Web3 includes the Semantic Web, which enhances web technologies to generate, share, and link content through analysis and search as per the potential to understand what the words are meant to be, despite the number or keywords. 

Ubiquity

Multiple apps access content, web and devices are connected, one can use services everywhere. 

3D Graphics

In web 3.0, the websites and services use 3-dimensional design, for example – eCommerce, computer games, geospatial contexts, museum guides, etc. 

Practical Comparison between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

Web 2.0 and 3.0 Application Architecture

Here, we will talk about Web 2.0 and 3.0 architectures. You will know about the architectures that emerged over time in the web app. 

Both these generations of the internet are well-organized to deal with the complexities we face with Web 1.0.

In both these web app architectures, there exist standards, protocols, and technologies (all are included web stacks) that ease the development of such apps. These are defined on the browser side, making the browser more capable. 

While recalling the Web 1.0 apps, back in the past, web pages were viewed the best with Netscape Navigator or with Internet Explorer. Nowadays, we don’t find them because generally, the browsers are better about adapting the standards created at that time. 

Web 2.0 App Architecture

Till this time frame, there were about 100 million web pages and a billion users. We also noticed the web became more interactive with more strength to write and save information. So, we were capable of publishing content on the web. Every tweet led to the creation of a web page. 

So, altogether, we witnessed a lot more that happened with the second generation of web app architectures. 

Web 3.0 App Architectures

Web 3.0 app architectures will reach a billion indexed web pages on WWW. Also, we can catch up with enhanced interactivity. When we save something on Facebook, it creates content on the Internet as a part of WWW.

In Web 3.0, the developed intelligence is majorly linked with data. People are appending metadata, data about data.

Moreover, it permits machines to understand better about data. Such machines can process data smartly, and we can notice ML being developed for web apps. 

We can start recommending what content one may need to purchase. We can see, now about 2.5 billion people use the Internet. 

One can catch up with a vast population through a web app. 

Examples of Web 2.0

The examples of Web 2.0 include the below:

• Hosted services, like Google Maps
• Video sharing sites, like YouTube
• Web apps, like Google Docs
• Blogs, like WordPress,
• Social networking, like Facebook
• Wikis, like MediaWiki
• Microblogging, like Twitter
• Podcasting, like Podcast Alley
• Folksonomies, like Delicious
• Content hosting services, etc.

Examples of Web 3.0

The examples of Web 3.0 include the below:

• Decentralized protocol, like Bitcoin 
• Decentralized, non-profit social networks, like Diaspora
• Decentralized exchange trading market, like Augur
• Blockchain-based social platforms and blogging, like Steemit
• A marketplace to buy and sell NFTs (built on Ethereum blockchain), like OpenSea
• Decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges, like Uniswap
• Decentralized social network (built on Ethereum blockchain), like Sapien
• Blockchain-based supply chain, authenticity platform, like Everledger

Which One Is Better Web 2.0 vs. Web 3.0?

First, let’s discuss Web phase – 2.0.

We can see dynamic content on Web 2.0 where users can interact with it because of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript technologies. Such technologies facilitate developers to create apps through which users can interact with content in real-time. 

Web 2.0 is entirely interaction-based, such as blogging, social media, bookmarking, or podcasting. We engage through comments and texts and can easily attach content, like music and images, and share it with other people. 

In Web 2.0, some apps became popular, such as Facebook, YouTube, Google, and Instagram. This web era is known as the “Social Web.”

Now, let’s move on to the Web stage – 3.0

Web 3.0 is a Semantic Web, which states that rather than searching content based on numbers or keywords, we can utilize AI to know content’s semantics on the web. 

It would facilitate machines to understand and interpret, like humans, not like machines. The target of the Semantic Web is to allow users to find, merge, and share information effortlessly. 

Although, nowadays, the tag Web 3.0 has emerged exceptionally compared to the Semantic web. Blockchain experts developing Dapps use “Web 3.0” to elaborate on app development on an open and decentralized architecture. 

We are aware of the fact that AI, blockchains, cryptocurrency, 3D graphics, VR, AR are advanced tech and our future. Web 3.0 will make the user experience much more immersive on the web. It’s an “executable” phase of the web where computers will interpret information like humans to generate personalized content for users. 

Well, implementing Web 3.0 may appear challenging, but the facts say it’s better than Web 2.0.

Conclusion

Web2 is a widely known version of the internet. The companies that offer services in exchange for personal data dominate it. 

On the contrary, Web3 refers to decentralized applications that run on the blockchain. Such apps facilitate anyone to participate without monetizing their data. 

After going through this post, we hold you got answers to all your relevant queries. For more, you can connect with us; we would be happy to help you. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Web 2.0 vs Web 3.0