Netscape built the first modern browser business, sparked the dot-com rush, and then collapsed into irrelevance. Its story is a primer in product-market fit, distribution, platform risk, and the perils of fighting incumbents without a durable business model.
Netscape's Navigator rewired the world - and then lost it. This post traces the rapid ascent from 1994 breakout to 1998 decline, analyzes the strategic errors that handed the crown to Internet Explorer, and extracts practical lessons every modern startup should memorize.
Netscape Navigator wasn't merely a browser - it invented many of the protocols, languages, and commercial instincts that made the web what it is today. This post revisits its rise, fall, and the durable lessons every web developer should learn.
Netscape Navigator didn't just surf the web - it built the surfboard. This essay traces how Netscape shaped web technologies, standards and culture, drawing on contemporary reporting, oral histories and recollections from engineers and early users.