The world’s first website dedicated to promoting beards
I haven’t been making this claim about being the world’s first beard website. But it’s true. I have to explain that, however.
In the early days of the worldwide web, all kinds of online firsts were popping up as the Internet phenomenon started its spread to the masses. One of these online firsts was something called The Beard and Moustache Page. It resided on a web server at the University of East Anglia in England.
Yes, The Beard and Moustache Page definitely came before All About BEARDS. But it was strictly a web forum. It was a page with a running stream of users’ questions, answers, and related discussions about beards and mustaches. It wasn’t truly a full-fledged website dedicated to beards. I mean, its name clearly called it a page, not a site. Okay, it could be debated whether The Beard and Moustache Page should be considered a complete beard website. That’s why I haven’t been making the world’s first claim for All About BEARDS.
No matter how you want to classify the trail-blazing Beard and Moustache Page, All About BEARDS was the first standalone website dedicated to be all about beards.
Now The Beard and Moustache Page is long, long gone and barely remembered at all. Meanwhile, All About BEARDS is still here and still dedicated to its mission to:
- promote beards and beard growing
- educate people about beards and be a resource for beard information
- encourage beard appreciation and acceptance
- work to reduce anti-beard bias
- encourage and inspire men everywhere to grow their beards as they please
All About BEARDS unquestionably holds the title of “world’s longest-running beard website”. And it’s been helping men grow more and better beards, worldwide, since January 17, 1996.
San José, California: home of All About BEARDS
All About BEARDS sprouted from San José’s Blossom Valley, making its debut on the web on January 17, 1996. The little site was launched on a big mission: to make the world more beard-friendly. It was a tall order. Beards were far less prevalent and far less accepted in 1996 than they are now or even the last couple of decades.
The site’s been named All About BEARDS from the first day, January 17, 1996. Its first home was on America Online (AOL) user webspace at the address members.aol.com/beardguy/. Soon after the site had been established there, I looked into registering a domain specifically for the site. I looked at the beards.org domain and it had not yet been taken. But then I hesitated and didn’t register it immediately. Soon, someone else picked it up.
I was disappointed but accepted that I let it get away. Quite a bit later on, the beards. org domain was put up for auction on eBay in August 2004. By that time, the domain had already changed ownership a few times. I won the eBay auction for the domain. I don’t remember how much I paid. I don’t think it cost me very much.
With the beards.org domain in hand, I quietly started preparations for moving All About BEARDS to beards.org. I don’t know why I took so long. But I launched All About BEARDS at its new home on beards.org on January 20, 2005. And the site has been here ever since, interchangeably known as All About BEARDS or simply beards.org.
All About BEARDS 2025
Watch for some new surprises on All About BEARDS in 2025. We will be looking back and growing forward.
Let all men be free to grow their beards as they wish
All About BEARDS‘ key mission is to help pave the way for men everywhere to be free to grow their beards as they see fit. No man should feel shy, reluctant, or not at liberty to grow his beard if he wants to. All About BEARDS is here to help him out, to encourage him, to inspire him, and to make it easier for him to truly experience the Joy of Beard.
Ready to start? Let’s grow!
Happy 2025 to everyone.