Netscape Composer 4

Netscape Composer 4

Posted on January 19, 2026

Netscape Composer 4, bundled with Netscape Communicator 4 back in 1997, was the go-to “anyone can build a website” tool before drag-and-drop site builders were even a thing. It let you create and edit HTML pages without touching code, while still giving you the option to tweak the source if you wanted. Composer 4.0 dropped alongside Communicator 4.0, and updates like 4.5 in 1998 and 4.7 in 1999 cleaned up bugs and added small usability improvements. It was simple, free, and ran on Windows and Mac at a time when building a personal homepage on GeoCities or Tripod felt like the future. If you remember crafting pages with blinking text and hit counters, there’s a good chance Composer was part of your toolkit.

Netscape Composer 4