Example.com just launched the biggest redesign in decades
Example.com, the long-standing placeholder domain reserved by IANA for documentation, has undergone a rare redesign that adds localization, JavaScript-driven content, and a small SVG icon while being served via Cloudflare. Commenters debate whether these changes are appropriate for what is meant to be a minimal, non-service domain, especially given its heavy use in automated tests, connectivity checks, and captive portal triggers despite explicit warnings not to rely on it. The redesign highlights tensions between keeping the site lightweight and static for bandwidth and tooling purposes, and recognizing its de facto role as critical infrastructure for many real-world workflows.
Localization and Language Handling
- Some argue it should localize by IP region or Accept-Language; others say IP-based language is inaccurate and often unwanted.
- There’s debate on whether supporting only UN languages is appropriate; some expected German/Hindi but note many speakers also know English.
- Current behavior: all languages are shown, with the browser’s preferred language moved to the top. This replaced an earlier rotating language animation that was criticized as confusing and inaccessible.
JavaScript-Heavy Redesign & SVG Icon
- Many are surprised the page now relies on an external JS file that injects translations, styles, and even a static SVG icon.
- Critics call this overkill for a documentation domain and question why localization isn’t done server-side.
- Defenders say pushing content into JS reduces bandwidth for non-browser clients that don’t execute JS, especially at this traffic scale.
- There’s some confusion over whether the SVG appears with JS disabled; screenshots suggest that without JS only a basic English message is shown.
Use as a Service: Captive Portals & Testing
- Multiple commenters admit using example.com to trigger captive Wi‑Fi portals or as an HTTP-only test endpoint, often preferring it because it lacked HTTPS/HSTS.
- Alternatives like neverssl.com, http.rip, and vendor connectivity checks (Google/Apple/Microsoft/Mozilla URLs) are suggested for this use.
- Some feel the new text and design explicitly discourage using example.com for testing and monitoring, and that this is intentional.
Hosting, Cloudflare, and Bandwidth
- Some are puzzled that IANA uses Cloudflare for such a simple static page, questioning why it can’t be self-hosted.
- Others counter that example.com is extremely popular, so a CDN offloads bandwidth and infrastructure load, and IANA has long used third-party CDNs.
- Debate exists over whether the JS-based design truly reduces bandwidth, especially given added complexity.
Breakage, Fragile Tests, and Hyrum’s Law
- Several note that the redesign likely broke tests, EVALs, and odd tooling that assumed the old HTML or layout.
- This is cited as a textbook case of Hyrum’s Law: any observable behavior will be depended on, even if explicitly discouraged.
- Some recommend intentionally changing or randomizing the page periodically to discourage treating it as a stable API.