In the last almost two decades, the internet has grown from being a predominately text based medium to a visually rich platform. This change has been spurred by consumer demand and technological advancements. As more and more people are accessing the internet from mobile devices, it’s easier and more convenient to have image rich content as opposed to text that can be cumbersome to scroll through on the go.

This trend is worth taking note of for anyone creating content for the web, looking to increase their audience or creating apps. You don’t need to go far to find examples of successful apps or sites that have capitalized on this trend. Two of the most popular apps on the market right now, Instagram and Pinterest, are based solely images, with users scrolling through images and liking or repinning images to their profile.

Another recent example is Imgur, founded in 2009, which serves as an image hosting service that also currently supports more than a billion image views a day. Imgur also provides an image generating tool that is widely used and very popular, allowing users to create their own visuals to share and post online.This move to a visual web doesn’t seem to be slowing down. As mobile internet use keeps growing, consumers will continue to demand quality image rich content.

Some of the history, current state and future for the visual web is outlined below. Check out the infographic below, by on.com to learn more.