Angelfire

Last updated 2026.03.25

{{short description|Website hosting service}} {{about|the Internet service}} {{Infobox website | name = Angelfire | url = [https://www.angelfire.lycos.com/ angelfire.lycos.com] | commercial = No | type = Paid [[web hosting service]] | dissolved = 2026 | owner = [[Lycos]] | screenshot = Angelfire Homepage.png | screenshot_size = 250px | caption = Angelfire homepage | launch_date = {{start date and age|1996}} }}

'''Angelfire''' was an [[Internet]] service that offered website services. It is owned by [[Lycos]], which also owns [[Tripod.com]]. Angelfire operated separately from Tripod.com and included features such as [[blog]] building and a photo gallery builder.

==History== Angelfire was founded in 1996 and was originally a combination website building and [[medical transcription]] service.{{Cite web |last=Jolly |first=Jennifer |title=TECH NOW: How to make your own website for free |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2013/09/22/free-website-build-tumblr-weebly-jimdo-wordpress/2838269/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}{{cite web|url= https://www.angelfire.lycos.com/aboutaf.tmpl |title= About Angelfire |work= Angelfire |access-date= November 22, 2023 |archive-date= November 22, 2023 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20231122115914/https://www.angelfire.lycos.com/aboutaf.tmpl |url-status=live}} Eventually, the site dropped the transcription service and focused solely on website hosting, offering only paid memberships. The site was bought by [[Mountain View, California]]–based WhoWhere on October 20, 1997,{{cite web | url=http://www.angelfire.com/doc/news.html | title=WhoWhere? to Acquire Angelfire Communications | work=Angelfire | date=1997-10-20 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19971211090307/http://www.angelfire.com/doc/news.html | archivedate=1997-12-11}} which, in turn, was subsequently purchased by the [[search engine]] company [[Lycos]] on August 11, 1998, for US$133{{nbsp}}million.{{cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/1998/08/11/deals/lycos/ | title=Lycos buys WhoWhere? | work=[[CNN]] | date=1998-08-11 | accessdate=2021-12-01}}{{Cite web |last=Leadem |first=Rose |date=2016-08-04 |title=15 Internet Relics We Miss (and Some We Don't) |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/15-internet-relics-we-miss-and-some-we-dont/280243 |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Entrepreneur |language=en}}

On March 6, 2026, Lycos announced that their services, specifically Angelfire and [[Tripod (web hosting)|Tripod]], were experiencing temporary outages in a note on their frontpage.{{Cite web |title=Lycos.com |url=https://www.lycos.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260306061129/https://www.lycos.com/ |archive-date=2026-03-06 |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=www.lycos.com |language=en}} Later that day, the message was updated to say "To our users of Angelfire and Tripod. We apologize for the service interruptions. Unfortunately we will be shutting down in the next 30 days. Please move your hosting to another host as soon as possible."{{Cite web |title=Lycos.com |url=https://www.lycos.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260306102953/https://www.lycos.com/ |archive-date=2026-03-06 |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=www.lycos.com |language=en}} The message was removed from the homepage shortly after, without further official statement from the company.{{Cite web |title=Lycos.com |url=https://www.lycos.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260306173341/https://www.lycos.com/ |archive-date=2026-03-06 |access-date=2026-03-15 |website=www.lycos.com |language=en}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links==

  • [https://www.angelfire.lycos.com/ Official website]

{{Lycos}}

[[Category:Internet properties established in 1996]] [[Category:Web hosting]] [[Category:Web 1.0]]