Date: How Recently Was the Page Published or Updated?

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Why would you want to know when a web page was created or updated?

The 'currency' or 'freshness' of the information may be vital to your search. If you are looking for statistics, news about terrorism, or current scientific research, information published in 1995 may not be as valuable as data from 2007.

On the other hand, if you are seeking less time sensitive information, the date of publication may not be important when determining credibility.

Remember: many times information on the web is not updated after it is originally published. It is up to the searcher to decide if the date of publication is an important element in their search.

How can you find out when a web page was created or updated?

Best: You find a copyright date that tells you the year the page was created. This date is usually at the bottom of the page.

Second Best: Sometimes the page content will include dates, or references to clearly dated material. In the absence of copyright dates, these 'content dates' may be your best indicator of currency.

Third Choice: A date that is associated with a revision may have to do if there are no other dates available. Look at the bottom of a web page to see if the author has indicated when the page was last updated. Authors and webmasters typically put copyright, revision and update information at the bottom of the page.

What does 'updated' really mean?

Many web page authors display the date when a page has been updated. This gives you, the searcher, some idea of how fresh or current the information is. However an update may be as simple as a font change, a spelling fix, or the addition of a new link. We can't assume, based on a modification date alone, that the content of the page has been significantly revised. The date is just one element in the evaluation of a web resource.

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Authored by Lora K. Kaisler and Dennis O'Connor