This finding sets out why associating a particular set of technologies with a version number for the web goes against the principle that there is one web.

This document has been produced by the W3C Technical Architecture Group (TAG). The TAG approved this finding at its December 2024 F2F.

## The web platform does not have versions The web does not use versioning at a platform level, because it benefits from [continuous evolution](https://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/evergreen-web/). The web platform is made up of many different technologies. A large community drives the development of these technologies, and some are dependent on each other. Versioning might be helpful for individual features, so that we can iterate on them independently of each other. This allows the community to focus on the merits of each technical contribution to the web in a distributed and modular way. Version numbers such as "Web 2.0" have been used for educational, communications or marketing purposes, which is different from versioning in the sense that software is versioned. Some of these uses are beneficial to the community, for example for developers who learned to work with particular technologies at a particular point in the web platform's evolution. However in other cases this terminology has been used to imply that a set of technologies are a part of the web platform when this is not the case, which may be confusing to both users and developers. ## Incremental evolution is the path forward The web is a stable platform. Enhancements should always be incremental, in a positive direction (leave the web better than you found it), while breaking as little as possible (ideally nothing - for example, through [polyfill prototyping](https://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/polyfills/)). The most effective way to do this is through distinct contributions. Remember that it takes significantly more effort to remove a feature from the web than to add a feature. Efforts such as [Baseline](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Baseline/Compatibility) provide a reference point for web developers that documents how interoperable features are, without assigning a version to the web platform as a whole. ## Contributions are made through consensus The web platform is governed by standards. Contributions are made by explaining the technical merits of the proposal, with clear use cases, and working with the community to achieve consensus and involvement by multiple implementers. Technologies which do not go through this process should not be advertised as being part of the web platform. ## Conclusion It is important to develop the web platform in line with the principle that there is [one web](https://www.w3.org/TR/ethical-web-principles/#oneweb). Versioning should be constrained to individual features, and not applied to the web platform as a whole.