All Web sites, whether classic or not, tend to follow the same evolutionary path: A site is conceived in the mind of an unusually intelligent person; starts off as a buggy alpha project; evolves into a less-buggy beta project; develops into a full-blown meme usually sometime around launch (
Google betas excepted); and swirls around the Internet for a while. That's where the path diverges: the site can fade away into uncoolness and disuse, cater to a niche of hard-core users, or mature into a classic Web site that is used and loved by millions.
clipped from: www.pcmag.com 
