Pixel Advertising: The 2005 Pixel Homepage Craze and What Happened
In 2005, pixel advertising became one of the web’s strangest crazes. After the Million Dollar Homepage sold tiny blocks of pixels for $1 each, dozens of copycat “pixel homepages” appeared overnight. This article looks back at that craze, what happened to those sites and what the idea can still teach anyone advertising online today.
Quick answer: Pixel advertising meant selling small blocks of a single web page, usually 10 x 10 pixels, as permanent ads with a logo and a link. The Million Dollar Homepage made over $1 million this way, but hundreds of copycats followed and almost none succeeded, because the idea only worked as news once. Today, advertisers use search, social and display ad networks instead.
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How the pixel homepage craze started
It all began with the Million Dollar Homepage, launched by British student Alex Tew in August 2005. The page, still online at milliondollarhomepage.com, sold a 1000 x 1000 pixel grid at $1 a pixel, in blocks of 100 pixels, so the cheapest ad was $100. Within weeks of launch, Tew said he had already made enough money to pay for his whole university course. When we first wrote about it in September 2005, about 41,600 pixels had sold.
Press coverage brought huge traffic, which made the ads more valuable, which brought more buyers. By January 2006 the page had sold out, with the last 1,000 pixels auctioned on eBay, for a total of just over $1 million.
The pixel advertising copycats of 2005
Tew later said that copycats “popped up almost immediately”, and before long there were hundreds of sites selling pixels. In September 2005 we started listing them as they appeared. Each tried a small twist on the original:
- Cheaper pixels: the Million Penny Homepage sold a million pixels at one cent each, and Half-a-buck Pixels charged $0.50 a pixel.
- Free pixels: the Zero Dollar Homepage gave pixels away, hoping to earn from other paid ads.
- Other currencies: the Million Euro Homepage, the Australian Million Dollar Homepage, the Million Yuan Homepage and the Dutch MiljoenPixels.nl copied the model for their own markets.
- Charity tie-ins: One Million Pixels and Million Dollar Pixel promised part of each sale to charity.
- Themed grids: Million Dollar Mosaic built a soup can out of 10,000 small cans, Links Across America sold plots on a US map, and Ebay Pixels was only for active eBay sellers.
- Prizes and goals: 250000.org offered buyers a chance to win $25,000, and The Peoples Vehicle sold pixels to buy a new car, with each buyer voting for a car brand.
Prices and terms varied, but almost all used the same 10 x 10 pixel block, a single image and a single link.
What happened to pixel advertising sites?
Very few pixel advertising copycats sold more than a handful of blocks. The Million Dollar Homepage worked because it was first: journalists covered the novelty, and that coverage was the real product advertisers were buying. A second, third or hundredth pixel page had no story to tell, so it had no traffic, and ads with no traffic are worth nothing.
Most of the copycat sites from our 2005 list have since disappeared. Even the original now suffers from link rot: a 2017 Harvard study found that about one in five of its links were already dead, and later checks found even more. Tew himself tried another pixel idea, Pixelotto, before moving on and co-founding the meditation app Calm.
Lessons from pixel advertising for 2026
The pixel craze is a fun piece of web history, but it still has useful lessons for anyone marketing a site:
- Being first matters. A new idea gets attention. A copy of it rarely does.
- Traffic is what advertisers pay for. An ad slot is only worth what the page around it attracts.
- Permanent links don’t last. Sites close and domains change, so “forever” ads become dead links. Measure ads by results, not promises.
- A good story spreads. Tew’s clear goal (paying for university) made the idea easy for journalists to share.
If you want to advertise or earn from ads today, ad networks and targeted campaigns give you measurable results. On the publishing side, placement still matters, as we explain in our guide on which AdSense ad sizes earn more.
FAQ
What is pixel advertising?
It is a form of online advertising where a web page is divided into small blocks of pixels, and each block is sold as an ad with an image and a link.
Did any Million Dollar Homepage copycats succeed?
Almost none came close to the original. The idea depended on media attention, and that only worked for the first site.
Can you still buy pixels on the Million Dollar Homepage?
No. It sold out in January 2006 and the page has been frozen since then.
Would pixel advertising work today?
Only as a one-off stunt with a fresh twist and a good story. For steady results, normal ad networks and search ads are far more reliable.
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It never stops. Now you can place ads on Google Maps!
MapShares lets you place advertisement on a map of the world. Click on the map to select a corner of the Earth where you’d like to place
your own image, text and link.
It’s some kind of a The Million Dollar Homepage, but more innovative than
the others I think, and more playful too.
Read up on the Million Dollar Story here…
http://www.TheMillionDollarStory.com/
Hi…
I was happy to have found your site blog. I like the idea of your listing pixel related blog sites. It will be a good indicator of the growth of pixel sites and demonstrate if Pixel advertising is here to stay! Keep it up!
A pixel is so small. It’s almost invisible. Heres a new concept: A site that only displays one Big Fat Ad. How much does it cost to advertise? $1 only. Totaly crazy mindblowing business idea.
Check it out for yourself at: bigfatad.com
We’re all very aware that driving people to an ad page is “old hat”… now we must attract people to the ads, and/or deliver the ads in a complementary manner.
Be sure to drop by https://www.pixelsanyone.com/ and catch the latest twists and turns.
They are springing up all over the place…
http://www.propertyblocks.com
Buck A Pixel
Now here’s a twist on the theme: Use your pixels to COVER UP a giant photo of Bush.
Just gone live this week… The Web in a Pint
Purchase PixelAds at 50p per pixel and help support Real Ale and Cider in the U.K.
At least this site has moved on from a boring old square!
Check out http://www.PixelAds4All.com – they offer a FREE 100 by 100 pixel “tool tip image” with the purchase of your ad, which acts like a billboard for your site! They are also currently offering their pixels for 50% off, or $50 USD for a 100 pixel block.
Here is a new pixel ad site that is giving away 50 Apple Nanos! The Million Quarter Billboard or
http://www.millionquarterbillboard.com
Here’s another site: http://www.milliondollarhomesite.net
Full credit is given to Alex Tew and there is a link to his website.
Check this one out. This is definately a twist. You can buy pixels just like all the other pixel pages, but companies can also buy or sponsor advertising on a car that will go on a show & race tour http://www.milliondollarcarproject.com
[i]Found another great one! http://www.pixelsinthesky.com [/i]
and here another one, with free pixs
THis one is Specific to Indian Market.
http://www.crorepati.info
here’s another:
http://milliondollartwins.com
http://www.milliondollarpixelwebpage.com
instead of advertising anywhere, why not advertise in context…
Let’s not foget
I think this one has one of the best chances of success, he’s creating the Internets most expensive refrigerator, the ads being refrigerator magnets! Very ingenious..
Here is another one but its a bit different. http://www.theworldwidewall.com
Buys some Ads place and help a Kid in need.
MillionPixels4Kids
Sorry – forgot to add the URL – its available at http://www.1millionpixels.co.uk
Take a look!
Here is another one – really like the design of this site – and each pixel only costs 25p in UK currency, so it is much more affordable!
Here’s the latest one
http://www.millionusdollarhomepage.com
you can see the spot you purchased immediately after paying Fully Automated
This one is the craziest site i’ve seen… just went up… bet it will blow up at some point!!
http://www.commercialtown.com
http://www.pixelkeyboard.com
This one is coming soon and is donating part of the proceeds to local burn charities. It should be up in a few more days.
blowupmy ride.com
Another one: http://www.onepennypixel.com
Check out http://www.whosupports.com
This site will allow you to purchase pixels to show your support for a charity. Part of the money will be donated to that charitable cause too!
Another :
http://www.mostexpensivepixelontheinternet.com/
This guy is trying to upgrade his old mobile home to a house by selling 30×30 “houses.” You gotta love American capitalism.
Here’s another one:
http://www.madcow.com
Guy’s trying to start a company with sales. Of all the sites i’ve seen, this one has a good purpose. Creating jobs? I’m going to send him my resume, heh.
And he’s honest about stealing the idea from Alex’s site, unlike others i’ve seen.
You can buy pixels/blocks from the site and add your own banners/ads which contain link to your own page.
There is 1 million pixels in site and you can deside which place you purchase.
yet another free pixel site
AlotMoreTraffic.com
Found 2 new ones that are specific to MySpace.com and Xanga.com, you have to be a member of one of those sites, but you can get pixels for free.
The links for both these are
PixelsForMySpace.com
PixelsForXanga.com
This one gives pixels away for free
PixelYourPage.com
You can also BUY the script to run your own Pixel Ad site and it cost less than most sites charge for 1 block of pixels
Handy list of “milliondollarhomepages” you have here. Interesting to see all the concepts popping up around it. Some will remain, most will bottom out or give up on it.
I have one to add to your list. This one is crazy. Only animated gifs are allowed.
Pixels for Pennies – Pennies For Charity!
http://www.pixelget.com
The latest copycat/ripoff/spinoff (my preferred term :) ), this one allows any and all content…
Hi,
not all million-sides takes money for pixel… see this, it’s for free:
The Australian Million Dollar Homepage will be a great advertising platform for any Australian based business to reach a fresh audience.
The objective of the site is to help advertisers reach millions of potential customers. By riding the waves of a craze currently sweeping the web & by using advanced Search Engine Optimisation techniques this site will soon have a very high page ranking.
Of course the prime aim is to sell all the pixels and therefore rake in a Million Bucks but I am experimenting with search engine optimisation techniques & researching internet trends.
I’m not a student although I plan to take the Google Advertising Professional Exam soon.
Unlike Alex, I have plenty of swanky socks but do have two young children to feed!
Find out more about Richard Ellender, OzWebFX and his copycat business idea at http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com.au
Here is another one, but this one is a bit creative and offers more features that all of them combined.
– as much as the idea is similar, this one is offered ONLY for eBay sellers with high feedback score and it links to all their items for sale. Good idea, as long as they keep the data actual (remove the old not-active sellers). Wish them well, I’ve bookmarked it and will check for progress. Oh, they also do a Contest with a 12 Mega Pixel :) Digital Camera – good prize for that business – all you need to do is follow the clues by searching (clicking) the advertisers pixels. That at least looks like they try to get the visitors to click…
Here’s another “million” page but this is not as much a copycat as the others. Here one gets a link and a souvenir so to say for the effort. The url is Milliondollarpay.com and its still under construction for part of it I think.
Lets you buy a piece of a Pop Art mosaic, which could be exhibited in a gallery.
Here’s another one – http://www.thepeoplesvehicle.com