When was this link created
Executive summary
No specific URL was provided, so it is impossible to state the creation date of "this link" from the reporting given; instead, the sources describe methods and their limits for estimating when a link or page first appeared, and those methods must be applied to the actual URL to get an answer [1] [2] [3].
1. The core problem: links don’t carry a visible “birthdate”
Hyperlinks themselves do not contain an embedded, universally readable creation timestamp; browsers and HTML do not attach a persistent creation date to individual anchors, and server headers or page metadata typically reflect page-level modification times rather than the moment a particular link was added [1] [4].
2. What investigators actually can check quickly
Practical investigators start with site-level and archival signals: domain registration records (WHOIS) show when a domain was first registered, which is useful context but not the same as the moment a particular link appeared (domain-age tools report registration and update dates) [5] [6]; cached search results or Google snippets sometimes show a publish or cached date that helps bracket when a page containing the link existed [2].
3. Archive crawls and snapshots: the Wayback Machine and equivalents
Archived snapshots (e.g., Internet Archive/Wayback Machine) let researchers view historical versions of a page and thereby estimate when a link first appeared by comparing snapshots over time; this is widely recommended as a primary technique for approximating link-appearance dates [1] [7].
4. Page metadata, HTTP headers and source inspection: approximate signals, not proof
Inspecting a page’s HTML for published/modified timestamps, examining HTTP Last-Modified headers, or checking embedded metadata can reveal when the page was last changed, but those entries may reflect site rebuilds, caching, or author edits and thus do not definitively pin down when a single hyperlink was added [4] [2] [3].
5. Tools and services that estimate dates — their strengths and blind spots
Numerous online tools advertise “website age” or “date published” checks and can be useful for quick estimates (domain-age checkers, bulk site-age services), but they typically rely on WHOIS, archive data, or heuristics and can be inaccurate for pages on older domains, for pages republished, or for content moved between domains [7] [5] [3].
6. A recommended step-by-step approach when a precise date is required
To determine when a particular link was created, first apply Wayback/archival searches to the exact URL to find the earliest snapshot containing the link, second check Google/other search engine caches and the page’s own visible timestamps or structured data, third inspect HTTP headers and the page source for last-modified metadata, and finally consult WHOIS for domain registration context—bearing in mind none of these alone guarantees the exact moment a hyperlink was created and contacting the site owner may be necessary when precision is required [1] [2] [4] [3].
7. What cannot be concluded from the supplied reporting
Because no specific URL was supplied to analyze, the sources cannot be used to produce a creation date for "this link"; the reporting supports only methods and caveats for estimating a creation date, not an answer about an unspecified link [1] [5] [7].