Editing GNOME Web (section)

==== Gecko-based ====
The first version of Epiphany was released on December 24, 2002.<ref name="epiphany-turns-7" />

Epiphany initially used the [[Gecko (layout engine)|Gecko layout engine]] from the [[Mozilla]] project to display web pages. It provided a GNOME [[graphical user interface]] for Gecko, instead of Mozilla's cross-platform interface.<ref name="dont-click_book" />

The development of Epiphany was mainly focused on usability improvements compared to major browsers at the time. The most notable was the new text entry widget, which was introduced in version 1.8. The new widget supported icons inside the text area and reduced the screen space needed to present information, while improving GNOME integration.<ref name="new-text-entry_devblog" />

The next major milestone was version 2.14, which was the first to follow GNOME's version numbering. It also featured network awareness using [[NetworkManager]], [[smart bookmarks]] improvements, and the option to build with [[XULRunner]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}

The latter was critical. Previously, Epiphany could only use an installed Mozilla web browser as a web engine provider. The XULRunner support made it possible to install Epiphany as the only web browser on the system.<ref name="pi-1" /><ref name="198_devblog" />