There were a few CGI script websites around, like Matt's Script Archive and his (in)famous FormMail.pl.
There were also URL libs, eventually, as well as other CGI-specific tools, like counters, banners etc.
You are right that PHP was the logical simpler choice, and it did take off in the second half of the 90s. But for the best part of the decade the web was built on CGI.
I would argue that the CGI era was a good one. Writing a CGI required low-level knowledge of HTTP, HTML, how web servers worked, and very likely knowing your way around a UNIX system. Solid skills, that are still useful today, marked a high bar which raised the overall level.
Furthermore, the nature of CGIs made for better architectures. Simple entry and exit points, dedicated services. Connecting them to something else required careful consideration. They made you gravitate naturally towards KISS, REST and other best practices which are still observed today.
I would also add that there were several other hobbyist fields popular at the same time, like MUDs (usually built in C) or IRC servers/clients/bots (also Perl/C/TCL) to name just a couple. Knowledge gained in one of them lent itself fairly easily to another.
There were also URL libs, eventually, as well as other CGI-specific tools, like counters, banners etc.
You are right that PHP was the logical simpler choice, and it did take off in the second half of the 90s. But for the best part of the decade the web was built on CGI.
I would argue that the CGI era was a good one. Writing a CGI required low-level knowledge of HTTP, HTML, how web servers worked, and very likely knowing your way around a UNIX system. Solid skills, that are still useful today, marked a high bar which raised the overall level.
Furthermore, the nature of CGIs made for better architectures. Simple entry and exit points, dedicated services. Connecting them to something else required careful consideration. They made you gravitate naturally towards KISS, REST and other best practices which are still observed today.
I would also add that there were several other hobbyist fields popular at the same time, like MUDs (usually built in C) or IRC servers/clients/bots (also Perl/C/TCL) to name just a couple. Knowledge gained in one of them lent itself fairly easily to another.