Tabbed browsing was initially offered in 1994 as part of the InternetWorks browser. In 2003, tabbed browsing was officially introduced by Mozilla and has become a popular Web browser feature.

Tabbed browsing is a useful Web browser feature for the following reasons:

• Multiple website tabs may be opened simultaneously.
• A slow-loading Web page or website may be opened and loaded in the background, which allows a user to remain engaged in another tab.
• Because tabs are neatly arranged, tabbed browsing reduces desktop clutter.

Tabbed browsing does not allow side-by-side browser tab viewing, but most browsers allow open tabs to be viewed in separate windows.

Tabbed browsing is also incorporated in other programs and interfaces with the "many instances, one window" principle. For example, some programming and Web design tools now incorporate tabs. However, it is unclear whether these interfaces were cloned from the Web browsing community - or the other way around.