June 27, 2011

A New Google Homepage Experiment

Another day, another Google experiment. This time, Google tests a new design for the homepage that combines two experimental features that have already been used (the black navigation bar and the blue search button) with a new way to display the links to Google's corporate pages: at the bottom of the page.


Google has been testing a lot of UI changes for the homepage and the search results pages and it's obvious that some of them will be included in a new interface that will be released soon. Google does away with many traditional features (the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button could be removed from the homepage, the link to the cached version of a search result could be hidden, while snippet URLs could be replaced by the name of the site) and tries to emphasize the navigation bar, which is likely to include new social features.

{ Thanks, Riccardo and Pascal. }
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60 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    ah man... i am not sure what's going on. my account is yet to get people widget, the new blogger dashboard... and i never get these google experiments.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJune 27, 2011 at 12:09 PM

    It's awesome, except the black bar.

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  3. Tiago MartinsJune 27, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    "It's awesome, except the black bar." I agree :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    How do I get to see this?

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  5. UnknownJune 27, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    Indeed dislike the black bar most

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  6. guiieJune 27, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    What about the sidebar? http://i.imgur.com/LFPqv.png
    Argentina here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 1:27 PM

    Я люблю новый дизайн.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownJune 27, 2011 at 5:30 PM

    Guille said...
    What about the sidebar? http://i.imgur.com/LFPqv.png
    Argentina here.

    June 27, 2011 12:54 PM

    It been mention already in a other post on this site.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 5:37 PM

    Just noticed the black bar in google reader! Hope they get rid of it as it is very distracting. Has anyone here found a way to change it back?

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  10. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 9:36 PM

    I love the blackbar. There should just be a way to switch

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  11. UnknownJune 27, 2011 at 9:55 PM

    I hate the black bar, is there some way to get rid of it besides switching to Bing?

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    This black bar is terrible, it's very distracting, how can I remove it?

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 12:08 AM

    Ding ding ding!

    The black bar is absolutely horrible. Wanna make a million bucks? start a site called:

    googlewithoutablackbar.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 9:03 AM

    I really hope that G does not hide access to the cached version of search results pages. I use the cached version when the site I want to view is down, or when the content has changed since it was last slurped by the bots and I'm interested in the content shown within the page snippet.

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  15. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 9:34 AM

    i also dont like the black bar it look out of place.

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  16. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    Agreed. Lose the black bar. My first thought upon seeing it: "When did Google turn into Bing?"

    It's distracting, it takes the focus away from search, it doesn't provide new functionality... it's just change for change's sake. Hate it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. taidhgJune 28, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    the black bar looks horrible, it is too pronounced ('in your face') , distracting, and #1- IT LOOKS TERRIBLE

    I've just noticed it, and its just made me mad. its all those things and guess what?
    -I have no way to change it back!
    no 'display options' or whatever you want to call it, to customise (change back in my case) the view of the google hopepage.

    it is just plain old ugly, and un-invited...
    get rid of it, or let people choose if they want white/black/etc

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    How do I remove it? My Gmail account is no longer secure. It shows I am signed in via the black bar every time the computer is restarted- Even if I logged out before restarting. This definitely violates my privacy.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 5:04 PM

    Get rid of black bar pls

    ReplyDelete
  20. David RichardsJune 28, 2011 at 5:05 PM

    The reason that I initially liked Google Search so much was its simplicty, this recent style change is not only completely unwarranted, but also very ugly on the eyes.

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    there has to be a way to get rid of the black bar it is ugly

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 6:32 PM

    so does anyone have a way to get rid of it or is all these sites just bitch about it???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    ReplyDelete
  23. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 7:17 PM

    pls no more black bar. Thanks google

    ReplyDelete
  24. jstoddardJune 28, 2011 at 7:46 PM

    Open letter to Google
    You will never, repeat never - get any traction whatsoever in the enterprise if you continue this stupidity of cramming new "features" down peoples' throats. A BLACK bar? Really? Are you freaking kidding - a SOLID BLACK bar that wastes another half inch screen real estate, has no way to turn it off, and is totally redundant ? What the hell are you people thinking?

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 8:06 PM

    I'm googling how to remove this new (and ugly/annoying/distracting) black bar, and this is where I end up? Come on, Google!

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousJune 28, 2011 at 11:20 PM

    Microsoft own google now - what else would you expect?

    ReplyDelete
  27. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 1:04 AM

    I hate the black bar too, and I also hate the new search result page, I can't see with my left eye so I have to turn my head, since the results are on the left part now(that is why i don't use Ubuntu unity), and there is a white part on the right side big enough to fit another search result page. Why can't it be in the middle, like it was for so many years?
    p.s. it is only happening in .hu/.ro , if i switch to .com all is back to normal, except the black bar.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Nepal TreksJune 29, 2011 at 4:01 AM

    Every thing is fine in new experiment but i m also agree with above commenter is black bar is 100% not good. i suggest to make mix bar. thats all

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  29. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 4:50 AM

    Come on, get rid of the black bar

    ReplyDelete
  30. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 9:24 AM

    Google everyone hates the black bar and its not going to make more people sign up for your services. Its too distracting and diverts my attention from my work which makes my microsoft hating self want to use Bing. If somethings not broke don't stomp on it and smash it to pieces. That is just not SMART and you people are supposed to be SMART.

    ReplyDelete
  31. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 9:41 AM

    We have options to get rid of the other bars, why isn't there an option to get rid of this black bar. I too think it is distracting, annoying, and clutters my screen with something that has no value to me.

    ReplyDelete
  32. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 11:55 AM

    black bar = :(

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 4:35 PM

    Don't like the black bar...

    ReplyDelete
  34. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    :( the new side bar not centered

    before i dislike the new black bar now i like the new black bar, but the search bar and side bar not centered make me feel Headache

    ReplyDelete
  35. AnonymousJune 29, 2011 at 11:42 PM

    Installed the script to remove the black bar. The designer must have eye problem. The sidebar color also sucks. The red color does not match.

    ReplyDelete
  36. AnonymousJune 30, 2011 at 3:28 AM

    I am switching to Bing until this changes. It's an arbitrary and capricious decision that affects millions of people adversely. The black bar is a big bar of BAD! If only the fine folks at google would take a lesson from the Society for Technical Communication. Please see the rationale following: A characteristic of
    the display that is merely an annoyance to a normal reader may cause the same display to be completely unusable by someone with reduced vision. Such visual impairments are a common problem. More than 100 million Americans wear corrective lenses (i.e., contact lenses or eyeglasses) and one out of every twenty
    Americans suffers from a reduced vision problem (Stoto,Behrens, & Rosemont, 1990). Moreover, it is possiblethat careful choices during the design process can enhance the effectiveness of the electronic document for many reduced vision readers. Additionally, text legibility is highly important to reduced vision readers
    because difficulty in reading often is the first, or most severe, result of their vision loss. Therefore, designers of electronic displays must make accessibility the first
    challenge in the design of on–screen text or a user interface. See article by Gloria A. Reece http://www.stcsig.org/sn/PDF/MG2XlLowVisionWeb.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  37. AnonymousJune 30, 2011 at 3:37 AM

    It's kinda like the yahoo search engine... which also sucks
    The colours REALLY don't match. (The black bar is just lame)
    also I think the writing got even smaller on the main page and on the search box.

    ReplyDelete
  38. AnonymousJune 30, 2011 at 11:03 AM

    = Zero usage, changed to Bing for the duration. I do not like Bing, but Bing is better right now.

    ReplyDelete
  39. AnonymousJune 30, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    Awful...
    That is the only way to describe it.

    ReplyDelete
  40. AnonymousJune 30, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    How do you read whatever is on that black bar?I can't.Can you?

    ReplyDelete
  41. Derek LeungJune 30, 2011 at 8:40 PM

    The black bar is actually there to save energy. A monitor uses many electricity, and the black bar displaying on everyone's computer display helps saving energy.
    In the beginning people usually hate changes, but without changes, there will be no improvement.
    And I actually like the black bars.

    ReplyDelete
  42. AnonymousJuly 1, 2011 at 8:01 PM

    Actually, in graphics mode the black bar uses more energy.

    ReplyDelete
  43. AnonymousJuly 2, 2011 at 2:18 AM

    hate black/red. original please

    ReplyDelete
  44. AnonymousJuly 2, 2011 at 3:32 AM

    The additional suggestions at the bottom are fine. Blue search is good.

    Please remove the black bar.

    ReplyDelete
  45. AnonymousJuly 2, 2011 at 8:15 PM

    The black bar is ugly and hard on the eyes. Make it go away...

    ReplyDelete
  46. AnonymousJuly 4, 2011 at 11:57 PM

    Now this is interesting. I did a Google search for "Google black bar" plus several variations of this and got ZERO results. I came here via BING. Google is clearly rattled by the BBB (Black Bar Backlash)to the point they censor search results on the subject. Now that IS evil.

    Bye Bye Google. Hello Bing.

    ReplyDelete
  47. catherine yronwodeJuly 17, 2011 at 10:23 PM

    The black bar is UGLY. The black bar also is UNREADABLE to people such as myself with low vision. I have put up with it as long as i could -- but i still hate it. It is lop-sided, weighty, ridiculously intrusive, and the colours it promotes speak only of DEATH (black), TEDIUM (grey), and Pain (blood-red). Google used to be the HAPPY search engine -- clean, fun, witty, smart, pleasantly child-like, and very sophisticated. Now it is in DEEP MOURNING. It is a sad, disfiguring, unreadable BLACK MESS.

    ReplyDelete
  48. AnonymousJuly 22, 2011 at 4:08 AM

    Wow! congratulations Google on a News of the World sized Fu**up. All Black Bar comments above are absolutely spot on, it is pure unadulterated shite! reduced sized fonts in a ghastly difficult to read gray colour, misaligned margins and the ludicrous and intensely annoying BLACK BAR and no option to change settings/preferences Unless you log onto a Google account, what a joke!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Mike RomanOctober 23, 2011 at 11:05 AM

    I used to hate the black bar at the top of Google Pages.

    Now I absolutely love it. Don't knock something until you've gotten used to it.

    I used to hate "Natural Scrolling" when Apple came out with OSX Lion. Now I think scrolling any other way is absurd.

    Spend some time with it before dissing the black bar.

    ReplyDelete
  50. AnonymousNovember 30, 2011 at 7:55 PM

    The black bar and the menu down the left side are still completely shitty. Is nothing sacred?!! Damn it!

    Was anyone complaining about the Google page? Were you? How about you over there? Nope? Okay then, Google please switch back to the original. We liked the nice clean whitespace and the colorful (and matching) colors. Please stop trying to be edgy and just stick to what works.

    ReplyDelete
  51. AnonymousDecember 2, 2011 at 3:32 AM

    Hi Im no computer wizard but I got rid if the black AND the blue bars by unticking the 'delete browsing history on exit' tab. OK Ive now got an 'offwhite' broad band (no pun intended !)but much better that the black/blue ones >>>DS

    ReplyDelete
  52. suziDecember 2, 2011 at 8:43 AM

    I hate my new blue bar on Google Home Page.

    ReplyDelete
  53. AnonymousDecember 2, 2011 at 4:08 PM

    There was nothing wrong with the original..... stop making changes or give people the option on which page they want. Track what people decide on... since you track everything else.

    ReplyDelete
  54. AnonymousDecember 3, 2011 at 2:08 PM

    Get rid of the blue bar. I will be going to a new search site soon for my homepage if the blue bar stays!

    ReplyDelete
  55. Jonathan TalbotDecember 4, 2011 at 6:47 AM

    hate the new black drop down menu at upper left

    ReplyDelete
  56. AnonymousDecember 5, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    THe new menu defeats the very thing that made Google popular to begin with which was its simple interface not full of cr@p, excuse me, features. I am extremely annoyed by this thing and wil be seeking a new search engine. Not Bing though. Microsoft can ruin anything. They are the shoddiest company in the history of the US and are a monopoly and should be broken up for the good of everybody.

    Here are some alternatives that look good.

    Alta Vista
    Dog Pile
    Yahoo
    Yippy

    ReplyDelete
  57. Spanky CornholeDecember 28, 2011 at 7:59 PM

    the old bar on top was ok except for the black
    the new bar is too big/too black & the header is bigger than before. How about a frickin G & that's it.
    why can't i right click and make the page whatever i want, Give some options if u want to keep customers & stop trying to follow everyones tracks so more shizzle can be sent to them. wtf, the world is a infestation of greedy asswipes

    ReplyDelete
  58. Ricardo VargasJanuary 4, 2012 at 3:59 PM

    What just happened today with GMail's colors? I feel like everything went shades of gray. It actually makes my eyes feel more tired than they really are. ;)

    I also agree w/ @David Richards, "The reason that I initially liked Google Search so much was its simplicity..." but what's happening to it? It's more junked up than the old portals we had to deal with back in the late 90's...I know, I know, that's before many of the readers' internet days, but some of us are dial-up babies, not DSL babies.

    We still want the same thing though -- info fast. Period.

    ReplyDelete
  59. RalphJanuary 15, 2012 at 1:45 PM

    The best thing Google could do is to put the front page back.
    That left navigation pulldown is stupid.
    You added additional clicks to get where I want to go.
    Also located inconveniently.
    Put the page back. Used to be simple and quick.
    VERY POOR Non-Improvement.
    Couldn't care less about black bar.
    Only Care about easy navigation.

    ReplyDelete
  60. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2012 at 7:14 AM

    I've switched over to yahoo since google has become too aggressive with imposing its ideas, awful designs and its monopoly position on the internet.

    ReplyDelete

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