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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. }

60 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. It's awesome, except the black bar.

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

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  4. How do I get to see this?

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  5. Indeed dislike the black bar most

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

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  7. Я люблю новый дизайн.

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  8. 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.

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

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

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

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  13. Ding ding ding!

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

    googlewithoutablackbar.com

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

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  16. 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.

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  17. 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

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  18. 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.

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  19. Get rid of black bar pls

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  20. 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.

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

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

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  23. pls no more black bar. Thanks google

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  24. 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?

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

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  26. Microsoft own google now - what else would you expect?

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  27. 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.

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  28. 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. Come on, get rid of the black bar

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  30. 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.

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  31. 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.

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  32. Don't like the black bar...

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  33. :( 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

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  34. 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.

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  35. 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

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  36. 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.

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

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

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

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  40. 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.

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

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  42. hate black/red. original please

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

    Please remove the black bar.

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

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  45. 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.

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  46. 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.

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  47. 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!

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  48. 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.

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  49. 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.

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  50. 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

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  51. I hate my new blue bar on Google Home Page.

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  52. 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.

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

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  54. hate the new black drop down menu at upper left

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  55. 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

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  56. 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

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  57. 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.

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  58. 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.

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  59. 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.

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