8/6/2019 Google Homepage Evolution

1/2

How Google Got Its New Look

1. Branding mattersGoogles own logo wastweaked or the purposeso the relaunch.

2. Side Navigation ColorExperiments to add bluecolumns down each side othe results were rejected.

3. Search QueryBox LengthExtended in orderto rame theresults better.

4. Search QueryBox ColorTurning the searchbox blue droveusers, literally, todistraction. The nal

beore launch.10. But wait, theresmoreThe page highlightstools that Googlesalgorithm hasdetermined might beuseul, so as not to

overwhelm a user. Moreoptions are available.

11. InconsistenciesokRather than getrid o duplicatedlinks along the topo the page, thedesigners includedsome o the samelinks (images, news,

Dek text is dummy text in this place here for these many words

and says this much here and text is teekay. Dek text is dummy

text in this place here for these many words and says this

much here and text is teekay for these many words like this.

way or users toinvestigate similarqueries. Internally,this eature wasknown as notentirely unlike,

but changed tothe less whimsicalsomethingdiferent just

2. Side navigation colorIn an early experiment,blue columns rame the results.The idea is rejected.

3. Search query boxThe length isextended to betterestablish the width othe results page.

4. Search querybox colorTurning the searchbox blue creates aneedless distraction.In the nal design,its gray.

11. Redundancy is O.K.Designers include text and iconsor images, news, etc., or clarityssake. Even though some o thelinks appear twice, the teamdecides that duplication is betterthan removing a amiliar tool.

12. Pixels matterWhite space isadded betweenthe search box andthe rst result aterit is determinedthe increased gapwouldnt slow downclick rates.

How GoogleGot Its New Look

old

new

1. Branding mattersThe Google logo losesits drop shadows andTM symbol.

The design process that led to changes in theall-important search results page

10. But wait,theres moreThe page highlightstools that Googlesalgorithm determines

might be useul.

8/6/2019 Google Homepage Evolution

2/2

Since the day Stanford

computer science graduate

students Sergey Brin and

Larry Page registered

the domain Google.com

Sept. 15, 1997, if yourecuriousthe search results

page has been redesignedseven times. The iconic home

page has also undergone its

share of tweaks.

Nov. 11, 1998

The jaunty launch design makes

copious use o exclamation points

and boasts an index o around

25 million pages.

Mar. 25, 2004

Links to Google products such as

News and Groups are added above

the search box.

Mar. 31, 2001

A centered logo and uncluttered

pageconfdent gestures beftting

the worlds largest search engine.

Nov. 6, 1999

Goodbye exclamation points.

Users now have the ability to drill

into government documents or fnd

out about jobs at Google.

Oct. 12, 2007

Google becomes available in

Arabic. Currently, the search engine

is available on 157 domains and in

117 languages (including Klingon.)

May 10, 2000

The world map signals Googles

availability in 10 languages,

accessible via a drop-down menu

to the right o the search box.

Home Page Evolution

Dec. 2, 2009

In an attempt to pare back

distractions, the most recent

change removed most o the

icons, which appear only when a

user initiates the mouse.