Mountain View-based search engine giant Google has officially announced the fact that it changed its homepage, Google.com. When you go to Google.com you will notice the site has a much cleaner look – until you move the mouse. When you move the mouse, the classic look “fades in”. This is something that I noticed back in November when I installed Windows 7 on my new PC – but at the time I didn’t give it much thought. Google has now announced that it globally rolled out the new homepage and that its main focus is speed (search speed that is).
“For the vast majority of people who come to the Google homepage, they are coming in order to search, and this clean, minimalist approach gives them just what they are looking for first and foremost. For those users who are interested in using a different application like Gmail, Google Image Search or our advertising programs, the additional links on the homepage only reveal themselves when the user moves the mouse. Since most users who are interested in clicking over to a different application generally do move the mouse when they arrive, the “fade in” is an elegant solution that provides options to those who want them, but removes distractions for the user intent on searching,” explained Marissa Mayer, VP of Search Products and User Experience.