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Google A/B testing a new homepage
It is widely known that Google runs A/B tests constantly, but a newish test shows a few really interesting things:
- Non-underlined Links: This is a huge change…conventional wisdom says to use blue underlined links to make sure that they are instantly recognized. It will be fascinating to see if Google eventually implements the non-underlined version.
- Lighter Blue links: this isn’t all that remarkable except for the fact that Google lost world-class designer Doug Bowman in part due to an series of tests now known as the 41 Shades of Blue test. It seems that Google is still testing different shades…note how there are two shades of blue on the results pages at the same time.
- New Logo: The classic Google logo has an ugly drop shadow. It looks like that finally might go away.
- Larger Input Boxes/Buttons: Input size is an important consideration these days, especially as screens become smaller such as with the iPhone/iPad and Android platforms. Buttons will have to be big enough to touch with a finger in addition to the size necessary for clicking. It’s also easier to read and find larger buttons, so this seems like a no-brainer.
It’s good to see Google continually challenging widely-held assumptions about what works and what doesn’t on the web. They’re also recognizing that things change over time…what worked a year ago might not work now and vice-versa.
via: Will This Be The New Google Web Design?
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