The team at Thunderbolt Digital are always aiming to stay ahead of the curve, and always keep a keen eye trained on web design Google so that we can predict upcoming design and SEO trends following any changes made by them. Fewer users are actually visiting Google’s desktop site currently, with many preferring to type in search queries in their address bars instead, prompting Google to make one of the biggest changes they’ve seen since 1996.
Google is set to reveal a brand new homepage for desktop users in the near future, with ‘news feed’-like information appearing alongside the familiar search box, much like what we see when using social media sites, a change which serves as (possibly) even more startling than the sudden 2015 revamp of the brand’s iconic logo.
Google.com, which remains the world’s most visited website to date, has remained classically simple since 1996, with little present save for the logo and search box. In fact, it’s been Google’s goal to keep the word count on their homepage to a minimum since 2008, which has prompted some to describe this new homepage as a ‘radical’ change following years of minimalism and stability.
However, this change won’t be that alien to some, as the design will be rather similar to the current appearance of Google’s mobile app; personalized information and a Google feed will accompany the familiar search box, including things like weather, travel updates, music, sports, and news, as well as local trending topics. The feed populates based on your search history and uses the same personalisation algorithms as Google Now, but you’ll also be able to manually enter and search for things that you’d like to see there in future.
This move falls in line with Google’s attempt to deliver information to users preemptively, i.e. before they even search for it, with their various algorithms continuously learning and anticipating user needs. This update also seems like another attempt to compete with popular social media sites as Google+ continues to be neglected by many (if not most) users in favour of giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Perhaps this is just what is needed for the brand – after all, how often do you actually visit Google.co.uk as opposed to simply searching via the address bar? This may see an uptake in people actually visiting and using Google’s homepage! What about you – will this encourage you to visit the site more often? Chat with us over on Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think.
The new site design has already been rolled out in America already, and is set to appear for international users in time.