Google is currently doing a retrospective of their famously sparse search results pages and if you look at it from ten years ago to today, you will notice some marked differences. Most notably, it is no longer as bare as a decade ago. In fact, although we have all grown accustomed to the current version and consider it pared down, it is actually quite crowded and busy today. There is a whole lot more going on on the pages - a lot more links, content, features, and functionality. The color palette is toned down; yet, there is more color such as in the top sponsored links area, and there are even graphical buttons. Gasp! It’s a different page today that, in a side-by-side comparison to the original, appears initially quite cluttered. But that was then and this is now.

Today, this version of the search results page is acceptable and appropriate for the experience levels and needs of users. For any Web site, it is a delicate balancing act of keeping content and features/functionality clearly presented. And for a company such as Google which takes the ‘less is more’ approach to the extreme, it is likely even more challenging as their current search results pages say and do a lot today. More and more features have been slipped into the user interface over the years to add to the value for users and to keep users engaged; and as a result, the inevitable has happened - they now have fully blown-out Web pages.

BACK IN THE DAY (2001):

PRESENT DAY: