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Google tests gray background on homepage, while Yahoo tests new top search bar

Both Google and Yahoo were caught testing new user interfaces around their search features. Here are screen shots of both of them.

Barry Schwartz on June 7, 2016 at 9:32 am

Rubén Gómez from All Google Testing captured Google testing a gray background color on their homepage and also spotted Yahoo testing a new top search bar.

Google homepage test

The gray Google homepage, he says, comes from a Material design look, which we actually covered a couple of weeks ago. But he captured that Google is testing a slightly updated home page.

The most noticeable change is that the background color is being tested in gray versus white. The search box is slightly larger and more spaced out.

Here is a screen shot from Ruben:

This is the standard white version that we all see:

Yahoo search bar test

Meanwhile, Yahoo is currently testing a new top search bar. The new bar is also larger and more spacious. It removes the purple color, drops out the “search” text from the search button and replaces it with a magnifying glass icon.

Here is the test version:

Here is what you and I would see, the live version:

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on SEM topics.