Google’s latest desktop SERP experiment: a whiter, more spacious background

Google has begun experimenting with a cleaner, whiter, brighter user interface.

As reported by Barry Schwartz over at SER today, this new layout test appears to offer a more spacious, desktop experience.

Here’s the tweet that revealed the possible change…

#Google Rolling New SERP Layout | Change in Search Bar | Space b/w Results @rustybrick @AbhaySaxena87 http://pic.twitter.com/CHsIu0GcFj

— AbhisheK Kasaudhan (@abhikasaudhan) September 16, 2016

As you can see the top bar is less grey and larger, covering the tabs below the search box now,and the search button has been changed from a blue button to a white button with a blue magnifying glass.

Here’s Barry Schwartz’s screengrab of the normal SERP layout for comparison…

Hang on, let’s see the test page again…

The button change is obvious, but I will admit to spending quite a lot of time flipping between both images to check whether the test really is ‘whiter’ than the standard view. It is.

This follows on from Google’s previous recent experiments with its desktop SERP layout, where it offered a mobile-style card view and an increase in the spacing between results.

It’s clear that big changes may be coming to the SERPs as we know them, although of course these things take time and various iterations – who knows what the SERP will look like this time next year.

One thing you can be certain of though, based on these latest tests, the layout will be more spacious, clearly-defined and user-friendly. However with space comes the further pushing down the page of organic results.

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