May 7, 2011 09:45 GMT  ·  By

Google is now testing a redesigned search results page. There are several versions in the wild, but it looks like Google is ready for a bigger change than the usual tweaks and updates.

The new search results page features duller colors, the characteristic blue is now more subdued, though it appears several hues are in testing. The page feel lighter and the individual results are more spaced out.

Overall, it looks like Google is trying to trim some of the fat that's been gathering over the years and return to a lighter page.

However, it may be going a bit too far and affecting usability, but these designs are still in the testing phase and any problems should be spotted now.

A year ago almost to the day, Google rolled out a massive redesign of its homepage and search engine. It was the single biggest change ever rolled out for the site and it introduced several new features, such as the permanent left sidebar.

This made it easier to filter the searches and narrow them down. Since then it has added more categories and more search options.

The search results themselves have become more complex, Google adds a lot of different data to the search snippets and most searches also have one or more One Boxes with relevant information.

All of this has been adding up and Google has decided to do something about it. It's currently running several variations of a redesigned search results page.

It's running the tests rather widely it seems, but it is still early and Google is just gathering data. It's unlikely that any of the testing pages will be rolled out to everyone without some alterations. It's also possible that none of the testing pages end up being used.

That said, Google definitely wants to change something so a redesign, if not a major one, should be expected in the news few months. It may be a few weeks away but it could be longer since Google usually takes its time with these type of changes.

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One version of the redesigned Google search results page
A different version of the redesigned Google search results page
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