Google is known for its simple homepage. Currently, it only shows a few elements — a text box, a few buttons, and then some links. But, it seems that Google is running another one of their experiments — one which I have been unwittingly involved in — to make the search engine even more ‘user friendly’. They have taken away all the links (and even the copyright notice), and only show the logo, search box and buttons.

It can be a little bit confusing when something changes on Google. When I first landed on this page, it was quite hard to grasp what the heck was going on: How do I log in? How do I change the search type!? But, then, just as you move your mouse to search for ‘Google log in’ (frustratingly), the old Google homepage fades in like magic!

Google tests 'fade in' feature

So, does this make Google any better? I don’t think so. Simple is a good way to go, but it’s simple enough already. Anybody overwhelmed by the current Google homepage should not be on the Internet. However, with this kind of micro-optimisation, it is just possible that Google could get 1 or 2 extra searches a year out of me.

What do you think?

I recently stumbled across a page — something about keypad access — from David Rusenko’s blog. I wasn’t too interested in the page, so took a quick glance at the comments, before planning to stumble on. It seemed everybody was talking about the header being amazing; even more than about the content. I was slightly confused, as it looked like any-old header, and moved my mouse over to the ‘Stumble!’ button—and, WOW! The header moves! Give it a go.

Unless anybody says otherwise, I declare this the coolest header on the Internet. Feel free to share any other great headers you have seen…

You probably already know about those services which let you track where a visitor clicks on your site. They are great in determining which utilised parts of your site are most “active”. However, albeit important, clicking is just one component of user interaction.

I toyed around with the idea of tracking mouse movements, as opposed to simply clicks, over a year ago and ran a secret trial. Many (most?) people will move their mouse cursor around when looking at content — such as when scanning lines of text — and, so, this presents an ideal opportunity to track where a visitor looks. My trial, in January, 2008, demonstrated expected results: visitors tend to move their mouse cursors around, and, if the relationship holds, look at, the main content; an article.

Take this screenshot, produced from the trial’s results:

Mouse movement heat-map

Here, the red areas represent most activity; blue, little activity; white, no activity. As you would naturally expect, visitors tend to spend most time at the main content. And they seem to avoid the ad unit in the sidebar; maybe it should be moved(?) Maps like these allow designers to put important stuff (Ads are important, right?) where it is most likely to be seen; to improve navigation, accessibility or, indeed, revenue.

Well, anyway, to the point of this article:

I was thinking of creating a basic web service which allows you to produce similar maps for your site. All I need is feedback as to whether this is a good idea, and if you would use such a service. Yes or No?

-Brendon.