Google’s new menu UI has brought mixed feelings, so I thought I would explain how I see Google’s thinking, UI best practices and why what is where on the new Google navigation…
My fellow G+ user, Thomas Morffew, posted that – No Google Music, Wallet, Offers or Blogger was a glaring ommision. NOTE: Thomas is UK based and this is the screen shot of the UK version of the new Google menu… So I respond…
Currently, there is no Music, Offers, Wallet, Mobile or Blogger and it was not in the prior menu either. Actually Thomas Morffew, this menu is in keeping with prior Google UIs so I am not surprised things like Music is missing.
Typically Google menu UIs contain 9 items vertically, as does G+ notification over lays. 9 items seems to be what G finds best use. The first row is search based. Search an item, then click an item on the left menu, that search is filtered to that search filtered place, be it Google Images or say YouTube. Been that way for over two years now with the old overlay.
I would show you this in action here, but currently, I still do not have the new Google UI out of my datacenter in Arizona. However I have had it for last week and a half on my Google TV, go figue.
Also why would they have Mobile in a browser menu? And Wallet and Offers is set it and forget it, you get offer alerts to Gmail, neither belongs on this menu, but I can understand Blogger and Music complaints. In my mind, Google simply ran out of room.
Hope you have the new Google Menu UI in your browser, let me know what you think in the comments below, or share this on Google+ and PM +ChrisLang to let me know your opinions. – Chris
In a world where the average user does not know how to use the address bar and type in their destination, this is important.
Even look at the most popular searches published each month my the big search analytics firms?
You will see that Facebook.com, Google.com, YouTube and Gmail are always the most popular searches every month for the last decade.
That is because the average Internet user uses the search box, what ever that maybe, toolbar, MSN IE default start page, even Google, to search for a domain, rather than type it in. Even if the URL they want is simple like Google.com…..
In a world where the average user does not know how to use the address bar and type in their destination, this is important.
Even look at the most popular searches published each month my the big search analytics firms?
You will see that Facebook.com, Google.com, YouTube and Gmail are always the most popular searches every month for the last decade.
That is because the average Internet user uses the search box, what ever that maybe, toolbar, MSN IE default start page, even Google, to search for a domain, rather than type it in. Even if the URL they want is simple like Google.com…..
Hi there Chris
Yes I am in the UK too and I have the new Menu. Cought me out first time i logged in to do a video search because I thought the page had not loaded properly so I closed it and restarted. On the second re-load there was the new toolbar. Cant really understand why they made it so you have to mouse over the “Google” word link at the top left to make the rest of the search tools show up though, that seems weird to me, many “normal” casual users will probably not even realise they have all those options !!
Geoff Lord
Had it here in NZ for some time now. Not liking it either.
The glaring omission for me is no Picasa link. It’s the back to all your Google hosted photo’s but now fast way to get to it.
A big step up would be to allow us to nominate curtain thing’s into there. We’ve got four less to choose from here to than in your screen shot.
Oh, and hate the straight back for the Google sign, I want the colourful one back.
I’m most annoyed at how on two different systems, I get two different menu renders. I wish I had the old ‘bar’ menu again on both, but it’s also annoying to have to remember to use one or the other depending on which computer I’m using!
I’d like a way to turn it off for my Work PC’s Chrome, though, just as it is off on my Work Laptop’s Chrome.
Though on the subject of the menu itself… it’s most jarring problem is that it requires more steps than before to get to what you want. I thought the point of interface upgrades was to increase usability, not decrease it.
I’m most annoyed at how on two different systems, I get two different menu renders. I wish I had the old ‘bar’ menu again on both, but it’s also annoying to have to remember to use one or the other depending on which computer I’m using!
I’d like a way to turn it off for my Work PC’s Chrome, though, just as it is off on my Work Laptop’s Chrome.
Though on the subject of the menu itself… it’s most jarring problem is that it requires more steps than before to get to what you want. I thought the point of interface upgrades was to increase usability, not decrease it.
Ah! There… I purged the blight from my browser with a bit of cache/cookies cleansing.
Here’s to hoping they decide to go back to the horizontal bar menu permanently, though.