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Paul Scrivens of Whitespace has posted an interesting article entitled “Google: Looking Forward, Moving Backwards” in regards to the current re-design of Google.com. He mentions how Google’s decision to remove the tab-based navigation was a poor usability choice, explaining that the tabs stationed the user comfortably within the site.

I couldn’t agree more on this issue. When I first noticed the redesign a few days ago I was floored to say the least. The reason being that the design prior was not only minimalistic but flowed perfectly. Google’s decision to include Froogle, their price comparison engine seems kind of frivilous to me. When I’m comparing prices for various items I’ll use just the search engine itself, afterall, that’s its purpose.

Replacing the tabs with a simple text-based navigation makes Google seem naked rather than purely minimalistic. It’s apparent that Google like Yahoo wishes to keep it’s design backwards-compatible without keeping out the population of users who still use Netscape 4.7, but this again seems like a step back.

If they used a sprinkle of CSS (more so than what is used now) and kept the design minimalistic with backwards compatibilty through standards instead of stripped Google of it’s robust qualities then everyone would be content. Afterall, you want the user experience to be a successful one and not one in which the user feels lost in what appears to be an empty white-walled room.