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Did Google Just Increase The Font Size Of Google Search?


googleIt is not often that Google changes something on the front-end of Google Search. The only element that the Google developers change regularly is the logo that adds a little bit of change to the search engine every other day or so. Changes to the rest of the front-end on the other hand are rare and it came as a surprise that the font size of the search form has been increased significantly. This has been tested with various web browsers like Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer which all confirmed the change. We first thought it was caused by a Firefox add-on or Greasemonkey script or related to the Firefox update yesterday but this is apparently not the case.

google search

The font size of the Google search result pages on the other hand do not look like they have been changed as well. The new font size looks and feels alien on first glance which can be attributed to the fact that the font size has not changed in years.

Not everyone might experience the new font size. Reasons for this could be that Google is testing the font size in Google Search and showing it only to some of the search engine visitors. Another reason might be that Google is adjusting the font size based on the visitors screen resolution.

Let us know if you see the larger font size in Google Search as well and what you think of it.

Update: Users who prefer the old font size can install a Greasemonkey script to revert back to the old font size.




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Categories: Google, Search Engines, The Web


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384 Responses to “Did Google Just Increase The Font Size Of Google Search?”

  1. YKeong says:

    Yes, font size is larger. Tested with multiple laptops in totally 2 different geographical locations and network setups. It is different.

    • We are seeing it all over. I noticed it on the 9th on my home laptop. I tried to re-adjust my screen size and realized it had not changed. I don”t like it today but may when I am 70.

    • Dan says:

      I had several non-computer-savvy people call me saying “Everything” on their screen was bigger and asking if I could fix it…. hah. Apparently Google homepage = EVERYTHING.

  2. szekelya says:

    It has increased, and I’m using a 20″ 1600×1200 resolution monitor.
    I’ll check at home on my 10″ 1024×600 netbook as well, I guess I’d prefer to have bigger font size there if I had to choose.

  3. Yes, I noticed it straight away. Thought I’d hit the wrong key. After much fiddling, I realised that it was a Google change. Don’t like it very much but I guess I’ll just have to get used to it. Posted: 10 Sept.09@16:40HKT

  4. RG says:

    Noticed that as well, kind of caught me off guard. I thought maybe I was zoomed in hehe.

  5. mums says:

    You can clearly see the difference when you look at the french version of google search

    http://www.google.fr

    and

    http://www.google.co.uk

    It seems also that the logo in the UK version (and other I guess) is no longer an image but a div with an image as a background

  6. Gaurav says:

    i too am experencing this alien font… it looks as if something different has happened in our ususal lifes.

  7. Phil says:

    Yes I noticed it straight away. Was a bit worried as the increased font size was a sympton of the PCHealth browser hijack I had about a year ago.

    Done my virus and adware scans and nothing and you seem to be confirming it is a google change.

    I don’t like change….

  8. Anonymous says:

    Awfull, and disturbing

  9. hires says:

    I am glad to hear it is not just me, but disappointed that google found it necessary to noodle with something that was working just fine. I guess someone had nothing better to do and is trying to justify their job.

    In any case I changed my home page to another search engine as the google page now looks like retro Micky Mouse

  10. garry says:

    Noticed this a short time ago, thought my laptop had been zapped. Don’t like it, makes me feel like a four year old trying to read for the first time, why do they just change things. If it aint broke don’t fix it. Can I have the old style back please……………

  11. G says:

    Personally, I hate it. I’m on a 22″ screen running at native resolution, and the large font looks ridiculous. There was nothing wrong with it before – why mess with it?

    I am perfectly capable of deciding what font size I and cannot read. Either change it back, or give us the option.

  12. anon says:

    The font is sooooo ugly and I fine it disturbing as well . I spend whole day fiddling thinking my text size was an issue or perhaps virus as the rest of the office mates did not seems to have change of font

  13. Hammad says:

    font size is larger then before and it making the who layout look bad….:(

  14. Martin says:

    I get the old size of the text while visiting google.com, but while visiting my countrys local site (google.no), the font gets bigger. Looks like the change only has been done to local versions of google search.

  15. smimon says:

    Easy reading mode, shame i’m not a senior citizen

  16. Gordon says:

    Never mind the awful font size, where’s my preferences button gone?

  17. Lily says:

    I actually like it. its neater and clearer! i just like the font big and visible

  18. Kriekira says:

    Blech! It’s not just larger, it comes from a different (aesthetic) planet. The goal, apparently, was to make the search drop-down stand out. Mission accomplished. Since I use Google thirty or forty times a day, this is like waking with a giant index finger and thumb. I know where the search box is; I know how to use it. I neither need it to be, nor want it to be, more apparent.

  19. Vinicius says:

    Here in Brazil, it is bigger.

  20. Paunchline says:

    At first I thought it was indicative of a malware infection, spent some time trying to change it through ‘preferences’ on Google before deciding to search the issue via Google. Relieved, but disgruntled.

  21. Anonymous says:

    I hate it.

    • Anonymous says:

      its annoying. makes me feel like a child and an old person at once. i wish they would change it back or at least give the option.

  22. Stevo says:

    Yeah, I don’t like it.

  23. E J says:

    Glad to find it is an alteration made on the part of Google.
    But, I really do not like this new text/font size, it looks out of proportion and, like another poster said earlier, has a very child-like/elderly look and feel to it.
    Please change it back to how it was before. It was absolutely fine and looked very neat. Totally opposite to this new version!!!??

  24. Anthony B says:

    I spent ages trying to change the size back. You can if you choose ‘go to Google.com’ (on the right, underneath the search title box).
    I do prefer the original size. As someone else points out – It just feels like job justifying tinkering for its own sake!

  25. Nik says:

    Yes, it is definitely larger font. I first noticed it on my PC. Then, this morning on my MAC, I saw the same change in Safari. When I first noticed it, I thought I was zoomed in – however, resetting the zoom level did not change it. Come on Google, bring the original size back!

  26. thomas jones says:

    I’m in Ireland and mine has changed at home and at work. I dont like it. Would prefer the option
    Regards

    Tom

  27. Amanda says:

    Glad to find it’s not some sort of virus invading my PC – had me worried for a while! Not keen, looks daft, why not let us choose our own font size, I’ve only got a small monitor so it looks plain silly.

  28. vaske says:

    The same is here at my laptop….bloody font size I have large fonts…:(

  29. richard nankervis says:

    I also thought that someone or something had changed some of the settings om y PC. I think the large font looks awful. Please give us back the previous font.

  30. Martin says:

    Here is a userscript to go back to the old font size: http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/57449

  31. Michal says:

    I see enlarged fonts (on 1200×800, PL language version) and it looks strange (and rather bad) to me. However it would be nice to have choice the who knows maybe it would be nice to choose such fonts on smaller computer (like netbook)

  32. dwarf_toss says:

    Meh. Been using the Irish iGoogle page since my standard one was raped by Google not-so-long ago. The new one is just fugly, and I’m not a huge UI whore, but I refuse to use it.

    Whatever happened to storing your preferrence in a cookie? I like the idea of changing standard font as much as I like the “awesome”bar (not at all).

    It just gets tiring looking for crude scripts and other junk to negate these silly changes. Just because the masses “don’t mind it” doesn’t mean that it was a great idea!

    That all said, perhaps I’m blissfully ignorant but I don’t see this font change. I hate it for those who do, though. ;)

  33. Francesco says:

    Noticed this morning on google.co.uk when logged in at work (7.45am – UK time). Thought it was:

    -a me zooming without being aware.
    -b Support and Operations guys fooling around with some browser setting.

    Turns out it’s just Google fiddling with something that was nice and turning it into cr@p. Disturbing. Throws me back to Internet 1963. Can we expect now some animated gifs on the front page? What about some clip-art next to the megahuge search buttons? Well done you! >@

  34. august says:

    Noticed it as well, after the jump from iGoogle to the normal google search results. So, in iGoogle the new font(/-size) doesn’t show, in Google.nl (Netherlands), it does.
    And sure, at first I thought i was zoomed in as well.

  35. David says:

    I noticed this last night (9SEP2009) with Firefox on my laptop, and tried everything to change it back. I also thought that I had done something wrong, until I came into work and saw the same thing here. If only I could install the greasemonkey script on my work computer….

  36. mabel says:

    yes it’s changed for me too..
    quite the shock this morning :P
    it’s a bit unsettling.. (i don’t like change)

  37. Postal says:

    Just posted this to gblog@google.com:

    Thank heavens for Firefox, Greasemonkey and the community who support them. With their help I don’t have to have the Janet-and-John size print on my screen following the unwanted, unadvertised and unattractive change in text size you have imposed today. I suggest that Marissa Mayer, Vice President, Search Products & User Experience only takes half of her job title seriously if she thinks that she is doing a good job.

    For many more who use other browsers or who are not as technically aware, the option is not Greasemonkey, the option is “Do I go to Yahoo!” or “Do I go to Bing”.

  38. guest says:

    yes, i saw the change and thought it was a virus…so tried hard to rectify it…also thot that google could have changed it….but wen i askd ppl…atleast 5, they all said their fonts were the same…so i was convinced its a virus…or some setting has to be changed in my comp…but then thankfully, i had the brains to do a google search and realised google had indeed made the fonts bigger. i guess i was one of the lucky ones to see the change ! i prefer the earlier one though :)

  39. LuLu says:

    The new font size is awful. I thought I had really messed something up in my browser when I discovered the change. It would have been nice to see an explination and a way to change it back to something that doesn’t offend.

  40. Wii Fit Plus says:

    I noticed it this morning too on my google.co.uk. It looks pretty weird.

    Why would google play around/change a winning formula? If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!! ;)

  41. Matthew Tillett says:

    Me too. I went through all my browser settings and even the OS settings to make sure nothing had changed – “by itself”. Can’t say I like the new larger font, but I’m sure I will get used to it.

  42. Cola says:

    It’s unnecessarily large. first i don’t really want people able to look over my shoulder and read what i’m searching so much clearer, and two i thinkn the bigger font looks like kindergarten letters. hate it.

  43. Squid says:

    Yes, larger on 22″ and laptop…HATE IT! I am with Cola – it’s either a kindergarten or a nursing home setting. Go back Shane, go back!!!!

  44. Sharon D says:

    Hate it!

  45. Rajiv Menon says:

    I didn’t like it either. It looks awfull !! Did they mess up the Google news also? I saw one section in too small a font.. and another in normal font. I dont understand why they want to mess up something which is working just fine !!

  46. Change Isn't Good says:

    It is larger & I don’t like it!!!!

  47. Notify First says:

    Before making a change, at least post a message below the search buttons saying “Font size will change 9/10/09, don’t be alarmed.”

    Think of all the time this confusion has wasted everyone. If only 2 minutes of zooming and reading this thread, multiplied by millions of users, that’s a big waste.

  48. Dave S says:

    Yes, I saw it for the first time today – thought I’d gone mad and was checking all my Firefox font settings! The search box is now HUGE!

    Glad to hear it’s not just me, although I really don’t like it and would prefer it back to the previous size. I might even bash together some user CSS to do it for me – will see how I feel about it in a few days time.

  49. nickwilcock says:

    I’ve wasted quite a while trying to find a way to restore it to the way it was – I detest the new kiddie-font.
    I also tried to find a way of sending feedback – no luck. Then I tried to ring them, but the 9-option automatic answer doesn’t provide any appropriate option.
    If they haven’t put it back the way it was within a couple of days, I’ll be using a different search engine.
    These geeks need to learn not to alienate users!

  50. hate it says:

    damn google. gimme me the font back. wasting my times thinking something wrong with my ubuntu.

  51. oi! says:

    I use Google Chrome and I can see larger fonts. I don’t like them. I tried to chnge the font size to regular by tweaking under the hood setting for web language and fonts. but did not work. It ’s just unpleasant. and not to mention all the time I wasted figuring out what is “wrong” and how do I fix it. Damn you google! It’s not even April First!

  52. Cheree says:

    I noticed it this morning and thought it was the result of some kind of spyware attack. I think web developers would be smart to post some kind of notice to users when they make these kinds of changes. With similar changes caused so frequently by spyware, viruses, and other programs, it would be good to know the cause so that users don’t have to worry about what’s causing the sudden change in interface.

  53. argghh!! says:

    why the change? At least give us the reason. It really annoy me that i’m unable to search in google without thinking about it. Can we sue google for disturbing peace of mind and productivity? I swear I’ll sue the heck of of them!

  54. DewScented666 says:

    omg lol. I have been submitting bug reports thinking that Konqueror was bust and it’s freaking Google xD

  55. Steve says:

    I cleared my browser cache, history, cookies…and the fonts went back to small. I had this happen on both Mac OS X using Safari 4 and XP Pro using IE 7.

  56. flux says:

    Does look odd, but kudos to Google for not stagnating. Google still has a little of the spirit of Heath Ledger left in it.

  57. why french is exclude says:

    Go here http://www.google.fr/

    Why the french is excluded in all of this mess? This is a blatant discrimination. More point to sue google for being racist. Gimme me my font back! In my 12″ lappy, it takes most of the screen with that giant font. Dammit!

  58. oi! says:

    http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/now-s-u-p-e-r-sized.html

    On this blog It looks like they announced but I don’t read that blog regularly and can’t spend time right now to check if it’s official announcement or not.

    And yeah you can’t leave the feedback either. BAD Google. It should have option for normal font size. I hate bigger fonts everywhere.

  59. Bill C says:

    I do not care for the larger font. Also, the autocomplete/fill has stopped working on my other browsers. In Safari it still works.

  60. Gerald says:

    I hate the new font size. I’m not blind and the text on the now bigger buttons is totally uncentered and looks REALLY unprofessional.

    Google, why the hell was THIS necessary?

  61. Isaac says:

    It freaked me out a bit because it seemed quite alien to me and i dont really like the change, but i guess it will just take some getting used to as any other new thing would (thats if it is an official change)

  62. Vincent says:

    I don’t like it at all.

  63. Joey-Oso says:

    I agree it’s bigger, and I don’t like it.

  64. DewScented666 says:

    Is anyone else’s this big?

    http://i29.tinypic.com/e0o4kk.png

  65. arcger1203 says:

    Not sure if I like it yet, have to get used to it. It seems so big.

  66. Rich says:

    This is ugly. How do I revert this back to the previous incantation? Do the Google developers get this feedback? I hope they do.

  67. M says:

    Irritating. Perhaps if google allows users the option to choose their own desired font size rather than imposing what they think is “ideal” and better for searches – at the end of the day this just annoys people. I’ve switched to the “google.com” which displays the normal font size (for the moment), which is my preference. THE LARGER FONT SIZE IS VIRTUALLY LIKE SHOUTING AND VERY PATRONISING!

  68. Francie says:

    Yes and it is freaking me out!

  69. keilamym says:

    yes.. this new font sucks.. please change it back

  70. Sharon says:

    Absolutely HATE it. My View tool doesn’t provide an option to change font size. I wasted time trying to install Greasemonkey to fix it, but with no success. Why the Google geeks decided to mess with this is beyond me. I find the font size very cumbersome and difficult to read. Wish they’d quit “fixing” things that don’t need fixing. I know this might be better for people who have difficulty reading regular type, but why should those of us who can read regular type have to look through a magnifying glass every time we use Google? Surely they can give us options to satisfy everyone.

    PLEASE SEE IF THEY CAN CHANGE IT BACK OR AT LEAST GIVE US AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE TOOL TO REVERT TO THE ORIGINAL!

  71. Alysia says:

    The new font size is freaking me out…..I tried 3 different computers and all are changed. I am apt to change but this is too much. I will be installing the script to revert back to the original font size. absolutely HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Trilobite says:

      I thought at first I had accidental hit a key combination causing it to be magnified. After much fiddling, I then though that Microsoft Update had installed a dodgy update.

      I really don’t like it at all – it looks as though it was designed by children for children. The old style was far better.

  72. JD says:

    Well, according to Marissa Mayer, Vice President, Search Products & User Experience, the Google is excited about the change “because it symbolizes our focus on search and because it makes our clean, minimalist homepage even easier and more fun to use.” (See her post on Google’s Blog, http://googleblog.blogspot.com/).

    Personally, I fail to see how a larger font makes Google “more fun to use.”

  73. Anonymous says:

    I noticed it too, and I hate it.

  74. K says:

    I had the same thing happen when I came online this morning. Then I went over to BING and that font was fine.

    I don’t like GOOGLE making theses changes so suddenly with no warning. Google Search is my home page and I use it for everything. The sudden change with no warning made me think I had a virus or trojan or something and worried me until I found this search result.

    GOOGLE, you should know better than that! Do you appreciate your loyal users? Guess it’s time to head on over to BING and start using that.

    • Ozziblue says:

      Agreed, Once again a company that had it’s product “just right”, has managed to now stuff it up. Well, I for one will just move to another search engine.

      It really beats me why companies do this…

  75. Anonymous says:

    hate it!

  76. Anonymous says:

    I am not blind! I thought I had some sort of virus. Let ME control the size of my font by adjusting the resolution of the page! Increasing the font just decreased the allowable characters in the search box! Lame move!

  77. Orphanbob says:

    Best fix… use FF’s homepage for Google.
    http://www.google.com/firefox

    I did this in IE as well. :)

  78. Anonymous says:

    I hate it!

  79. Anonymous says:

    Let me decide my own resolution!

  80. Waterlily says:

    An in between size would suit me, but this makes me feel like I am at the library reading the large print books. Not quite at that stage yet. I can get used to it, but prefer a font not quite so beefed up.

  81. Anonymous says:

    I also thought I had changed my setting accidentally.
    I hate it.

  82. Anonymous says:

    Go back to Arial Font Size 10!!! Arial is gross when it’s bigger.

  83. prospecto says:

    For a minute I thought I had another virus. Last time the fonts changed in Google on my pc, it had a virus.

  84. Bill says:

    I noticed it right away. I feel like I am using an old computer with horrible resolution and huge font. What’s next? Big blocky grainy graphics?

  85. rruben says:

    haha, I also noticed it. First I didn’t realize it was Google who changed it.
    Changing that is so ungooglish ;) hehe

  86. Jerry says:

    Hate it.

    Change it back Google.

  87. Mujtaba says:

    would have really liked if they had changed the fixed width of search results page that look aweful on high resolution monitor since all result appears in a narrow fixed width column on left

  88. Opera user says:

    Fonts bigger in Opera 10, but not in IE7 or Google Chrome. It only appeared an hour ago on my local Google site.

  89. Paul says:

    If it ain’t broke, don’t mess with it. They should provide a way to revert.

  90. Winger says:

    It’s feckin horrible! It’s obvious the person who came up with the idea has bad vision and didn’t know about the “CTRL+Scroll Wheel” zooming feature.

    I don’t mind the extended search bar but the text should have stayed the same size.

  91. Icaru5 says:

    Glad I found this !!

    I have the same issue, although, If I close Internet explorer, and then open again a couple of times, it reverts back to normal. Maybe it’s random. I too performed multiple virus scans, and was almost convinced someone had remote access, and was just initially testing to see how alert I was to their presence.

    They should at least post something on their search page about it !

  92. GP says:

    Yep — that’s why I googled it and found this post.

  93. baba ghanooj says:

    i hate it now. why isnt there an option so that you can choose how big the font is

  94. Robert says:

    This is ridiculous! I HATE the new font. I’m not blind or some little kid! HATE !!!!

    • Lu lu says:

      @Robert- agrred D:
      It’s like some sort of can you actually read test.
      comon its soo big. like size 16 in word or something =/ it looks childish…

  95. Lu lu says:

    I HATE THE NEW FONT! D:
    why did they change it! it looks strange..and big, and obnoxious :/
    like when results pop up its like wow…too big :(

    google please change it back! xx

  96. Steenibopper says:

    I am not liking it either. I just discovered it a few minutes ago and started hitting cntrl with the scroll wheel on my mouse but it didn’t fix it, so I did a search and found this thread here.

    Yes, Google, PLEASE change it back, or give us an option to set things up the way we can best use it for our individual preferences.

  97. Anonymous says:

    I HATE IT!

    PLEASE change it back.

  98. gravaera says:

    My oh my. I don’t really like it, but I don’t not-like it either. I guess I’m just neutral.

  99. Jared Ras says:

    Hate it as well. I’m glad a lot here are in agreement.

    Google announced that they did it to make more room for searches, but it doesn’t do anything for how many characters you can enter or anything. It just looks messy.

    It seems like most website re-designs think that we’re all blind or something. I’m seeing more and more senselessly giant fonts.

  100. Anonymous says:

    Simply include an option for your users to make an informed choice Google… Or do you know best ?

  101. Anonymous says:

    I’ve got it. I HATE it. How can we get google to change back!!!

  102. Damien says:

    I switched my homepage to Bing. :)

    • Steenibopper says:

      Thank you for mentioning that about Bing, Damien. I never heard of it till I read it here from you and now I’ve checked it out. I was hoping to find an alternative to Google!

      I like using “Google Suggest”, so hoping there is a similar feature with Bing.

    • Danny says:

      yes! me too

  103. Tom Dini says:

    Yup, it’s bigger. Been confusing the hell out of me the last couple days, as I’ve been adjusting the font size in IE but when I get the Google font down to its old size, the rest of the text in IE is super super small… on a whim, I googled ‘google font change’ and here I am. Now it all makes sense.

  104. puffy says:

    I hate it.

  105. K-Man says:

    It so totally sucks!!! Way too big dang-it. I’m a heavy google user- but bing it shall be for me from now on.

  106. hak01 says:

    I agree that the font size has changed. However it looks different in different countries.

  107. Madison says:

    A real pain:-( Don’t like it at all. Makes you think it is something wrong with your computer.
    I do hope they will have the common sense to put back the old fonts.
    So stupid to mess up the fonts.

  108. josh says:

    yeah wth is up with the change? i noticed it too and this was the first article i saw about it.

  109. Anonymous says:

    It looks terrible. I don’t like it.

  110. Anonymous says:

    That it was just me – spent a while trying to chnage it back.
    Then worried it might be a virus.

    Don’t like it!

  111. J says:

    There is a feedback option on the right hand side of the Google Blog…send ‘em a note! Wasted time trying to figure out what happened to my settings :P

    http://googleblog.blogspot.com/

    Or here is the email address directly:

    gblog@google.com

  112. Erin says:

    I hate it too. I (gritted my teeth and) did a Google search to see if I could find anything about the change, and here I am.

  113. Martin says:

    I noticed in IE this morning, at the same time if Firefox I was on the old size so nothing to do with screen resolution or geo location or even IP adress, however firefox has now stared using the larger font.

    ……and I dont like it one bit! I started checking search preferences in case I had checked a new option box by mistake.

  114. Jbrd says:

    Like other people here.I thought That I had a virus,or accidently changed the size of my text.BUT NO GOOGLE HAD TO CHANGE IT WITHOUT TELLING US.wtf google????

    • Steenibopper says:

      Yeah, without telling us – reminds me of another internet place that does changes without telling us…*cough*facebook*cough*.

  115. Jacob says:

    Yeah i see the larger font size (hence why i googled it and found this to make sure it wasnt just me) and i dont like it

    i think google should implement an option to change the font size :)

  116. Jbrd says:

    The update ”greasemonkey” at the top of the page works.I have both firefox,seamonkey,and google is back to normal.

  117. IQ says:

    I agree to Jacob

  118. Nina says:

    I hate it. Got a 19″ TFT and it looks ridicoulous and disturbing. Makes you think : WTF did my computer do now? I hope it is just a test period and that the test will fail…otherwiise I will switch to another search engine…

  119. Rox says:

    I HATE it.

  120. PM says:

    It has increased and looks HORRIBLE! Should be made as an option.

  121. crux says:

    not only has the text size increased, but i have completely different buttons now. metallic and shiny. this is gross – give us an option!!

  122. Mike says:

    Please change it back to regular size. This reminds me of when I was in Grade 1 learning how to read with the books that had huge letters.
    Dear google, at least make it an option fo those who wish large and those who wish small.
    Thank you for your concern.

    regards,

  123. Jennie says:

    I live in Stockholm, Sweden. I noticed today (September 10th) that the size has increased and I also find it quite annoying.

  124. Ron Shoerack says:

    That’s it! I’m going to Microsoft BONG! :(((((

  125. Cait says:

    I also greatly dislike having forced large font on the search bar. It should definitely be optional – most of us are not visually impaired! Considering changing my search page.

    Also can’t find any obvious way to leave feedback to google directly.

    For the first time, thoroughly disappointed in google.

  126. jepx says:

    Are you kidding? You don’t remember this next week..

  127. Anonymous says:

    Yes mine is larger and I do not like it. I prefer the original. The new one is hard on the eyes.

  128. Anonymous says:

    Definitely hate it. I’m glad, though, to see that my computer didn’t get some virus.

    Google people, if you’re reading this, change your font back to how it was! The new, larger font is ugly and obnoxious. I’ll be finding another search engine that’s easier on the eyes.

  129. Draken says:

    Damn google…made me think I had done something wrong…..I want the old fonts back.

  130. kevin combs says:

    REDONK. HOW DARE THEY CHANGE THE FONT SIZE! IM SWITCHING TO YAHOO SEARCH ENGINE NOW.

  131. Anonymous says:

    I feel like Google should give a heads up before changing anything so they don’t freak us out lol

  132. Theo says:

    MY THEORY:

    google found that increasing the size makes searching easier on their new netbook. they are looking to the future with this move.

    their goal: phase out desktops and make the os even more irrelevant. net services only. the browser is your os.

    in the meantime, we all suffer on our desktops while they test the waters to find that their new netbook isn’t quite ready for prime time.

    GOOGLE should have posted a popout or something notifying us that THEY made the change. how many hours did we all waste trying to figure out what happened?
    i clicked through reset browser to factory default. good thing i dont use any customizations. could have lost some data doing that.

    class action worthy?

  133. Korky Kat says:

    Yes it appears in Opera 9.64.

    It look a mess. Please revert back to the previous font.

  134. Bren says:

    It’s way too big and blurry.

    Hate it.

    Let’s hope Google gets the message and changes back like ASAP !!

  135. JJ says:

    I guess the people at Google have a lot of free time.
    If you mess things up enough you get promoted to Font Manager!

    Google, come to your senses.

  136. myname says:

    I HATE THE LARGE FREAKING FONT!!!! CHANGE IT BACK!!!!!

  137. Chris says:

    The new font size is terrible, I’m not EIGHTY years old. They need to change it back or make it customizable. I WILL switch to a new search engine because I hate it so much!

  138. Amanda says:

    Change it back google. The old font was great. I feel like I’m 70. Guess I’ll be needing a jitterbug as well ha.

  139. an says:

    “Let me decide my own resolution!”

    Yeah, like Google did let you do that before..

  140. Steve says:

    My Firefox browser is showing the larger fonts.

    I don’t like them being this large.

    Thought…keep the old font sizes and make it a setting in Preferences.

  141. San Serif says:

    Could this symbolise the beginning of the end for big G … ?

  142. Giant Fonts Suck says:

    What a mess…

  143. SL says:

    hate it. spent several minutes trying to adjust my view before realizing that google had screwed with its homepage. google, let us pick our own font size!

  144. theoffkid says:

    I thought I was going crazy, I kept re-adjusting my screen in efforts to make it smaller.

    I do not like the increase, it’s too large and kind of annoying.

  145. RH Lee says:

    New jumbotron search font made me think I was nuts (ok, I probably am)–I thought I inadvertently changed something and wasted my time trying to figure out what I had done. Google Geeks: Next time WARN people when you’re messing with the settings.

  146. Ale says:

    The new Google buttons are Horrible and really Disturbing. I hate them.
    Any solution for Safari users?

  147. Googleuser says:

    I am not a big fan of this change. I went to search using Google and started thinking my Universal Access settings were turned on. Maybe if enough people complain they’ll change it back!

  148. Ale says:

    It really sucks.
    Let’s hope Google gets the message and changes back like ASAP !!

  149. Shotzi21 says:

    Hate It! Will change to a new search engine. Makes me feel like a child. Messed with my computer all day before I realized it was google…..shame on them!

  150. Arial 24pt says:

    Google font size.

    Bigger is NOT better.

  151. Anonymous says:

    Bigger – hate it.

  152. JR says:

    Yep, here too. It was normal as of noon PDT; then I took a break for a few hours, and now I’m getting the Reader’s Digest Large Print Version. Hate it.

  153. Cynthia says:

    Don’t like the larger font at all.

  154. Victor says:

    I thought it was my computer. I started panicking and messing up with it, just to find out some crackhead from Google messed it up. I like the way it was better. Big fonts and big buttons it’s annoying.

  155. alias says:

    I feel like I’m in kindergarten. It is very annoying. Please google give us an option.

  156. Scott B. says:

    Hate it, hate it, hate it. Change it back, Google!

  157. Anyone else notice that when you drag the Google logo in the results page (as though to save it to your desktop), the image is actually a larger image with all the required images… It includes the map buttons, the rating stars, etc. and is just clipped via css. Interesting.

  158. Arial 36pt says:

    It didn’t take long …

    Already the scammers and low-lifes on the Internet are exploiting this as an opportunity to dupe people into thinking they have a virus.

    There’s already a lot of booby trapped links for people searching for:

    GOOGLE FONT BIGGER

  159. will says:

    Its horrible.
    It looks stupid and its ugly.
    I preferred it as it was, now it makes it look stupid. It would look better if they changed the font to Segoe UI however not many users (window XP users) will have that font installed on their computers. I do believe a nice GUI change may be nice, but increasing the font is a big no no. There should be an option to turn it off.

  160. Dr. Cruz says:

    I HATE IT! I thought I had a virus or maybe even hit a strange key combo by mistake. How arrogant of them. Perhaps I’m done with them.

  161. Sharon says:

    I wish we would be told when these kinds of changes are going to be made. I thought it was something I’d done and was trying to see how to change it back before I found this website. I agree with the poster that said this font size makes me feel like a child and an old person at the same time. Don’t like it at all. Why doesn’t ANYONE ever listen to the adage “if it aint broke, don’t fix it?” Change just for the sake of change is annoying especially with something as weird as this. Give us a way to do this size if we WANT to (if we happen to be a child or an older person), but don’t just change everyone’s browser to this automatically.

  162. JoelRyan says:

    Maybe because the new standard for resolution just bumped up to 1080p. Everything was SUPER SMALL when I got my large 1920 x 1080p TV/monitor, making the desktop seem HUGE when I set my Mac to use the native resolution of the new display.

    … but I liked it that way and google RUINED IT! Now I have to make my browser window all huge and take up half the screen!

    (Thanks a lot Google! NOT!)

  163. Anonymous says:

    hate it

  164. Anonymous says:

    hate it too, maybe i will switch to a different search engine…

  165. Anonymous says:

    hate it!!! ugly ugly ugly

  166. Scott B. says:

    If you hate Google’s super-sized font as much as I do, please make your feelings known by posting in their help forum:

    http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Web+Search/

    If we complain loud enough, maybe they’ll change it back.

  167. Anonymous says:

    does anyone have a script to reduce the size for internet explorer? I’m dying here looking at the ugly big fonts!

  168. Anonymous says:

    oh yeah, i was wondering, what went wrong suddenly…good i checked this forum..!
    any reasoning it out by Google?
    Guess the earlier size was okay too !

  169. Anonymous says:

    It’s bigger, and I hate it enough to switch to Bing at work. Too bad I can’t install Greasemonkey on that computer.

  170. Anonymous says:

    Guess TNR or comic sans would hv been a better choice than the existing one.

  171. Jbrd says:

    If U use firefox or seamonkey,Look at Martins posts he explains it all.

  172. Steve says:

    ‘\(O)-(O)/’ GAH! No need for glasses, change it back, this is retched!

  173. RTL says:

    If I wanted larger writing I would change my resolution.
    While I do not undestand the reason for increasing the size of the search box, I understand some people may want larger writing. That’s fine – make it an OPTION!

    • JC says:

      I agree it is terrible, I can see that it would be useful to some people, so make it an option and let those who like the smaller size have their preference.

  174. Jane Doe says:

    I hate it. The font size is an eyesore, especially inside the search box. Google should have shown their users some respect by sending e-mails out to announce the change, since many people thought they had a problem within their own browsers, and wasted their time trying to repair it.

  175. Gerry says:

    It changed on me mid-afternoon today on my 21″ monitor. Like others, I thought I may have changed a font setting accidentally, but since the SERPs were still the same, I realized it had to be Google.

    Tonight, it hit my laptop as well. I’ll get used to it I guess. No big deal, except some of my longer searches don’t fit in the box anymore.

    I don’t quite understand some of the comments. Leave Google and use another Search Engine because of a font change in the search box? Puleeeze. And the comment about how they should have sent out emails is priceless. To whom?

  176. kathy in NY says:

    It just happened for me within the past couple hours. Hate it!!!

  177. anon says:

    font is huge, a terrible idea. now anyone within 20 feet can see what you are searching for…

  178. Unicogirl says:

    Wow. Glad someone blogged this.
    I thought my Browser got jacked

  179. Jerry says:

    I don’t get it.

    Google has a VERY intelligent staff. I always thought Google was one of those rare, innovative corporations that GETS IT. Apparently not.

    Didn’t anyone there speak up about how stupid this is?
    Can’t they at least make it optional?

  180. Chris says:

    Its Google adapting to the aging of the Baby Boomers. Get used to it as I have seen more and more of this this type of thing lately.

    Just look around in your area and count how many retirement homes/assisted living/retirement resorts have popped up in the last year or two.

  181. Patty says:

    Yes, I noticed it right away. (That was 2 days ago) I knew I had not made any changes to my viewing preference and figured Google must be trying something new. I do not like the HUGE font. If something isn’t broken…don’t try to fix it.

  182. Anonymous says:

    not liking it myself, but I like fairly small fonts

  183. Edith says:

    OK, thank-you. I thought I was losing my mind.

  184. Gene says:

    I do not like the new font — I was doing all sorts of thing to correct it on my own — System Restore, etc., and might have messed up my computer.

    You really do’t care about the people, do you – you arrogant bastards

    • Gene says:

      I can not install the ‘greasemonkey script’ either — for some unkown reason…

      Thank God there are a plethora of other search engines.

  185. Anonymous says:

    It SUCKS.

  186. ruth says:

    I do not like it and I do not want to install a greasemonkey script. I hope they put it back like it was.

  187. Jeff says:

    Oh my god! Oh my god!!! My eyes!

  188. Anonymous says:

    I do not like the new font size. Maybe it was Obama’s idea to change it.

  189. saya says:

    I don’t like it at all. Google should revert back to the old font size, this one is too gigantic.

  190. Samuel Cochran says:

    It’s more than font size. Google’s search results now load faster, too.

    See this article:
    http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/29/ajax-search-is-google-sweating-bing-or-just-feeling-the-need-for-speed/

  191. jape says:

    it sucks.. if its not broke, don’t fix it!!!

  192. devadv says:

    hi bing, large font? no? ty, sure ill join you.

  193. Confused Gopher says:

    worst. font size. ever.

  194. Keyboard Rash says:

    Look at it this way – you’re getting bigger text for the same price. That, to me, is value.

  195. Anonymous says:

    Looks like a cheap homemade website. Who would believe it’s made by a multi billion dollar company.

  196. Anonymous says:

    Worst font ever, I am thinking of changing

  197. Anonymous says:

    Why change something perfectly good, to something that feels like I’m wearing bi-focals. Ugh fail on google’s part.

    • Anonymous says:

      Maybe google is attempting to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) in regards to text size and contrast. The new WCAG 2.0 came out in 08 and provides guidance on making websites accessible to the disabled, notably those who are sight-impaired.
      Source(s):
      http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/

  198. Anonymous says:

    Nope – Sorry – Don’t like it. Thanks for Not telling me of the CHANGE in font size !!!! Spent the whole day trying to figure out what went wrong and how to change it back !!!!

  199. edgar j says:

    ONE SIMPLE STATEMENT: I DONT LIKE IT

  200. TK says:

    ITS SHIT FUCK GOOGLE IM SWITCHING

  201. Anonymous says:

    Yes, it has changed, and no, I don’t like it…

  202. bagy1 says:

    I don’t like it at all and as I can see 95% don’t like it and I hope it will be same soooooonnn

  203. Anonymous says:

    hope they are going to realize soon that they did a huge mistake by doing this thing with font

  204. steve says:

    Looks like ass

  205. chris says:

    I also noticed this as well and after a couple of hours to let the change sink in, I decided to check online to see if people are talking about it. It looks pretty stupid, and in fact might prompt me to use another search engine (not naming names, but its a 4 letter word haha).

    This similar situtation also appeared with the google toolbar in the late 90s. It would automatically and without warning update itself. You also could not force it to NOT update. You had to use NTFS security permissions to block the DLL from being updated if you wanted to use an older toolbar version.

    Change it back google, and give us the USERS the power to make that change ourselves.

  206. Maya says:

    I”m from serbia and i do have larger font. not used to it.

  207. J Howard says:

    Noticed it a couple of days ago on my laptop (1440 x 900 – 14.1″) and at first I thought my zoom was set incorrectly… I guess not.

    Honestly I don’t like the new font one bit… It feels clunky.

    Bleh.

  208. Hamza says:

    Ugly. I’m guessing google stock prices are gonna come crashing down this week because of this huge muck-up.

  209. Guybrush says:

    I love it!
    It’s quiet hilarious how the world get affected by simply changing a font.

    “Honey, did you do something about your hair?… I don’t know, but something got bigger!” *looks chest*

    HAHA

  210. Guybrush says:

    This is probably a stupid topic of the week.

    “Did you know, Google Search changes the font?”
    It’s so insignificant, but people talking about it. HAHA

    It’s kinda stupid to work yourself for nothing and change the font yourself. It’s better to accept and go on with your life :D

  211. an says:

    lol @ ppl saying they’ll switch because of that..

  212. mantho says:

    Bloody high-handed. There must be money in it for the Googillionaires

  213. Anonymous says:

    I hate it. Its just annoying and its makes all feel like we have vision problems. I dont really want to download that thing to revert it back to the old font, in fear of complications, but Goggle should get the hint and

    CHANGE IT BACK
    or at least make it optional

  214. Mike Sellers says:

    The new font size stinks. I’m very disappointed. I feel let down.

  215. Martyn says:

    I really hate the new font size. It hurts my eyes to read such a large babyish font.

  216. Treepwood says:

    This is hilarious!

    What will people do if Google puts a text on April Fools Day.
    “You’ve got a virus! Deal with it!”
    Will you re-install your computer… for nothing?

    Btw i’m using Mac, i don’t need to worry about virusses :D

    I like the big font.. It’s new age :D accept it.

    For the ppl who are not used to changes. Feel the pain, feel the PAIN in your eyes!
    And you might like it!

  217. N says:

    When I first saw it I tried adjusting my settings, but clearly that wasn’t the problem. I hate it, get rid of it because it’s making me feel blind. It’s just really ugly-ing up the flow. D: JUST GET RID OF IT !

  218. Sanket Sahu says:

    I pressed Ctrl+0 thrice in firefox to make it normal but then I realized that Google has increased the font-size. To confirm this, I googled and found yes, it is so!

    I think its good because people are shifting to high resolution monitors which makes it really difficult to read.

  219. boycotttt says:

    Lets all use yahoo or someting! to try and teach them… then we will come crawling back when we cant stand it anymore and are willing to cooperate with the kindergarten friendly google.

  220. bala says:

    Hate it!!

    Pleae change the fonts back to normal…

  221. Bas says:

    It’s terrible!! Really terrible.

    I’m not suprised if they also change “I’m feeling lucky” to “I’m feeling stupid”

  222. D says:

    I spent ages last night trying to sort out the size, thought it was something I did. Noticed the change at work this morning.
    Too big, change it back!!!

  223. Nishant Desai says:

    until today we didn’t really bother about the font size – because it was just right – and what the hell is wrong with these guys to change it to a XXL size fonts????

    any googalian reading this – please for god sake change it!!!

  224. Georgy says:

    Hi,

    Ya…it does look alien….but anyway the whole page has only that search box….

    So its a good decision i think….

    Grandpas n Grandmoms will be delighted to gooooogle now……:-)

  225. Rishi says:

    Yes increases font size on my comp as well
    resol 1280×800

  226. Karthik says:

    Yes. The text size of the Google Search Box is increased.

  227. MT says:

    hate it hate it hate it…
    oh yeah, and i hate it, too

  228. jc says:

    cant stand the font size will use other search eng.
    looks like a crayon wrote it

  229. Knak says:

    Not only the font is bigger now, the box itself and the buttons are (too big) too! Undo, please!

  230. Comic Sans 72pt says:

    The bigger the font the bigger they fall …

    BOYCOTT GOOGLE ON MONDAY 14 SEPTEMBER.

  231. Bas says:

    Why wait till september 14?

    * Just adjusted my startup page to Bing.com *

  232. km says:

    I don’t mind it so much. I noticed it definately right off and thought it was an accidental ctrl + scroll but quickly found out it was not. It still has the functionality that it had before just larger. It may become hindersome if it ends up taking up the entirety of the screen to show the suggestions though.

  233. Wagfam says:

    I thought I hit a button like everyone else that has posted. I don’t like it also. I think that for a change like that, rather than just doing it they should let us know. Maybe make a little note stating that “There is nothing wrong with your settings, we changed our font size” so that some of us did not have to spend the time to figure out if we did something. I want the old one back. I think it just looks silly.

  234. Ger says:

    It looks like sh*t! I guess if I were legally blind I might like it, of course there are settings in the OS for people who need such things.

  235. ika says:

    Yeah………I’ve just set the font size on firefox tool option…..because I thought that I did mistake before that caused the font size on search box become bigger…….and I was wrong, the font size on tool option didn’t change anything on the font in search box……..then I was so curious whether others have the same display or not…..and finally came to this site…….thanks for your info…….

    actually I don’t mind so much too……but I prefer the smaller one……hope google can give a wizard setting to change our font size according to our preferences…..or resize it as before….. >.<

  236. Steve says:

    awful awful… does anyone know how we can express our disgust to Google?

  237. BalusC says:

    Shoot Google. I was CTRL+0′ing for hours.
    The font is ugly in Firefox, the “e” is somewhat pixely.

  238. niruth says:

    really i don’t like a big size fonts.it feels me to vomit .so how can i make the pervious font size…….

  239. fraggle says:

    How to revert it back for Firefox:

    1. Install GreaseMonkey: https://addons.mozilla.org/ru/firefox/addon/748
    2. Restart Firefox
    3. Go to http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/57449, click Install
    4. Enjoy!

    If the Greasemonkey monkey face on the right bottom is annoying, do this:

    1. Open Firefox CSS folder:
    for XP: C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\chrome\
    for Vista: C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\chrome\
    for Linux: ~/.mozilla/firefox/chrome/userChrome.css

    2. Open userChrome.css for editing (or rename userChrome-example.css to userChrome.css) and paste this at the end:

    statusbarpanel#gm-status {
    display: none !important;

    }

    3. Restart Firefox and enjoy again.

  240. wtf says:

    I wasn’t sure at first if it was me – had accidently screwed my settings up somehow, someone
    remotely screwed things up or what was going on – it does make you feel dumbed down a bit -
    and i’m on a 13″ macbook and had no problems seeing results at all. Now it’s klunky in style
    and actually think they’ll reverse it back eventually once they latch on to pages like this one
    stating various complaints …

  241. AJ says:

    Yucky the new huge font is nasty.

  242. Michael says:

    For users who enjoy having control over their system font settings this is a horrible and inconsiderate change…especially considering the fact that throughout both the operating system or the internet browser you are using there are multiple ways of achieving the same effect BY CHOICE. Those who may have needed this “feature” could have:

    1) Increase your operatings systems font DPI
    2) Zoom in on the page that you are viewing if you can’t read the text
    3) Increase the default font size in your browser
    4) Decrease the resolution of your monitor
    5) Have someone write a script to increase the font size of google’s fonts…not the other way around!

    The text now is just entirely too large and looks terrible when compared to all other fonts used in both the system and internet browser.

    It may sound anal retentive to complain about a small change like this affecting how the system “looks”…but there are those of us who spend time taking advantage of features that allow users to adjust thier settings to meet their own needs…and a changing a standard without allowing any user control over it is completely unthoughtful.

    Just my 2 cents…

  243. alternate pathing says:

    Bad, bad, bad. What on earth possessed Google to make this a universal change, this has way more impact than the suggestion feature which tons of people also disliked. They should have made it an option tied to a cookie/google account and then made a little announcement underneath the bar about how there is now a supersize option if you have massively impaired vision.

    They can’t fix this fast enough. Thank goodness for greasemonkey though.

  244. mafinpgh says:

    The new font is aesthetically displeasing and, though I chuckled at this description by several others, it IS somehow disturbing…so much so that for the first time in years I’ll consider a different home page. Grateful this site is here…kept me from wasting too much time trying to change the font on my own. Why, Google…why?!?

  245. zealousy says:

    Yea, I noticed it too on my iTouch on Sept. 9th, and I thought it was just my ipod being funky, but it’s also the same on my laptop so i guess it did change. But, why? It kinda reminds me of the bubble writing teenage girls have, doesn’t it?

  246. Night says:

    I hate it too. It drove me crazy at home, and now in the office. On a 22″ monitor at 1600 resolution it looks childish. I’m not going to install the script. I’m changing seach providers.

  247. Starman says:

    I do not like it. It should be user adjustable. I can see just fine and don’t need a big font, but I can appreciate those who do. That’s why we have choices.

  248. monkey says:

    Yes, I have the large font and I hate it!

  249. bates says:

    It’s crap and thumbs down to google for just imposing it.

  250. Andy says:

    Hate it. Come on Google, sort it out.

  251. bazzla says:

    Am I in a different universe??? TAKE ME HOME, I DONT LIKE IT HERE!!

  252. Laurens says:

    Same here. Pretty please with sugar on top… Change this thingamabob back to it’s former font-size.

  253. Anonymous says:

    I don’t like it. It looks terrible.

  254. helen says:

    I noticed it had changed the other day. My Mother has a magical ability of increasing the font size and zooming in on the page and apparently ot realising she has done it so for a while I thought she had broken my laptop until I realised it was just my google homepage. I don’t like it at all.

  255. Knak says:

    Guys, look! It’s 9/11 again!!!

  256. AnonymousCoward says:

    Just like for everyone else it has changed for me, too. I’m not blind and I would much prefer the old size. I hope it will change back…

  257. wila says:

    Yup I noticed it and was so distracted that I had to google the question… did google change their font size on google search before I could actually do any google searching… but now that I have confirmed that it is real and not my eyes bugging out… i admit I DO LIKE IT! definitely easier on these slightly aging eyes!

  258. meanmomma says:

    Ugh!! Can’t stand it, i like my rut. I noticed it today

  259. Anonymous says:

    They should’ve left well enough alone.

  260. Carol says:

    hate it. Enough already!!

  261. Sam says:

    I hate it too, guess I’ll try Bing

  262. Karen says:

    I just complained about it to google through the “report a gadget that destroys google” in the help center – that was the only place I could find to report anything through google-
    told them to change it back – we hate it -

  263. Spytalk says:

    Nothing like changing a UI for no reason and hard-coding the font-size, elements, screen placement and everything else. Frivolous changes and lack of UI options is the google mentality. The majority of people do not want an excessively large font, wasting screen-real estate on the screen, yet google forces the change, without warning, no option(s). What does that tell you about the mentality of that place.

    • vip says:

      Very reluctantly I am switching to Bing until Google changes font size back to normal…. stupid, they should have the option in preferences and not a forced global change.

  264. Researcher says:

    I have to do a lot of seaching on the web in the course of my work. I have Google as my home page, but I can’t use the Google software as my main one. This new font is extremely annoying and doesn’t fit with the rest of the fonts around it. If I had a choice, I would perfer to have a choice of fonts and sizes, but I don’t want any sort of specially assigned custom page that I have to sign into. I am constantly clearing out my history, passwords, cookies, etc.
    It would be helpful to have either the old font back or some way to adjust it with the regular fonts that IE, FF, or other software I use as a pathway to Google.

  265. josh says:

    HATE IT
    what the hell is going on with Google lately? this isn’t the first weird/pointless change that Google has done. I’ve noticed that they have made some really bad changes to things here and there, and myself along most other people don’t like what they’ve done. as i’ve always said:

    IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT!

    software developers/web designers/programmers especially should live by this rule.

  266. ricky says:

    Obviously it was decision made by some marketing monkey, that decided to go by the rule: Bigger Better. Well, not always, Google you shouldnt let marketing folks dictate how your design should look.

  267. E Dub says:

    I normally don’t write in on these sort of things hate wasting time trying to troubleshoot stuff when it can’t be fixed! . Why is the font so freakin HUGE on the Google search page. I am using Safari on a mac !! Is google blind today?
    Why change what’s not broke. Thanks for letting me rant, can you please change it back to the old way it was 2 days ago? or at least make the size changeable for us that still have our eyesight!

  268. the dude says:

    this screams blasphemy of everything that is google

  269. Barry says:

    I couldn’t believe the number of people who replied that they don’t like “change.”. Worry or complain about important things in your life like family, community or national issues, the environment, etc. but font size? Get a life.

    • Anonymous says:

      I cannot believe that Barry complained about people complaining about the font size. Get a life Barry! By the way, I don’t have a life and like complaining about people that complain about people that complain.

  270. rwalk2730 says:

    Yes, I noticed it the font change right away. On Linux, Firefox 3.6.

  271. Meatball says:

    I think Google should do whatever they want to do.
    It’s just a font. The functionality is still the same.
    You type and search. That’s it.

    Who gives a shit. And change is good.
    If everything is still the same, then it becomes dull.

    I agree with Barry. There’s more to life then complain for a font.
    Get a life!

    The world is still full of little cry babies

  272. mcr says:

    noticed larger font size. i hate it.

  273. chuck says:

    calm down people…….ITS JUST LARGER…..LIKE THIS

  274. chuck says:

    hey meatball…your soooo mature, i wish i could be like you.

  275. Anonymous says:

    I have it and don’t like it

  276. Runa says:

    Thanks for the post. I went nuts trying to fix it because I often keep my finger pressed against a key and get lost in my thoughts. Like the shift key mess and I thought this time too I must have done something. I hate the big bold font .. i love my arial 12 font!! why do people have to make things harder and ugly. Cant they take some lessons from apple’s aesthetics?

  277. galacticoalesce says:

    Some idiot who works at google inc. must have hit the wrong key. It’s happened before.

  278. Missy says:

    I noticed this right away as well. The letters are MUCH larger. It’s a bit jarring at first, because it looks quite foreign, but I suppose it’ll just take some getting used to. I’m not sure I like it though. It seems out of place and… it looks like a mistake or as if there’s something wrong with your computer. It’s not aestheically pleasing.

  279. Giomach says:

    Don’t like it, put it back the way it was please, as soon as possible.

    Also, irresponsible to change things without warning, makes you start wondering what’s gone wrong with your machine and trying to fix it.

  280. Prathees says:

    though I didn’t like the new large font size, I think I will get used to it soon – also I use the firefox google search most of the times.

    the procedure in the below link shows how to revert back to old font using a GreaseMonkey script:

    http://techjooz.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-to-revert-back-to-small-google.html

    Hope this helps those who want to revert back to the old font size.

  281. new.google.sucks says:

    NEW GOOGLE FONT SIZE SUCKS (I was yelling there)

  282. Anonymous says:

    I hate it, change it back or give those the option to make the fonts larger Who Need IT, I liked it exactly how it was before

  283. Simon says:

    Add my vote to the “Don’t like it” gang – now off to Greasemonkey to learn about the fix to set it back!

  284. menilman says:

    It’s fugging ugly.
    Ok, change is cool, why not improve their search functions and change the layout?
    Totally cool with that.
    But this is NOT an improvement.

    Looks like it was designed by my 5 year old nephew.

    Buttons are butt nasty ugly.

  285. Anonymous says:

    I Hate it also,
    Google, change the FONT back or make it’s size optional (settings).
    Just revert back to what it was!!!!!

  286. Anonymous says:

    i hate the new font size its really annoying and way too big it might be great for 80 year old but not this 17 year old…

  287. Cody says:

    It has changed for me also. I thought it was my pc or a virus, but thankyou for this forum since I know now it is google. I dont like it either, I want the old font back. I hate it!

  288. Paul says:

    Change is good when it is useful (Darwin). I do not have great eyesight but still enough to find the supersized font VERY UGLY. Google.ca is fine when the older setting (hope it will stay that way), not google.fr…

    Three thumbs down for google !

  289. Christy says:

    I’ve been trying to fix this for the last two days. I gave my boys a hard time because I thought they were messing with the settings again. Every time I get on, I feel like I’m at my grandma’s house. It’s the right size on my iGoogle page, but the second the search is complete and it goes to the original Google, it’s in huge font again. I guess I should go apologize to my kids now!

  290. Sue says:

    Really hate this new large font. I’m 60+ but that doesn’t mean I like this new version! Spent ages checking all my settings before finally doing a search only to find that it’s something Google has forced on us. Think I’ll be switching to a different search engine unless they put it back pretty quickly. I thought my PC had been infected with some new virus – and have wasted lots of time!

  291. Gail & Ken says:

    My husband and I noticed it right away, the increased font size, and maybe different font? He thought I did something on his computer.
    It is not a bother, just a change we noticed.
    BUT, if this is the biggest complaint a person has, then they live a charmed life!

    I know MY life is great!

  292. jj says:

    I HATE IT CHANGE IT BACK NOW JUST SPENT 2 HOURS TRYING TO FIX IT , TILL I FOUND OUT THEY HAD CHNGED THE FONT , CHANGE IT BACK NOW IM NOT BLIND

  293. surfer says:

    The new big font size is disgusting.

  294. Arial Bold 12pt says:

    Notes for Opera Users
    ———————–
    How to reverse Google’s font size and super-sized search box.
    (This fix worked in Opera version 10)

    1)
    Download Greasemonkey JavaScript from here:
    http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/57449

    Open up the script in a text editor e.g Notepad.

    Under the last line of header commments ( // ==/UserScript== ),
    add the extra bit of code for Opera compatibility found here:
    http://userscripts.org/topics/35023

    2)
    Save the script to a folder e.g.
    C:\Documents and Settings\{Username}\Application Data\Opera\Opera\styles

    3)
    In Opera, go to:

    Tools > Preferences > Advanced > Content > JavaScript Options

    and select the directory where you put your JavaScript file.

    Click OK.

    4)
    Close and re-open Opera.

    Further guidance for Opera users, can be found on their website
    http://www.opera.com/browser/tutorials/userjs/

  295. Barbara Ann says:

    I am 66 years young and don’t need this HUGE font yet.
    Please give us the option to choose.
    I use the advanced search at least 50 times per 5 hour period and
    the large font is hurting my eyes.
    Shame Google for ruining something that was perfect.

  296. Thyra Kemper says:

    Please revert back to what I had before, or tell me how to do it. I do not like the new font at all. I thought I was the one that had done something wrong, and I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what. Please…..

  297. Sam says:

    hate it so very much…please kill it Google…it’s horrible

  298. simon says:

    To those of you who hate it and are moaning. You obviously have nothing else in your life to think about if something so small upsets you.

  299. Ted says:

    MAJOR TRICK: go back to IE7. IE7 does not have this major problem.

  300. hmog says:

    I hate it. It sucks.

  301. Gina says:

    absolutely hate it.

  302. Josquin says:

    13 September: it seems to have been changed back to normal. Thank you! A great relief.

    • jpsinthemix says:

      Doesn’t look fixed on my end… This is the problem with monopolies folks. Anyway, to revert
      this pathetic “enhancement,”, simply add the following code to the file
      ~/.mozilla/firefox/xxx.default/chrome/userContent.css

      /*
      * Revert Google’s searchbar size and fontsize to pre 09.09.2009
      */
      @-moz-document domain(’google.com’), url-prefix(’http://www.google.com’) {
      .lst {
      font-size:13px!important;
      margin-bottom:0em!important;
      }
      .lsb {
      font-size:13px!important;
      height:22px!important;
      margin:0em!important;
      }
      .gac_t {
      font-size:13px!important;
      }
      .gac_bt {
      display:none!important;
      }
      .gac_m {
      -moz-background-clip:border!important;
      -moz-background-inline-policy:continuous!important;
      -moz-background-origin:padding!important;
      background:white none repeat scroll 0 0!important;
      border:1px solid #666!important;
      cursor:default!important;
      font-size:13px!important;
      line-height:17px!important;
      position:absolute!important;
      margin:0!important;
      z-index:99!important;
      }
      }

      If userContent.css doesn’t exist, copy the sample provided by Mozilla/Firefox. This is for
      Linux.

  303. - says:

    I attach usercss by proxomitron.
    i have other styles and filters for google, but today’s addition in css is:
    .lst, * .lst {font-size:60%!important;}

    (this is similar to preceding comment, for userContent.css)

  304. connie says:

    i hate it!

  305. WTF are you doing Google????? says:

    [QUOTE] “It came as a surprise that the font size of the search form has been increased significantly. This has been tested with various web browsers like Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer which all confirmed the change.” [UNQUOTE]

    F***ing A it came as a surprise!! What the hell do they think they’re doing. The most prolifically used search engine in the entire world – which is only that way due to the devoted worldwide searchers – and they don’t give a heads-up or anything??!!!?

    PLEASE REVERT BACK TO GOOGLE NORMALITY NOW!!!!

  306. Anonymous says:

    Come on, seriously, please change this, it’s just horrible, graphically and usefully speaking.
    At least give us the option, it’s really bugging me, shall I change homepage now ?

  307. Ravinder Pushpinder says:

    What the HELL? Google, change it back. Please.

  308. rhiannon says:

    HATE IT! make it stop! *installing script now*

  309. brian says:

    I hate the new large font size. It looks disgusting.

  310. Anonymous says:

    The font is way to large! Hate it!!!

  311. James says:

    I HATE IT. It’s AWFUL. Makes my head hurt to look at it.

  312. Peter says:

    HATE IT! I’ll make some other search engine my start page.

  313. Ed says:

    Hate it, Hate it, Hate it!!!!!! Please make it stop!!! Too big and Too fussy

    Its the biggest and the best search engine…if it ain’t broke then don’t fix it!

    If you need larger text for the partially sighted then make it adjustable in the settings page or with the screen resolution, not just a blanket change for all the loyal uses they love it the way it was.

  314. Connie says:

    I hate the new font size. I don’t want someone reading my search requests from across the room.

  315. deb says:

    I think it is terrible.

  316. Mike says:

    Yes, font size increased. Do not like. As said before “if it aint broke dont fix it”. Give US the choice

  317. Robin says:

    Yes, it is much bigger and I hate it.

  318. Anonymous says:

    Regardless of whether or not the change is popular, liked or disliked; the change should have a user settable option to go along with it! A change like this could bring about such a negative impact that could very easily be fixed with an option to return to a regular size font. With the font change being tunable, it becomes a win win for everyone. GOOGLE, please make this setting user changeable!

  319. Nobby says:

    Another hater of the LARGE font here!!

    Have installed greasemonkey plus the userscript to revert back to ‘the previous font.

  320. syncap8 says:

    I hate it as well … will probably switch to yahoo or bing for searching if it doesn’t change soon

  321. Martin says:

    I agree it would have been nice if google had made a mention of it on the home page so I didn’t have to search for a forum like this, however on the other hand I kind of like it – it does make google look a bit more up-to-date…

  322. MW says:

    I hate the new font as well. Feels like it’s ‘in my face’ and for the computer illiterate. If I need a larger font size, I’d likely just adjust my screen resolution. Please change it back or give users the option to increase the size. Google has been my homepage for years, but things like this put loyal users off.

  323. JoJo says:

    this new large font sucks

  324. Micha says:

    the new look, a mess! probably the owners of google are close to retraitment and they are prepairing their glasses

  325. Jon M says:

    I really dislike the larger search box.

  326. why says:

    I hate it too. Back to the good old fonts plz. Using igoogle now it has not changed and hopefully it wont.

  327. Anonymous says:

    Hate it!

  328. john says:

    I thought it was FF update but soon realised it was Google. Yet another case of ‘it it aint broke, don’t fix it’. The font size and shape is enough to annoy me- these ‘modern’ fonts are plain stupid, illegible and Bing is now my Search engine home page. Bye bye google.

  329. Lisa says:

    It’s bigger. Noticed it immediately — thought my tech did it. Hate it.

  330. Dave says:

    Hate it as well

  331. MikeP says:

    I thought I was loosing my mind. I do not like the new & larger Google Font, I want the old one back!

    Yahoo! Changed their page too, it sucks as well…. Old is better… and comfy… : )

  332. Cris says:

    Yep, saw it right away, started some online scanning, plus the old traditonal way. Found nothing, not a single problem..

    This is disturbing indeed.. and now the WIERD part … im using goggle.ro, got one main rig and two laptops, working from my laptop. Today my laptop went a bit crazy.. not loading my webpages and stuff, restarted it. Then a message with “your new network addapter is instaled and ready to use, addapter #4″ wtf !? .. ok that was intresting.. and now the surprise, when i opend google, all was ok oO, font was normal, small and nice again, it used to be…

    Also, now im on my main rig, the font is still big here, no change so far. I dont understand this.. ill try some new scanners i guess, this must be a Malware, now im sure of it. As i said on my laptop all is OK and the font is normal now, and made a simple restart to get that, yeah i know how it sounds… Plus it seems it gained some speed.. this is way to wierd.

    Please responde if you find anything about this guys, many of us will appreciate it alot

    Regards.

  333. Vinesh says:

    To change the display size (font):
    Hold the “Ctrl” key, then press either “+” or “-” (plus or minus) to increase or decrease. Enjoy!

  334. Joe says:

    Ugh! This new Google font is terrible! If they wanted to change it, why not give us the option, or at least tell us. I wasted a day looking for malware on my PCs.

    I’m reluctant to do so, but Google has now become my “former” home page. I am switching to something else with more efficient use of screen space.

  335. I-V says:

    I absolutely hate the new font. Change it back. NOW!

  336. Cris says:

    SUPER sized My ass! This is a search engine, not a McDondalds diner for fat brainless lads!

    Wanna make it back as it was? Use this:

    http://techie-buzz.com/how-to/restorerevert-back-old-google-search-box-and-font-size.html

    Regards.

  337. Ruud From the Netherlands says:

    Its here on many pc’s I don’t like it
    Please change it back!

  338. tony says:

    take it back to how it was! it sucks!

  339. Dave Weightman says:

    It’s uttely C.R.A.P. (before anyone gets upset, that’s an acronym for “Completely Redundant And Pointless”). It’s also crap.

  340. jc says:

    I HATE IT. EWWW.

    Google: The googlers have spoken. Change it back please!

  341. Neyopa says:

    Yes, it has changed. I use Firefox on my own personal laptop and first thought it was my settings, but it has also changed on my work laptop where I use IE.

    No, I don’t like the jumbo font size.

  342. Steve says:

    I don’t like it either…been looking all over for what I did to cause it….very poorly handled by Google! No they don’t have a monopoly!….I’ve been stuck on Google, but I’m switching to Bing!

  343. Electric Turtle says:

    Cheeky buggers! Google clearly have not done any market testing before foisting the font change on us. It gives me a headache. Get if off! Put it back the way it was! HATE IT! I’m irritated that no notice of such a dramatic (yes, it IS dramatic) change was put up on the google page, because many of us wasted countless hours trying to “fix it”. If Google don’t fix it soon I will be forced to consider other search engines when I thought the dust had long since settled on that war. In fact will keep an open mind to other search engines now anyway, after this debacle.

  344. Steve Wilson says:

    The big google fonts look cheap and rough. TOO BIG! Fix it.

  345. artlady says:

    I hate it. It’s big and ugly and I feel like I’m being yelled at by a Sesame Street character.

    When it started, I thought our system had contracted a virus, or someone had hacked into Google to make them look bad. I can’t believe they did this to themselves voluntarily.

  346. Sohail says:

    Damn this change! I let me father use my laptop when I was away and when I came back I saw the change and thought my father did something to it. After fiddling with it for few minutes I couldn’t change it back so I gave up. Now I know it was a change from Google and I HATE IT! GOOGLE CHANGE THIS DAMN THING BACK!

  347. The font size increase is very bad. I hate it. I wish there were a way for the people at Google to see this page so they could understand what a screw-up they’ve made.

  348. Rick Schippers says:

    It sucks monkey balls :( They should change it back!

  349. john says:

    big, ugly, eating space in the upper part of the screen in the results page. awful.

  350. john says:

    p.s.: if somebody from google reads this page, could you please add to your TODO list a small request, or, if the user experience department procedure requires it, add a stickit to Marissa Mayer’s door with this unique very simple idea i have, which – if turned into reality – i think it would symbolize your focus on search and would makes your clean, minimalist homepage even easier and more fun to use.
    please make all google home page bold and uppercase, as i think this would make everybody really excited and help us (the users) to see our query better. i’m sure it will make search more prominent. i’m eager and excited to use the S-U-P-E-R-B-O-L-D-U-P-P-E-R-C-A-S-E-D google. please don’t ignore your users and give them what they want.
    thank you

  351. Anonymous says:

    I changed the search settings to the bottom option and the text size in the box returned to normal size. switched back and forth a few times and the font changed depending on the search option selected!

    Query Suggestions
    -Provide query suggestions in the search box.
    -Do not provide query suggestions in the search box (choose this option for normal font size)

  352. googlereply says:

    new font made me switch to bing!!

  353. bagy1 says:

    That is what I think,they should let people to choose what font size they want to have.
    I personali don;t like this.
    I spent all day on google and now I am goin on yahoo.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. [...] 6. It only takes a change of font size to reduce the whole internet to apolexy… [...]

  2. [...] y avait tout un buzz le 10 septembre dernier autour du redimensionnement du champ de recherche sur google.com. Tout un [...]

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