Google Image Basic Userscript Redirects To Google's Old Image Search

Google rolled out a new version of Google Image Search some time ago. The most prominent change is that all image results are now displayed on the same page, with new images being loaded as the user scrolls down. The number of image previews on a search result page has increased as well. This can be problematic for users who access the Internet with low speed connections, for instance dial up users or users with a low speed broadband plan.

The preview thumbnails on the new Google Images results page take longer to load, simply because that page displays a multiple of the images displayed on the old Google Images search page.

The userscript Google Image Basic changes the behavior by redirecting users to an old layout page. Redirection does mean that the new image search page is loaded and then redirected to the basic image search page while it is still loading.

Some users may still experience lags and high cpu loads because of this, but those should go away once the old basic search interface starts showing up.

Here are two screenshots that show the new Google Image search results page and the results page after installing the Google Image Basic userscript.

Standard Google Image Search

Google Image Basic

Notice the scrollbar on the standard Google Image search page? That page has lots of space to display thumbnail previews, and all of those thumbnails need to be loaded.

The redirects are automatic, and you do not need to do anything after script installation. I have tested the userscript under Firefox and Google Chrome, and it worked flawlessly under both web browsers. Firefox users need to install Greasemonkey or a comparable add-on like Scriptish first before they can install userscripts. Google Chrome users on the other hand can install the script right away.

The script is active right after installation. If you are on Google Images search currently you need to reload that page before the new interface becomes available.

The core benefit of the userscript is that it reduces the page loading time of Google Image Search and the load it causes while the page and its elements are loaded. Google Image Basic is available at the userscript website.

Advertisement