Big.com - The Biggest Search Results on the Web. (literally)
Big.com is a simple search engine that has the biggest search results on the web. Now, when I say the “Biggest” results on the web, I’m not talking about how many pages it has indexed or how many people it employs - I’m talking about readability.
Big.com touts it’s service as “The Most Readable Search Results on the Web” and provides it’s users with a simple interface and a default 26 pixel font size. Considering that most search engines display their results in the standard 10-12 pixel font, I think this is a pretty safe assumption.
Sometimes Bigger is Better, From a Certain Point of View.
Big.com is a very well executed example of a “contextual Interface” and fulfills a small, but growing need for web sites that accommodate online users with special challenges. In this example, Big.com provides users with limited vision an easy way to view Yahoo!’s search results. On top of the default 26 pixel font size, the site also allows users to adjust the size of the font with three different options:
- 1. 26 pixels (default)
- 2. 34 Pixels
- 3. 40 pixels
Screenshot of Big.com Search Results (click to enlarge)
Aside from the font size even my 95yr old grandma could read (and believe it or not, she DOES use the internet), Big.com also provides it’s visitors with a very simple and easy to use interface. The search results page consists of two columns; The left column for the search results and the right column for advertising. Other user interface enhancements that improve the readability of the site are highlights that appear when you mouse over the different search results. At first, one might think that this is just a design element and adds a little extra character to the site. But, for someone who might have limited vision, this provides them with a visual cue that lets them know what they’re mousing over.
The Power of Yahoo!, the Creativity of Snap.com
Unfortunately I’m unable to give much technical and company information about Big.com, as there doesn’t appear to be an obvious “About Us” page. Even a cursory web search for Big.com brought back little to no results on it’s background. The only clue as to what is behind this little engine is a copyright statement on the footer of the homepage that says it’s a product of Snap Technologies incorporated, who make the wildly popular “Snap This” url preview widget. The site appears to be built using Yahoo’s new BOSS Search API, however emails sent to Big.com have not been returned at the time of writing, so I’m not able to confirm this assumption.
The Snap.com widgets are also used in the search results and pop-up when you mouse over each URL. However, they’re using the smaller image previews instead of the larger ones, which is a little out of character for the overall theme.
Conclusion
Big.com is one of those little hidden Gems on the web. They took existing and inexpensive technology, then used those tools to create something new and creative.
August 1st, 2008 at 1:08 am
[...] who just like something a little different, an easy to use interface. Review by Addoursearch.comread more | digg [...]