Quick Links
We hear it all the time: “Google search is getting worse!”
The reasons why are many, but one of them just became fixable: cluttered results pages.
What Is Google’s “Web” View?
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
If this sounds like what Google looked like in the past, that’s because it is.
It’s just web links.
If that sounds like all you ever wanted from Google, then you’re not alone.
The good news is that the web view is rolling out to everyone.
The bad news is that Google forces you into the standard, cluttered version by default.
Fortunately, we have a workaround, as we’ll explain below.
At the time of writing, Google is still rolling out the web filter.
Depending on when you’re reading this, you may not have access to it yet.
Start by doing a regular Google search as you normally would.
Custom search engines are limited to PC browsers only.
In the lefthand menu of your prefs page, choose “Search Engine.”
nudge the “Add” button at the top-right of that section.
That’s not junk code, it’s what tells Google to send you straight to the web view.
nudge the “Add” button to back up your custom site search.
Now to make that @web shortcut your address bar’s default, there’s one more step.
smack the three vertical dots next to your new site search and hit “Make Default.”
We’ll first walk through creating the custom search shortcut.
We’ll first need to create a bookmark for it.
Now, find it in your bookmarks, right-click it, and select “Edit Bookmark.”
Rename the bookmark to whatever you want, and add a keyword like “@web”.
snag the + (plus) icon next to it to switch on the experimental setting.
confirm the word “true” appears in the box to show the setting is enabled.
Exit out of the advanced parameters tab and go back to your search engine parameters.
Then click “Add Engine.”
You should see your web filter custom search listed as one of the options.
You’ll be directed right into the web link filterjust like the good old days.
