How do you improve your position if you are behind your competition? In regards to web-related industries, a site makeover can work wonders for attracting a larger market share, especially if the changes improve site usability.
This approach appears to be the one used by Microsoft and their on again, off again Start.com homepage. Currently existing in Microsoft’s sandbox stage, Start.com is Microsoft’s answer to the content-rich Yahoo start page; although the content is presented in the simplistic style preferred by Google. In fact, in it’s current incarnation; Start.com looks like a nicely meshed version of its two main competitors.
Making use of the Ajax method of web development, Start.com gives users the option of having a content-filled start page or a sparse version featuring Start the logo and a search box. In it’s default state, Start.com features weather updates, international news feeds; stock quotes; as well as feeds from popular blogs.
One of the major attractions to Start.com is the ability to alter the home page to suit your preferences. Content can be added by mousing over the Start.com logo. When this happens, an Ajax-powered menu drops down featuring a wide variety of feeds users can choose from. Once a particular feed is selected (by clicking the “add to my page” option), Start.com adds a feed module to the user’s start page. You can also arrange startlets and feed modules however you’d like by using the available drag-and-drop function.
Feed selection and module placement are not the only Start.com customizables, either. Users can also change the style in which Start.com is presented by choosing one of the three options: ice, granite, or ocean. To select the appropriate theme, click the Switch Theme link located to the right of the current theme being displayed in the upper right of the page. The dashboard modules control link is also available this area. If the “hide” link is selected, the page is presented in the simplistic style.
Search query results can also be added to Start.com’s personal page. Whenever a search is conducted, an “add to my page” option is present with the search results. Working exactly like the feeds do, whenever this is selected, a module featuring up-to-date search results is shown.
As for the search engine side of Start.com, one of the major complaints I have comes from use of Ajax. After a query is entered, instead of opening a new page featuring a unique URL, an Ajax-powered frame “pops-up” over top of the Start.com homepage. This new frame does not have any URL information available on it, making the sharing of search results (through traditional methods) an interesting proposition. Also, users are limited to web searches only, but Microsoft can easily remedy this, provided this version of Start.com ever goes live.
Complaints aside, I am certainly impressed with the direction Microsoft is taking their search engine, especially on the look and feel side of things. Start.com has a great deal of personalized usability going for it, making it an attractive alternative to the current edition of MSN Search.
If you’d like to stay abreast of the coming and current changes and inclusions to Start.com, please visit the MSN Spaces Start.com blog.
Chris Richardson is a search engine writer and editor for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest search news.
