Google launched its Web View a few months ago which shows search results as a list of links related to the search terms and phrases that also include information about the websites as well as text previews. There are no product boxes, video carousels, images, AI summaries, and knowledge panels, so you can find what you are looking for without wasting time. You can switch to the new decluttered view by following these steps.

In Chrome

  1. Perform a regular Google search as you normally do.
  2. Once the search results appear, look for the 'Web' option below the search box and click on it. You may have to click on the 'More' option if it isn't visible directly.
Note: On mobile devices, tap on the filter options and slide through the various options until you find the 'Web' option.
  1. Once you click on the 'Web' option, you will see a simplified version of the search results page without any distracting elements.
  1. You can set this Web View as the default view but this only works on desktop browsers, not on mobile ones. In Chromium-based browsers, click on the three dots on the top right to open the dropdown menu.
  1. In the dropdown menu, click on 'Settings' at the bottom.
  1. When the Settings page opens, click on 'Search engine' on the left and then on 'Manage search engines and site search'.
  1. On the next page, scroll down to the Site Search section and click on the 'Add' button.
  1. Type in the name of the shortcut, such as Google Web View, and then a shortcut in the next field, such as @web. Paste the following in the URL field https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 and then click on the 'Add' button.
  1. You can now use the @web shortcut to use Google's Web View while browsing. To make this the default, click on the three dots on the right and then click on 'Make Default'.

In Firefox

  1. Open Firefox and head to Google search. Once you get there, create a bookmark by clicking on the star icon at the top.
  1. Now, click on the hamburger menu that appears as three horizontal lines at the top right and then on 'Bookmarks' to view all bookmarks.
  1. Right-click on your newly created bookmark and click on 'Edit bookmark'.
  1. Paste the following URL in the URL box: https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 and add a keyword like @web in the keyword section before clicking on the 'Save' button.
  1. Now you can use the '@web' or whatever keyword you selected to conduct a direct search. Now, paste the following in the address bar and press Enter: about:config. Click on the 'Accept the Risk and Continue' button.
  1. Now, paste the following the box at the top: browser.urlbar.update2.engineAliasRefresh
  1. Click on the '+' sign on the right.
  1. Check that 'true' appears in the middle of the box. If 'false' appears, click on the double arrow on the right to turn it on so it says 'true'.
  1. Now, click on the hamburger menu at the top right and then on 'Settings'.
  1. On the Settings page, click on 'Search' on the left and then scroll down to the Search Shortcuts section.
  1. Click on the 'Add' button and enter the information as before by giving the search engine a name and the URL https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14 before clicking on the 'Add Engine' button.
  1. Finally, scroll to the top of the page and then click on the dropdown menu, and select your newly created shortcut to make it the default option.

Things to know

  • You can go back to the default settings at any time by going into the browser settings and changing the default search engine.
  • Alternatively, you can keep the default settings and simply click on the 'Web' option for searches where you do not want any additional information.
  • Avoid making other changes in the search engine settings, especially in Firefox, as that can prevent your web browser from working properly.