Part of the appeal, in my mind and the minds of many others, is that the Google.com default search page is simple. You know… just white background, Google logo(s), and a text box with a couple of search buttons. Over the years they have added a couple of other things like a "Sign In" button (top right) which I will mention later, a toolbar for other Google sites at the top and an iGoogle link at the bottom left. Finally, the bottom right contains some advertising info and legal junk.
But you may not have realized that you can personalize the default Google.com page. You can add any picture, photograph or any other type of "art" as the background to the page. Your graphic can be in most of the current graphic formats so that should not be a problem. It should also be at least 800 x 600 pixels so it will fill the page correctly.
Adding your personal background to Google is easy. If you have not already signed in to your Google Account – do it now by clicking the "Sign In" button in the top right corner of the Google homepage.
If you do not have a Google account get one by clicking on any of the "Create an Account" or "Sign Up" links found on many Google pages.
Click "Change background image" at the bottom left of the Google homepage, once you are logged in. Choose where to select your background image. You are limited to where you can get the graphics from: either the Public gallery or your Picasa Web Albums. You may also choose No background, but it is preset that way, so if that is your preference don’t bother.
Once you’ve selected the graphic you want to use, click Select at the bottom of the window. After a few seconds (maybe 30 seconds at most, depending on your connection speed) your Google homepage background will appear.
Google says that all of the current versions of Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari will properly display your new background. Also, to receive the full functionality of this feature you need to make sure that you have enabled JavaScript. JavaScript is usually the default setting for these browsers so this should not pose any problem. You can tell if everything is working. If you see your background picture on Google.com, it is!
Visit me online at DoubleClicks.info (oh, wait you are here) and see my current Google.com page. It is a picture I took several years ago and converted to black and white. Yes, I know, my wife tells me I am boring but I still like b & w photos in many cases.
