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Google is famous for being a search engine with most update indexes and most relevant search results. It’s also famous of it’s ascetic look.

But did you know that Google is so obsessed with keeping it’s design simple that they invented a 28 word rule?

Google’s 28 word rule means that the Google home page can not exceed total number of 28 words. It’s true, i’m not joking. They are counting the words and always keep that number less than 28 words. You can find it yourself. Go to www.google.com and count the words:

(NOTICE: I have changed the position of some elements on the screen shot for purpose of this post and to make it fit and still be visible to the readers).

• Web
• Images
• Maps
• News
• Shopping
• Gmail
• More (13 links)
• iGoogle
• Sign in
• Advanced Search
• Preferences
• Language Tools
• Advertising Programs
• Business Solutions
• About Google
• Go to Google [country language specific location]
• ©2008
• Privacy

Thats 27 words.

According to Google, they they developed that rule to keep their home page as clean as possible.

I thought about the homepage, and how to keep it simple, all the time. Yet I hadn’t thought to look at it through this very simple lens: just count the words. The fewer, the better. This has been our discipline, and everyone who works on the homepage and its design knows the current number: 28. (That’s the word count for the basic page if you are signed out, there’s no promotional line running beneath the search box, you’ve set Google as your homepage and thus don’t get the “Make Google Your Homepage!” link, and you count “©2008 Google” as two words.) - Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience at Google.

You can also check how did Google home page changed over the years at www.archive.org

But does this 28 word rule really matters?

To be honest i wouldn’t care if there were 29, 30 or even 31 words on their home page. As long as i will be able to use their website with ease it can be any number they want if you ask me.

So there you have, Google’s magic number is 28. Another mystery solved