> Has the DDG user experience suffered? If so, how?
Perhaps not for the most common case (just typing in search terms and viewing results). But it does break some important things, the most annoying one for me is that you cannot link to the JavaScript-infested result pages like the expanded image search results. How do you send someone the result of an image search ("images foo" does not even work all the time and it's not the expanded view)?
Visually, the contrast is worse now than it was before. While this may be "trendy", it does harm usability.
The default coloring of the old results page was much easier to look at, as well. It made it easier to differentiate between the different types of content.
The fixed red bar at the top is distracting and pointless.
The auto-suggest is also wasteful and unnecessary. I find it contrary to the simplicity that DDG used to offer.
Yes, they're relatively minor changes, but they add up to result in an experience that just isn't as good as the previous experience. These types of minor, but harmful, changes can build upon one another over time, amplifying their negative effect.
If you click the "hamburger" icon in the upper right, you can choose alternative themes. I'm using contrast with a larger font, but you can also switch back to the old design (although I'm not certain how exactly it mirrors the old design).
Right, that is an option, but it unfortunately involves some effort from the user. This is effort that wasn't needed before. In my opinion, having to expend this extra effort even just once ends up harming the user experience relative to what it was before.
I actually find that the changes in contrast have emphasized important elements of the page. As an example, the buttons and text on the front page will probably only need to be read once unless you're actively looking for them.
The auto-suggestions have helped improve my results a few times, particularly when I can't think of a bang.
The red bar and default coloring are probably a little more subjective, so I can understand that. I do hope changes don't accumulate to become more negative, but I find these changes to be largely pleasant.
Perhaps not for the most common case (just typing in search terms and viewing results). But it does break some important things, the most annoying one for me is that you cannot link to the JavaScript-infested result pages like the expanded image search results. How do you send someone the result of an image search ("images foo" does not even work all the time and it's not the expanded view)?