The uselessness of home pages
There’s a certain type of frustration that only a poorly designed home page can trigger—an oddly specific blend of confusion, impatience, and resignation. Take Google Drive, for instance. Every time I open it, I’m met with what should be a helpful dashboard: a search bar, some filters, and a grid of suggested files. In theory, this is productivity. In practice, I immediately ignore it all and click “My Drive”.
Why? Because 90% of the time, those “suggested” files aren’t what I need. It’s noise, not help.
The irony is that Google is the company that made the most famously minimal and functional home page in internet history: a blank page, a logo, and a search bar. That’s it. And it works. It’s fast, intuitive, and gets out of your way. Google Search understands that a home page should be a launchpad, not a labyrinth.
But Google Drive isn’t alone. So many modern apps and services have fallen into this same trap: trying to be helpful by guessing what you want, instead of just letting you tell them.
Take GitHub. To their credit, they recently gave the home page a makeover, and it’s noticeably cleaner now. It’s less chaotic than it used to be — fewer panels, fewer distractions, and a more streamlined layout. It feels like they’re trying to focus more on utility than noise, which is a welcome change.
But even with the cleaner look, the core issue remains: I still don’t land where I actually want to be. Most of the time, I’m just trying to get to my repositories or open my organizations. But instead of direct links on the home page, I have to open the menu, then click “Your repositories” or “Your organizations”. It’s an extra step that slows things down, especially when it could just be a prominent link or sidebar shortcut.
This design problem comes from a well-meaning place. Companies want their platforms to feel smart, personalized, and proactive. But often, the result is a cluttered first impression that assumes too much and asks too little. Instead of acting as a clear gateway to what I came for, the home page becomes a kind of static-filled waiting room.
The best interfaces are the ones that get out of your way. They understand that users usually come with a purpose. They’re not looking to explore or be surprised every time. Sometimes, they just want to get to their folder, hit play, or send that email. That’s it.
I think a lot about how much time I’ve wasted bypassing “smart” home pages just to get to the part of the app that actually works for me. And it’s not just annoyance—it’s inefficiency. The more cluttered the welcome screen, the more cognitive load it adds. Every second I spend scanning for the right link or dismissing irrelevant suggestions is a second stolen from the task I actually came to do.
So yes, every time I open Google Drive, I skip the filters, ignore the suggestions, and go straight to “My Drive”. Not because I’m stubborn, but because that’s the only part that feels like mine. Everything else is just noise in the name of convenience.
Maybe it’s time we start designing for real usage instead of imagined intent. Maybe the best home page is the one that stays quiet and lets you get on with your day.