Eric Ingrum's Project Blog

AwesomeStart gets compared to iGoogle a lot. To be honest I’ve never really used iGoogle before, so I usually don’t have much to add to those conversations. I decided it would probably be a good idea for me to take a peek at though, so here are my reactions.

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that AwesomeStart is a site that allows users to create their own custom startpage. They can choose from one of several hundred designs (or make their own!) and set all the page’s links to whatever they want.

iGoogle is a site Google put out in April of 2007 that also lets people create a personalized startpage. Users can select from a variety of widgets and arrange them on the page however they’d like – that way, every time a user opens the iGoogle page they’ll see all their handy little device.

On the surface, sure they’re the same thing! Both AwesomeStart and iGoogle allow users to set up a custom startpage which they’ll probably choose to make their browser’s homepage. It’s only once you use the two services that the difference becomes clear.

iGoogle offers a TON of widgets. If you want a clock and calculator and all that on your page, iGoogle is your man. AwesomeStart does have a few “widgets” (RSS for example), but nothing nearly as involved as what iGoogle’s got.

Last year iGoogle started offering custom themes for the service. I think that’s when people started really comparing the two. If you want a good looking startpage, that’s AwesomeStart’s specialty. The site has over thirty official designers (and a slew of contributing users) who’ve made hundreds if not thousands of designs. Unlike iGoogle – where the “custom design” is just a small graphic at the top of the page – AwesomeStart’s themes cover the page from head to toe. You get a bold, clean design.

Bold and clean…you know, like the original Google homepage!