# Can you reconfigure search engine results to appear more compact?



## Eco442

Slowly but surely, Google and other search engines are adding new novelties to results - icons, long descriptions, shortcuts to wikis. I just want a basic set of pages, line by line and very compact. What can you use? I can't any option to configure it in Google, Bing etc. Many thanks!


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## Corday

Try DuckDuckGo.


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## Eco442

Corday said:


> Try DuckDuckGo.


That's even worse. Just tried with two random searches, first threw a big wikipedia article description, second one contained a massive selection of links. I only want the url with a basic description, no apps, no videos, no cheese or pickle. Just plain results!


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## Corday

DDG has infinite settings. If you really want to do this: Make a Simple Search Engine with PHP (open source download) - HeyTuts go for it.


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## Eco442

Corday said:


> DDG has infinite settings. If you really want to do this: Make a Simple Search Engine with PHP (open source download) - HeyTuts go for it.


That appears to be for searching websites internally. Also if I could code my own search engine I'd have done that already lol.


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## Corday

Some ideas on that if you Google: "make your own search engine"


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## Eco442

Corday said:


> Some ideas on that if you Google: "make your own search engine"


I can see you're trying to be ironic but this is kind of the problem - google's search results are so filled with all kinds of wacky marketing and gimmicks that I'd end up coding something else or watching cat videos for hours without realizing. This is very frustrating if you're trying to use it for a serious purpose. It was so much easier to use in the past. Pretty disappointing you can't customize search engines any more and quite futile to recommend making your own search engine wouldn't you agree?


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## Corday

DuckDuckGo has many custom possibilities. Settings>All Settings then 4 Choices (General, Theme, Appearance & Privacy) each with alternatives. I use DDG for privacy.


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## Gary R

Startpage gives you a fairly "basic" set of results.









Startpage - Private Search Engine. No Tracking. No Search History.


Search and browse the internet without being tracked or targeted. Startpage is the world's most private search engine. Use Startpage to protect your personal data.




www.startpage.com





Example results .... Startpage Search Results


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