Is YouTube testing out a new look for its own homepage? More than likely they do so on a constant basis, but thanks to some images posted at the Google Operating System blog, which is not affiliated with Google, we have an idea of what a revised YouTube start page could look like.

While the redesign hasn’t been confirmed by the official YouTube blog, that doesn’t mean YouTube (and Google) aren’t above testing new features without announcing them first. With that in mind, what would a potential new YouTube homepage look like? Take a look, courtesy of the aforementioned Google Operating System blog (not affiliated with Google or YouTube):

Compared with the current one:

So what do we have? Changing the black in the left sidebar to a grey/white look, coupled with the removal of the YouTube’s popular categories link. Bigger video thumbnails are featured, and, according to the GOS blog, if you’ve watched a video, the associated thumbnail will now include an unobtrusive “watched” label on it. Users who’d like to experiment with the new YouTube homepage can do so by entering the following commands:

If you use Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer 8+, open youtube.com in a new tab, load:

* Chrome’s JavaScript console (Ctrl+Shift+J)
* Firefox’s Web Console (Ctrl+Shift+K)
* Safari’s Web Inspector (how to do that?)
or
* IE’s Developer Tools (press F12 and select the “console” tab)

and paste the following code:

document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=nH7tBenIlCs; path=/;
domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();

Then press Enter and close the console. To go back to the standard UI, follow the same steps, but use the following code:

document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=; path=/;
domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();

If you’re an inexperienced user who got intimidated by those instructions, it’s understandable. That being said, there isn’t anything in those four lines of code that will break your browser, so you can rest easy if you’re worried about messing up your computer. Give it a shot and see what you think of YouTube’s potential replacement homepage.