Help with Gmail's New Look

My Gmail doesn't look like that. There are two main reasons why you might see something different when you visit Gmail: you may be using an older browser, or you may have add-ons, extensions, or browser settings that are interfering with the way Gmail works.

If you are using an older browser, such as Internet Explorer 7, Gmail will look like this:

To solve this problem, please upgrade to a newer browser.

1. Make sure you are using a supported browser, like the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer.

2. If you are using Internet Explorer 8 or 9, make sure that Compatibility Mode is disabled for Gmail.

3. If you are using Firefox or Chrome, you may have an extension or script that is interfering with Gmail's display. Please try Safe Mode in Firefox, or Incognito Mode in Chrome to disable your extensions temporarily.

I don't like the way Gmail looks. There are many ways to customize Gmail's look. You can change the spacing between messages, choose text for your button labels, change the background color, resize your left navigation and more. Here's an example of what your Gmail could look like if you adjust your settings:

Comfortable has the most space, Compact has the least, and Cozy is in between. Compact uses the same spacing in the message list as the previous look of Gmail. Here are Comfortable and Compact side-by-side:

The new look is too white. There are some beautiful new themes along with some old favorites. Try a different theme:

If you need more contrast, we've also added a High Contrast theme based on user feedback:

First, make sure you've selected at least one message. Some buttons don't appear until you've selected a message. Once you've selected a button, hover over it to see its name. One of our Top Contributors has also written a guide to the buttons -- thanks to The C Man.

The buttons in Gmail have icons rather than words by default. They're still in the same order, and if you hover, you can see the word description. If you want to use words on the buttons instead, click the gear to open Settings and change your button label preferences.

Some older themes weren't compatible with the updated Gmail look. We realize that your favorite old look theme might not be there anymore, and we're sorry. Check out the themes we do have, and be sure to let us know what themes you would like to see in the future.

We're working on a way for you to choose your own background image with a light or dark overlay, but it's not ready yet. Stay tuned.

You can click the top of the Chat box and drag it up or down to resize.

You can also set some of your labels to be hidden by default, so it's easier to find the ones you use most frequently. Click the drop down on each label, or visit your labels settings, and change your "In label list" setting to "Hide" or "Show if unread." You can easily access hidden labels by clicking "More" in your left navigation.

I want to use the older version of Gmail. We maintain one older version of Gmail, the Basic HTML version. It looks like this:

If you would like to use this version of Gmail, please visit: https://mail.google.com/mail/h/. You will see a bar at the top where you can select to always use the Basic HTML version of Gmail. For more information on why we are not maintaining all older versions of Gmail, please see this video.

No, I really want the previous version of Gmail. Google no longer offers the previous version of Gmail, and we encourage you to see if any of the other options listed in this post provide a good solution for you. However, if not, there are additional options available to you. One of the Top Contributors, wdurham, has put together a guide to user-created scripts that modify parts of Gmail to more closely resemble the previous version. These scripts are not made by Google, and we can't speak to their safety or reliability; they may break at any time and using them is at your own risk. Here are some of the modifications you can make with these scripts (click to enlarge):