Facebook users will see a new look rolling out to their News Feed over the course of the coming weeks.
The company announced today that it has finally settled on a new look for its user interface, after beginning the process almost a year ago. The new look doesn’t show much change from the News Feed users are familiar with today, though it places a greater emphasis on larger images, and many of the user interface elements have expanded. While the previous redesign aimed to unify both the company’s mobile and desktop websites, Facebook said that its mobile web experience won’t change.
The new look won’t bring any changes to the way Facebook delivers content to users, and advertisers won’t be asked to prepare new images or content for their ads. That level of consistency is key, rather than sending advertisers scrambling to get ready for a new and different set of ads.
Last year’s proposed redesign got mixed reviews from users, who liked certain elements, but said that they had a harder time getting around the site. At a time when Facebook is trying to keep user engagement high to drive ad revenue, users feeling less comfortable with the site is bad news.
Given users’ response to most changes Facebook makes to its user interface, this update is sure to cause some amount of consternation. But it feels more incremental than radical, which seems like a sign of Facebook’s maturity, as well as its position in the market. The social network can’t afford to shoot first and ask questions later with broad changes to its user interface in the same way it was able to in years past, since plenty of competitors like Twitter and Google+ are waiting to capitalize on the company’s stumbles.
Still, Facebook is looking to create new experiences outside of its main brand. Earlier this year, the company released Paper, a new app for iPhone users that puts an interesting spin on the way that people can view content from the social network. It’s the first of several mobile-first applications from Facebook’s Creative Labs division that is designed to create a new experience for using Facebook.
What do you think of the new News Feed? Let us know in the comments.
