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By on October 7, 2009

Facebook’s (Semi) Annual Redesign

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Whether they’re trying to keep us from going design-blind or they just get bored with their layout periodically, Facebook has regular redesigns. But the new features and redesigns aren’t always popular, and Facebook users seem highly resistant to change.

But apparently it’s time for a bunch of new “i h8 the new lay out” groups to crop up, because Facebook has confirmed to The Next Web that they’re testing a new layout for the top news/recent updates pages.

For side-by-side comparison purposes, here’s the old layout:
current fb

And the new:
fb new1

fb new2

The major differences include losing the publisher box, which Facebook was so excited about with this redesign. Instead an “Update Status” button appears in the upper right. This frees up more real estate in the center column for friends’ updates, photos, wall posts, etc.

Another new feature is the separate “Top News” page (the second screen shot above), which appears to sort stories by the number of likes or comments they’ve received.

While the new features may be useful, they may also be perceived as just more clutter. Facebook users are fickle people, it seems—but it’s awfully hard to please hundreds of millions of people.

What do you think? Do you like the new layouts? Have you seen these tests?


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4 comments on “Facebook’s (Semi) Annual Redesign”

  1. andrew Says:

    October 7th, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    Facebook exemplifies the time-honored tradition of design changes as evolution, not revolution. I think part of their success is in how they gradually adapt their design to the activities most-performed by their user-base. Sure, they sometimes generate flak over designs (see: the opposition to “New Facebook” which has since been quelled), but they keep user-experience in mind and almost always end up with a better version of their product. It’s hard to get stale when you’re constantly changing – and Facebook knows this. Keep it fresh, keep it simple and keep on improving. I tip my hat, once again, to Facebook.

  2. Mary Anne Says:

    October 7th, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    I’m still not sure that I like Facebook. I feel very vulnerable “out there.”
    .-= Mary Anne´s last blog ..Life is too short =-.

  3. Livemercial Sarah Says:

    October 8th, 2009 at 11:52 am

    I think it’s great that Facebook is continually adapting to the world around them! Nobody LOVES change, but it’s a necessary part of life, and nothing will ever improve without it. People have to know how to adapt to change to survive, and from a business perspective, this is ESSENTIAL to keeping your head above water in any industry. Without change, Facebook would fall behind some other social networking site and lose users in the long run so although it might be frustrating to adapt to something new once again, without any change, life would be boring!
    .-= Livemercial Sarah´s last blog ..A NWI Tweet-Up “Thank You” =-.

  4. Arrow SEO Says:

    October 8th, 2009 at 6:39 pm

    I think the new designs looks great. I like changes now and then. It can be boring to see the same design every year. It would be great if Facebook allow users to customize their layout by drag and drop.