Twitter have updated the design of their website profiles and Tweets. Currently only select people have been hit with this update but it is certainly looking like it’s only a matter of time before it goes live for everyone. So far we have seen various reviews and they definitely seem to be mixed. Many people have already said that with the new changes Twitter looks a lot like Facebook and for a high number of people this seems to be a problem.
The new update is made up of a number of changes, first of all the user profile picture is now aligned at the top left of the page with the short bio underneath and the timeline of tweets to the right. Yes, this does sound incredibly similar to the layout of Facebook but this is not the factor in which the majority of the complaints are about. Many people are complaining about the size of the tweets, they are now larger and have been sectioned off into cubes; this is making it harder to browse through them easily.
Although there is no disregarding that the people complaining about this do have a point, we have also found a number of improvements with this update, especially for businesses. The new design does look very clean and appears as though it may be promoting engagement especially with the new ‘Tweets and replies’ section, located at the top of each timeline. Tweets with a lot of engagement also seem to have been made larger, encouraging them to stand out and in turn, receive further engagement. One of the other great things to come out of this update is the enlarged header photo; this allows people to include more detail and to have an image that really does stand out and represent them or their business.
Twitter have stated that the design will be slowly rolled out with “select” users, offering no information as to how to activate it. We guess time will tell. Note, setting up new accounts will be done by default with the new design. Social media marketing is always evolving, this update is just another testament to this.
Have you got the new Twitter design update? If so, we would love to know what you think!
