After months of testing, Facebook’s redesign is finally here. Announced last year at the F8 conference, a more minimalist approach to the desktop design has been rolled out. In March, Facebook added an option to try out the new version. Users could switch back and leave feedback for why they had done so. This week, the redesign becomes official.
The redesign takes cues from the mobile app, designed to offer faster load times and easier navigation. “We’ve grown since Facebook.com launched 16 years ago,” the company writes. “We’ve built new features, optimized for new devices and operating systems, and expanded to hundreds of languages. Recently we’d focused on the mobile Facebook experience, and realized our desktop site had fallen behind. People need it to keep up.”
For many, however, the biggest news here may be the long-awaited arrival of dark mode for the desktop, as Facebook finally joins the likes of Twitter and countless others. You’re no doubt well-versed with the benefits of dark mode: it’s easier on the eyes and generally makes for a better video viewing experience.
Also new is the ability to create groups, pages, and, naturally, ads faster than before. The new version also offers previews of each, so you know what you’re getting yourself into before hitting Publish.
The company says it’s still actively seeking user feedback. So you can voice your inevitable dissatisfaction through the Settings menu. Facebook will continue to tweak the design going forward, in a Sisyphean effort to please everyone on the internet.