After Twitter, Facebook comes up with a redesigned desktop site
Just a couple of months back, Twitter redesigned its desktop website and faced immense criticism for the move. Now, after the microblogging giant, Facebook appears to be pulling that same thread. The social network is testing a redesigned desktop website, offering a completely new look and a fancy dark mode. Here's all you need to know about it.
Facebook's FB5 redesign for desktop and smartphone
At the F8 Developer conference in May, Facebook promised a redesigned experience called 'FB5' for smartphone and desktop users. The interface looked cleaner and whiter than the current one and boasted a retouched Facebook logo and dark mode. Notably, the company had even claimed that the new UI would downplay news feed and put your communities, groups, and events, at the front and center.
New interface being tested with select users
Now, after several months, the new redesign is being implemented. A few weeks back, Facebook for iOS and Android received the revamped look, and now, the revamped desktop site has also gone into beta testing. It appears with a special invite that Facebook is sending to select users, asking them to try the new look and share their feedback.
So, what your Facebook would look like
The central feed of the beta site packs options to switch between news updates, marketplace, and Facebook Watch, and groups (like mobile), while the left section details all the features, including memories, pages, jobs, events, and more. On the right side, you will find active friends, while the upper right corner hosts the button to open Messenger, notifications, or your profile.
Options to rollback to classic design, enable dark mode
The profile button of FB5 will not just let you access your timeline but also provide options to access settings, set newsfeed preferences, or enable the dark mode. This page will also host the button to switch back to classic Facebook design if, by any chance, you happen to miss the old look that a majority of users currently have.
When the redesign will be rolled out publicly
The latest redesign is only in beta testing at this stage, which means there is no saying when it would launch to a wider set of users. Also, this might not be the final version of the site; Facebook could go ahead with the same look or take some feedback into consideration and make some changes.
