Facebook has been continuously iterating on their new design with the latest version showing a new location for Facebook Chat. Over the past few weeks we have been receiving messages from users who have been part of Facebook’s ongoing user testing of the new homepage design, however this latest design has one significant change: Facebook Chat has been moved to the sidebar.
There are some fundamental issues with this design, the most significant of which is that the number of bookmarked applications displayed appears to be limited to 5 and then the user must click on “More” to see more. Facebook has also removed the friend list filters (something highlighted by Malorie Lucich of Facebook last Friday) under this new design, which means that there are most likely additional changes to come. Facebook friend lists can now be found under the “Friends” area according to Facebook. Unfortunately we don’t have access to this new version yet.
While the volume of users being tested with the new design appears to be increasing, Facebook is still clearly in the process of making ongoing adjustments. The most significant change in this latest iteration is the adjustment of the chat. Aside from that, Facebook is only making subtle adjustments at this point. You can see the difference from the last iteration in the screenshots below.
In addition to consolidating a number of links under “Settings”, Facebook is rapidly iterating on the new homepage design which is expected to launch in the next couple months.
Thanks to Sam Lessin, of drop.io, who tipped us off.
New Homepage Design
December Homepage Design
The friend lists are still there. You just have to click onto “friends” on the left side and you will see them listed under there.
I dont like the news feed, its unecessary and I would like to just view live feed…..how?
um… how is that going to work? you can only see who’s online now when you’re at the TOP of the page? If you scroll down, it’s not there? uh… not okay.
Or:
You can only see who’s online when you’re on the homepage…
If this guy has this new interface (lucky!) could he perhaps answer these VERY important questions…
how will FB chat be usable if you can only see the buddy list from the homepage…?
Wonderfull,… I like it
Struggling to find ‘Edit applications’ under this new system… also the bottom toolbar has gone so if you are on your profile and want your bookmarked apps you need to go back Home to access them.
I like it.
I am peeved because I can’t control the status updates I see any more. I liked being able to see just what my family were saying or my close friends. I have hundreds of my students as friends (fb started off as a university networking tool) and although I love them dearly I liked being able to chose to filter out their cheery babble
Now I just get random news from the feed that isn’t the latest updates and from whoever. Boo I say. Hope they bring back the friends lists filter.
Anne: you can still see people on your custom friends list. Click on Friends on the left side and your list will be under there. Click on the list and the News Feed will only display those people you have on that list.
I’d like the ability to make a custom friends list my default view, but I don’t see how to make that happen any more. Everything else looks great. I just wish they would stop changing functions that I use every freakin time they redesign the site.
This is ridiculous. WHERE IS “status update” and why is it not available here. i have NO, no no no no interest in reading that 8 of my friends have become fans of some inane nonsense. I don’t CARE that 2 of my other friends are pleased with another friend’s STATUS. It’s BABBLE. i don’t like babble and it’s intrusive nonsense.
WHERE DID STATUS UPDATE GO? and why is this an improvement?
I’ve been on FB what, 5 months? And the tweaks seem to make it harder to deal with every iteration. Why do we lose choices every time Facebook is changed? Isn’t it better to offer MORE, not less?
this is irritating and annoying and pointless. And oh yeah, intrusive, did I mention? I know, I was trying to be ironic.
I’m with Annie.
i agree with annie…i do not like the fact that i can only chose live feed or news feed…it is bull! i only use the status update and now i don’t even have that choice!
I wish they would just pick a freakin’ design and stick with it. This constant changing crap is honestly getting on my very last nerve.
I do not like this new look, I think we need to be given a choice as to whether we want it or to stay with the old design. Also, what’s up with the credits? Thought FB was FREE!
I can’t find my lists of friends. How do you delete a friend now? Where are the lists? I click on Friends and just get a recently updated list or a help you find your friends page or the news feeds. No recently added list, category lists or all friends lists.
I do not like the newe design. I liked having my applications bookmarked at the bottom so I could just click on them. You are only pleasing the computer geeks out there that can do all this stuff, not us senior citizens who are trying to keep up with the world. Go back to the old way. It wasn’t broke, why fix it!!!
why can’t my friends access this new home page of facebook?
I also liked having the options of going back and forth between Live News or Status Update, not the way it is now.
I found the friends lists. They are under the Accounts heading at the top right.
Pages filter on left side is gone. That was really useful
What the … with friend lists? I do not need an actual list of my selected fiends, I need to read news and updates ONLY from them, form that selected list! That’s what’s lists for!
I have a feeling that FB software people smoke something )))
The new homepage layout has been rolling out tonight and the response from those who have it has been disgust. The bottom toolbar is gone so the bookmarks for apps are also gone. These changes do not appear to be very user friendly to me.
Change it back! NOW!!!
do not like it, if i want to see my new notifications i have to goo allllll the way back to the top to see it.. i like the bar at the bottom….why do they have to change something thats working properly… this is lame… they need to switch back..
correction -i *liked* the bar at the bottom
I see that many of my friends now have it and they absolutely love it. Unfortunately, I can’t see it yet.
Where is the option to click on links so I can see all the links everyone on my friendslist has posted. I can’t find it! I really don’t like this new layout and I really wish they would warn us ahead of time! Facebook get more confusing every day!
Neither do I
although i like the new design, the bit that annoys me the most is the fact that its perminatly stuck on news feed.
that annoys me i dont want to know all that stuff i prefer it on the status updates option but there seems no way of chainging it in the new version, hope that changes
Wait, if the notifications are at the top of the page, does that mean I’ll only see new notifications when I’m at the top of the page? If I’m scrolling down my feed, I’ll never see a new notifications? Seriously?
Ok this whole new layout is every bit of stupid!! The original layout was working just fine….why fix something that isn’t broken!!!
Old or new do we have choice?? why not let us choose which one we like? If it ain’t broke why fix it?
FB should not unnecessarily restrict the number of bookmarked apps. I have plenty of room. Let me add more!
Unfortunately, the redesign also broke my “Better Facebook” Greasemonkey script/Add-on. Typical.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Better-Face-Book/174424289341
I will be fixing it and I’ll probably add the ability to put more app bookmarks, auto-expand the “Friends” menu to show my lists, etc.
It seems crazy to me that FB has so many users and does so much work, yet still misses the mark on common-sense things.
I do, however, like the update overall. Just wish they would get the “last mile” right for once.
MPH - Agreed. I see no reason why the top blue bar shouldn’t be fixed and stay there as the page scroll. I’m going to try to do that, too…
Why is facebook so determined to make the default feed on my home page a feed that is censored by them? They call it “News Feed” but it should be called “Censored Feed”, because it is not news. It could be so that they can sell ads that will show up in that feed. Or maybe they know it is an election year and they want to weed out what posts get onto my main default feed. Whatever it is, it is less user friendly now, because every time I go to “home” I have to click on “friends” and then click on “more” to select my feed lists that I have created. > every time. > annoying. Also, the “pages” feed was useful.
how can i get this new layout? my computer has it but not my laptop?? why…?
I just received the new facebook update and I can’t even find my friend list. I do not like this new version. I would really like to communicate with my friends and now do not have that option.
The new home page is absolute garbage. Anything but status updates from my friends is a waste of space, and more importantly, my time.
If FB doesn’t enable me to CHOOSE status updates as the format for my home page, they can watch me commit Facebook ’suicide’.
I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING, FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!
5 Feb 2010
Im ok with the new look but totally not liking that I can’t find the News Feed for my pages…does anyone have any idea if this is one of the things that have been removed?!
Phil: Check out Better Facebook’s next release. I’m adding the feature to auto-expand the side navigation sections, so you can see all your friend lists at a glance.
I HATE THE NEW LAYOUT PLEASE CHANGE IT BACK!
why is it my home page is still the old one, i like the new home page.. how can i get it??
I can’t wait, It’s not rolled out yet here in South-Africa
binguunkkkkkkkkkkkkk
I cannot stand the new homepage. Not only can I not sort my friends into lists, but I now have to click extra times just to find those friends I used to have filtered. Also, why have both the chat list on the bottom right AND the online friends list on the left?! Aren’t they serving the exact same purpose?!I really miss the bottom blue tool bar that had my bookmarks too. That was so useful and now its such a pain. I also miss just having a dedicated INBOX not this little icon in the top bar that shows one new message. LAME!!! I want my old page back. I HATE the new 2010 page. I have already stopped frequenting FaceBook as much as I used to because of the change.
I have a Mac and have had nothing but problems with navigation since Facebook started changing things. I didn’t have a problem before but now the updates on my page don’t seem to show up for 12 to 14 hours after they are posted. My messages I can’t read. I can’t send gifts on the game sites. They have stolen all my poker chips. This is just crazy. Why can’t they make sure it works before implimentation?
Yep, after getting switched on Friday (I was one of the early ones apparently), I spent so much less time on Facebook that I ended up deactivating my account today and finding better things to do.
If my friends need to contact me, I have email; Instant Messenger, mutual forums that we’re on and my family can contact me by phone.
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This new design is total BS!! I have lost the ability to have really fun banter with friends and the stupid “feed” pops up old posts from days or weeks earlier that no longer have any meaning or bearing on the present day. I, too, will jump ship if it stays this way!
Facebook - pay attention to your fans before everyone jumps ship…it’s sinking fast. You took a really good social networking tool and turned it into something most of us hate. I want to wake up from this nightmare and find things are back to normal. Please….listen to the masses
… How do you see ALL friends list in this new layout….it shows “Recently Update” and “Status Updates” but NO complete list of Friends, like the old layout… Come on Facebook……NEW is NOT necessarily BETTER!!!!
I hate it as well the new layout is crap! Here is a link to the group i started “I want my old Facebook back”
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=285501558191
join and tell your friends to join!
i want my old homepage back! the new one is not so feasible! please
This new homepage is really not user friendly. Having to use a list to see posts for the games and the SERIOUSLY SLOW feed in seeing recent posts is ridiculous! There were many features on the old homepage that are just not available in any way, shape, or form now and that makes weeding through posts that much harder. Improvements should be quick or I can see FB losing a lot of users!
It’s so laggy in Firefox now… I’m used to opening a bunch of profiles in different tabs to go through and get things from my friends’ game posts. Now I can’t open more than one tab without hitting tremendous lag. I think the chat app is to blame, but I can’t figure out how to block it. I stay offline anyway…
I have found it very hard to use and is less convenient then the old design for the way I use the site. here are the reasons.
1. To write, or send a message to a friend I must press “profile” then find my friend list, open that, then click on the friend. If I am lucky they posted something to the stream then I have one click access to there page.
2. I play a couple apps frequently and a couple not frequently. I cannot organize my bookmarks so the ones I want to appear in the bookmarks show up, only the bookmarks they want to show show up. I have to click more then the app. God forbid I want to go from one app to another because then I must go to my home page, click more, then click app. and hopefully I didn’t scroll at any time because you have to scroll all the way up instead of just pressing the button to take me there.
3. The new design CRASHES firefox on my computer all the time, and if it doesn’t crash then it just hangs for 30 seconds or more, especially when using an app.