Facebook Is Testing A Desktop Redesign, And What It’s Doing Is Baffling
Photo 201263466 © Alexb09d4n | Dreamstime.com
How many times have you looked at a menu bar and thought, “I wish these buttons were harder to find?” Not once?
Well, imagine Facebook users’ surprise when they logged onto the website to find that not only has the menu been moved, but that some of the most-used options are now being buried under a new all-in-one button.
The social network appears to be testing a new desktop look where navigation elements, menus, and settings have been relocated from the top to the left of the interface.
“We moved all your navigation options into one place,” Facebook details in a new popup. “This change combines everything you need on Facebook—your profile, search, notifications, messages, and more.”
Those options are now hidden under a new 3 x 3 grid ‘Full Menu’ icon, so users would have to open this menu to access them, as opposed to performing the usual one-click action.
For now, this view is only visible to an extremely small group; a search on social media shows that Mashable senior editor Stan Schroeder is among the rare few who have been subjected to the changes.
Anyone else out there with this new Facebook design? Thinking of starting a support group. pic.twitter.com/t0kBLvw2Pm
— Stan Schroeder (@franticnews) March 7, 2022
“I don’t remember whether I opted in for this, but I can’t find a way to roll it back, so this is what the Facebook experience looks like for me right now,” Schroeder notes. He’s shared additional screenshots here.
Social media consultant Matt Navarra, who has also shared a screenshot of the updated menu, calls the revamp “confusing and messy.”
Of course, UI/UX changes will always require some getting used to—but discounting the need to relearn habits, Schroeder points out that this new left menu is situated next to another existing menu.
It’s an information overload “with so many colorful icons fighting for your attention,” says the reporter. Plus, given Facebook’s vast selection of features, grouping everything together would make navigating the site even more challenging.
Facebook is testing yet another redesign on desktop
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) March 7, 2022
It's confusing and messy https://t.co/Sh9sjMgfEI pic.twitter.com/c782IlTiYN
Do any of these "designers" actually use Facebook on a daily basis?
— Alexandra Modafferi (@ReelTake) March 7, 2022
[via Mashable, images via various sources]
