Social Media, giant, Twitter is rolling out a new desktop design today that adds more customization options and a completely rearranged navigation experience.
The redesign has been open to testers for the past few months, but it will be available to everyone over the next few days. Unlike previous redesigns, however, opting into the new experience will be mandatory, and there will be no legacy Twitter to fall back to.
The biggest, most noticeable change is that the top navigation bar has been moved to the left sidebar, which contains bookmarks, lists, your profile, and a new explore tab.
Woah, what’s this? A shiny new https://t.co/q4wnE46fGs for desktop? Yup. IT’S HERE. pic.twitter.com/8y4TMzqBGa
— Twitter (@Twitter) July 15, 2019
Twitter says the explore tab has been brought over from its mobile app to feature more live videos and personalized local trends. Direct messages have also been revamped to show conversations and sent messages in the same window. The desktop experience is getting different themes and colour schemes as well, including more two options for dark mode.
Twitter borrowed a few more features from its mobile apps to improve the desktop experience, like the ‘sparkle’ button on the home bar lets you switch between seeing the latest, chronologically-ordered tweets instead of Top tweets.
The side navigation bar will also make it easier for users with multiple accounts to switch profiles quickly without having to log in and log out, a feature that’s been available on the mobile app for years, with a long-press of the home icon.
