You might have noticed in recent days that your layout to Facebook changed a bit, or that you are being given the option to move to Facebook’s new layout. This move has actually been underway for quite some time but if there has been more important stuff going on you can be forgiven for not noticing it or changing it. As with anything on the web it occasionally needs to be redesigned, so no this is not just to make you mad and swearing off Facebook for this reason will not make any difference. There are plenty of reasons to swear off Facebook but this is not one of them.
Why Is Facebook Changing Its Layout?
You had probably grown used to the old layout. Of course Central Pennsylvanians don’t like change so there has probably been some grumbling as you tried to find how to do the things that you thought you knew how to do all over again. Or maybe you have been resisting until now.
Coming off of the redesign of the mobile app in 2019 this new layout is intended to give quicker access to many of the major features with a cleaner and simpler design. It includes larger fonts, sleeker icons, a dark mode and a simplified layout with fewer columns. That also means that some popular features like the Groups section or the Stories section have moved.
While much of the reason for this is to simplify the layout with a cleaner design, part of it also reflects changes to how people are using Facebook. The company found out that the News Feed section is not as popular anymore and has been supplanted by Groups and Stories which have been moved to a more prominent place on the page.
This Was Not Done To Make You Mad
While some people may take this personally this was not done to make you mad. Well, at least they weren’t intending this as a personal insult to you. That would be a lot of resources being thrown at this project for what would be small potatoes when it comes to results, but then you hopefully know that.
On occasion websites do need to be redesigned. Over time as new features are added to a site or more content is added the site becomes cluttered making it harder to navigate the site. If it is harder for a visitor to find what they are looking for they will give up and go somewhere else. It doesn’t matter if you are a news site or an eCommerce retailer, that is bad news for you.
This happens with just about every website. Business Insider did a piece in 2019 detailing what websites looked like when they launched compared to what they look like now. Almost every website has undergone major changes at one point and Facebook is no exception to that. OK, the Heaven’s Gate cult website hasn’t undergone any changes since their members committed mass suicide in 1997 but they are the exception to the rule.
Updates Do Not Always Run Smoothly
If you live here in York County or Central Pennsylvania you have probably heard someone say that we don’t like change. To some degree that is a fair sentiment when it comes to a website. Once people get comfortable with how to use your website they become regular visitors but when things change they are forced to learn how to use your site all over again. That is not for everyone and it is possible that you might lose customers over that.
For people like that, that is on them. For those people they will need to start using a similar website that offers the same services and god forbid that site get redesigned at some point. For people like that there is no pleasing them.
I worked for Comcast when they redesigned the email portal on their website. It wasn’t a major overhaul but some things were moved and I will admit it did take me a second to find them. I got a call from someone who told me that they were going to cancel their services because the email portal had been changed. I told that person that there was nothing that I could do about that and sites get changed over time. I never did bother to check to see if they actually followed through with their threat.
Of course my biggest gripe there was that when the portal changed the powers that be did not bother telling the rank and file service people until about 6 hours after it happened. For a communications company, they were sure lousy at communicating but that is story for another day.
What Can A Website Redesign Do For You?
A website should be redesigned every 4-5 years. Over time your business changes and incorporating those changes into your website may not always be the easiest thing to do. As you offer new services or discontinue other services your website should reflect that. Just simply removing them or adding them to the site may seem easy but it may not always be that way. A redesign can help to make those changes more seamless.
Or maybe it is time to rebrand your business. Do you have a new logo? Maybe it is time to start fresh and rather than applying band-aids to the website, just start from scratch. There are a world of themes available for WordPress that can be used to give your business a new edge with a sleek new website. Sure, you will have that occasional customer that grumbles but chances are you will have many more that compliment your new site.
If you are in need of a redesign of your website give Nicely Done Sites a call. We are a local York County-based company that can handle all of your website needs and more. Nicely Done Sites can help give your company a fresh new look that will turn your visitor’s heads! Just click on the chat box that popped up to get started.