You may notice yourself looking twice as you view a video on YouTube today. No, it’s not your eyesight, nor is it a pesky browser bug. YouTube has undergone a serious facelift to update and revamp its video page. With a new look and several new features, YouTube has strived to create a clutter-free and ultimately more user friendly page – A transition that is one of the biggest redesigns in its history.
So, what are some of these changes and how will they benefit the YouTube experience? Simplifying the look will help viewers focus on the video itself which is at the heart of the redesign. To create a more streamlined search there is a “next up” video list in which you can add videos to your queue on the right side of the page. Syncing up descriptions and stats, along with grouping actions such as sharing, rating, saving, or flagging will result in a more organized page layout. And let’s not forget about the rating system. As most of YouTube’s users select either 1 or 5 stars, the rating will be changed to a “Like” or “Don’t Like” model – Common terminology to other social channels such as Facebook.
With several other tweaks having been made for a more enjoyable viewing experience, the redesign was well-thought out before making the transition. The YouTube team has spent time gathering feedback and looking at data to ensure the changes made resonate well with users. But as always, change can take time to get used to; especially on a site that has been pretty stagnant when it comes to dramatic design changes.
If you switched to this new format when it was first introduced a few months ago in beta, you may not notice anything new and have probably gotten comfortable using the new page. Tech savvy news publications have been posting updates during the process to promote user transition.
Will YouTube continue to increase its success in being one of the major social media outlets with this new video viewing format? Stay tuned.
