If you’re logging into Twitter today and notice things look a little different, then don’t panic- the social network has had a major overhaul overnight.
If you’re still seeing the same old browser version, then don’t panic either. It’s being rolled out to the millions upon millions of users, which takes time.
The update has also appeared on the iPhone and Android versions of Twitter, with the company writing on its blog last night: “We’ve simplified the design to make it easier than ever to follow what you care about, connect with others and discover something new.
“You’ll see this new design both on Twitter.com and mobile phones, so that you’ll have a familiar experience any time, anywhere.
“We’ve also updated TweetDeck to be consistent with this new version.”
What’s new on new Twitter
So what’s different and what’s worth knowing about the new Twitter design? Here are some of the key things to look out for:
Your Timeline now sits on the right of the screen with other info such as your Followers and Follow suggestions now on the left.
If you’re using the iPhone version, sweeping your finger up on the “Me” icon will display your Direct Messages. Sweeping left displays all of your Twitter accounts allowing you to switch between them.
A great timesaver is sweeping your finger up on the “Home” icon to return you to the top of your timeline rather than the old way of double tapping the top of your iPhone screen.
On the mobile versions, a search box now appears at the top of the “Connect” and “Discover” tabs making it simple to always find what you’re looking for.
If you’re searching for where your lists live, they are now hidden away under the “Me” tab.
The “Discover” tab is split into Stories, Activity, Who To Follow, Find Friends and Browse Categories. “Stories” offers a range of topics you may be interested in thanks to a complicated bit of technology determining what is popular worldwide and what Twitter knows you like to view and Tweet about.
“Activity” will display who your followers are following and what else they’re up to.
Rather than opening out to the side, tweets can now be viewed in full by clicking the “Open” button on the far right of each message. This creates a bigger box that drops downwards and includes a full view of all related replies.
Another neat introduction is boxes that overlay the screen rather than expand the frame out to the right. For example, your Direct Messages will appear in a box in the centre of your display.
Brands can now have their own specific pages on Twitter with the ability to show off their logo in the header and other associated content in the background overlaid with recent images they have posted, their timeline and details of the “Lists” and “Favourites”.
By downloading the mobile apps for iPhone and Android, this will bump you up the list to get access to the new design in your browser.
If you use TweetDeck, you’ll find you can now only link it to Twitter and Facebook after Twitter overhauled that too.
Twitter promises a new version of the much-used iPad app is currently in the works and will be on its way soon.
One quick tip, to find out more about the redesign, use the hashtag #newnewtwitter in your search. As it’s not the first overhaul, it needs double the “new”.
Five simple buttons now control your new Twitter experience
• Home – This includes all your timeline tweets, which now feature photos and videos within them to view instantly and save having to click an extra link.
• @ - Here you will see a notification every time someone else has interacted with you, whether by following, retweeting, replying or favouriting and can be split into either every Interaction or just mentions to clearly see the times you have been referenced in a message.
• # - The hashtag symbol is the sign for a new “Discover” tab, which features Search, Trends, Follow suggestions and much more.
• Me – You’ll find your profile here as well as Direct Messages and all your own content.
• The box with the Quill – That’s for the most important thing – creating a new tweet.
If you’re still seeing the same old browser version, then don’t panic either. It’s being rolled out to the millions upon millions of users, which takes time.
The update has also appeared on the iPhone and Android versions of Twitter, with the company writing on its blog last night: “We’ve simplified the design to make it easier than ever to follow what you care about, connect with others and discover something new.
“You’ll see this new design both on Twitter.com and mobile phones, so that you’ll have a familiar experience any time, anywhere.
“We’ve also updated TweetDeck to be consistent with this new version.”
What’s new on new Twitter
So what’s different and what’s worth knowing about the new Twitter design? Here are some of the key things to look out for:
Your Timeline now sits on the right of the screen with other info such as your Followers and Follow suggestions now on the left.
If you’re using the iPhone version, sweeping your finger up on the “Me” icon will display your Direct Messages. Sweeping left displays all of your Twitter accounts allowing you to switch between them.
A great timesaver is sweeping your finger up on the “Home” icon to return you to the top of your timeline rather than the old way of double tapping the top of your iPhone screen.
On the mobile versions, a search box now appears at the top of the “Connect” and “Discover” tabs making it simple to always find what you’re looking for.
If you’re searching for where your lists live, they are now hidden away under the “Me” tab.
The “Discover” tab is split into Stories, Activity, Who To Follow, Find Friends and Browse Categories. “Stories” offers a range of topics you may be interested in thanks to a complicated bit of technology determining what is popular worldwide and what Twitter knows you like to view and Tweet about.
“Activity” will display who your followers are following and what else they’re up to.
Rather than opening out to the side, tweets can now be viewed in full by clicking the “Open” button on the far right of each message. This creates a bigger box that drops downwards and includes a full view of all related replies.
Another neat introduction is boxes that overlay the screen rather than expand the frame out to the right. For example, your Direct Messages will appear in a box in the centre of your display.
Brands can now have their own specific pages on Twitter with the ability to show off their logo in the header and other associated content in the background overlaid with recent images they have posted, their timeline and details of the “Lists” and “Favourites”.
By downloading the mobile apps for iPhone and Android, this will bump you up the list to get access to the new design in your browser.
If you use TweetDeck, you’ll find you can now only link it to Twitter and Facebook after Twitter overhauled that too.
Twitter promises a new version of the much-used iPad app is currently in the works and will be on its way soon.
One quick tip, to find out more about the redesign, use the hashtag #newnewtwitter in your search. As it’s not the first overhaul, it needs double the “new”.
Five simple buttons now control your new Twitter experience
• Home – This includes all your timeline tweets, which now feature photos and videos within them to view instantly and save having to click an extra link.
• @ - Here you will see a notification every time someone else has interacted with you, whether by following, retweeting, replying or favouriting and can be split into either every Interaction or just mentions to clearly see the times you have been referenced in a message.
• # - The hashtag symbol is the sign for a new “Discover” tab, which features Search, Trends, Follow suggestions and much more.
• Me – You’ll find your profile here as well as Direct Messages and all your own content.
• The box with the Quill – That’s for the most important thing – creating a new tweet.