YouTube's New Makeover

Beverly Newburn | @beverlyhills243 Nowadays people are on the move 24/7. Some people don’t have access to their laptops, but they still sit, relax and watch the latest and funniest videos on YouTube. Because users are spending more time on the mobile site, Google decided to make a few tweaks in order to make the mobile and the full site match.

Google released a new layout for YouTube’s web page that is similar to the mobile layout. YouTube’s blog stated users spend “almost half” their time watching YouTube on their mobile devices. The new design of the site is created to have optimum visualization on any size screen. The blog also stated that the new layout is designed to keep up with the ever-changing ways that people are watching YouTube.

One of the major changes of the website is the menu. It’s no longer permanently displayed on the left side of the screen. The menu is now behind the menu button next to the logo. As you watch different videos, the menu automatically disappears to give users a better viewing experience. The menu can be reopened from the button next to the logo. Google also decided to center the layout of YouTube. The new centered layout allows the design to be more responsive in order to suit any size screen. This design allows users to easily go through the different sections available on the home screen.

What else is new?

Another big change to the layout of YouTube is that it shows more love towards playlists. Users are able to easily create new playlists with the simplified editing page. They’re also able to access their playlists from anywhere on the site, along with any playlist from their favorite channels. These lists are easier to find thanks to the playlist tab. The channel page also had a makeover. The page still displays the classic options like recent activity, upload, and related channels, but it also includes links to the new playlists and video pages.

Layout changes on popular websites are not the most welcomed, but they’re inevitable. Having to learn where to find your personal settings again can be annoying to Internet users, but in the end they can be worth it. Google designed YouTube with the viewers in mind; they optimized videos for the different screen sizes, and lists of favorite videos are easier to find. Now you can easily connect to other users' favorite channels list, and you don’t have the main menu hovering on the screen.