New Facebook Layout Being Tested on Some Users – Here’s Where They Moved Everything
In March 2022, Facebook launched a new layout for a small subset of desktop users. While there doesn’t seem to be any change to the mobile layout, this is still a huge change. The new Facebook layout seems to be compulsory for those “selected” to receive it and Facebook doesn’t seem to be offering much in the way of support for it. Everything needed to navigate the site has been moved and some are finding it very hard to use. There hasn’t been any official word from Facebook regarding the new layout – or even that they’re testing it – but there are enough users who were “voluntold” to be Beta Testers that there can be no other conclusion.
Although no one here at Steady Radiance Design has had the change forced on us, we were able to get access to an updated account so we can show you exactly what’s changed and how to navigate this new Facebook layout. Check out the video below, or if you prefer to read through the differences, we’ve written out our full comparison, complete with screenshots below the video.
For the purposes of this description, we’re going to call the current/standard layout the “old” layout and the new Facebook layout the “new” layout. Don’t read anything into that though, we have no idea if this “new” layout is here to stay or not!
Top Navigation
The biggest change with the new Facebook layout is that all the navigation options across the top of the page have been moved to a menu on the left. Here’s a side-by-side comparison showing where the old navigation options are in the new layout. You can see just by the number of markers we had to use that they really did move everything.
Accessing Your Profile
One of the more confusing changes is the way you access your profile. On the old layout, you simply had to click your profile picture to view your profile. Although the location of your profile picture has changed once or twice, we’ve all been taught that clicking your profile picture – no matter where you see it – takes you to your profile. Not anymore! Depending on where your profile picture is on the page will determine what it does in the new Facebook layout.
In the new layout, if you’re on your home page (a.k.a. your Newsfeed, which you access by either clicking the Facebook logo or the “home” button), you can access your profile by clicking on your profile picture at the top of the page, just to the right of the Facebook logo or by clicking your profile picture next to the “What’s on your mind…” box where you can start a new post.
If you’re on any other page – such as a Group or another friend’s profile – the only way to access your profile is by clicking on your profile picture at the bottom left of the screen, then clicking your name/profile picture on the flyout menu that opens.
Group Pages
The last significant change in the new Facebook layout is the navigation on Group pages. A lot of people use groups as a main source of sharing/receiving information, so this change has caused quite a stir, especially among Group page admins who suddenly “lost” some options they use frequently. Here’s where you can find the navigation options and tabs in the new layout.
Final Thoughts
If you have the new Facebook layout and you’re having difficulties finding anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
