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Linkedin introduces its redesigned group page

I have not seen any similar cases of using lightbox, but its use here is definitely appropriate and well thought out. This discovery got me thinking about the different ways in which redesigns can be introduced to users.   

1. The Facebook way — releasing a beta site     

Over time Facebook’s interface has gone through redesign pretty regularly. The most recent profile redesign in 2008 went through a phased process. Facebook announced detailed specs months before its launch to coordinate with application developers and users on the change. Additionally they rolled out a beta site for the public to preview. We all remember the day in July 2008 when our Facebook profile looked drastically different – it was a significant change to the interface but was not a big surprise to most people, thanks to the beta site that had gone live a few weeks prior.     

Facebook learned the lesson of introducing changes to users the hard way. In September 2006, a ‘News Feed’ feature suddenly appeared on every user’s home page, which caused numerous complaints and concerns about privacy from the user community. In response to the outpouring dissatisfaction, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a public apology on the issue. Ever since, the company has been more cautious about introducing new features/designs and has used beta sites to involve their users in the release process.     

2. The Office 2007 way — trying it out online     

Unlike Facebook, Microsoft Office is a desktop application suite which traditionally was not provided for online trial. Hence the debut of its 2007 version was quite noteworthy. The public trial was unveiled on MSN.com with the Office 2007 signature ‘Ribbon’ panel sitting on top of the homepage. The online trial let users roll over certain buttons and icons on the ‘Ribbon’ panel to try out main interface and functionality features. The trial was live only for a couple of days but it became an instant hit, drawing huge public interest in test-driving the new product.     

Microsoft debuts Office 2007 trial on MSN.com

3. The LinkedIn way — providing a post-release introduction     

LinkedIn’s group page redesign only impacted one section of their site. Even still, they not only made announcements prior to the launch but also went beyond announcements to guide users through the changes with the aforementioned lightbox solution to highlight what had been added or changed on the site in a simple, useful and unobtrusive way.     

Regardless of the approach you use to introduce your redesign, the purpose should be communicating to your end users about the changes, helping them through the transition, and maybe uncovering any last-minute issues.  The days of people waking up discovering their favorite sites had been upgraded are long gone, unless your goal is to annoy your users and drive them away. In addition, a redesign introduction should be unobtrusive to people’s experience with the live system and representative of the new UI elements and features. Screen previews or interactive trials usually work best coupled with advanced announcements, so your users know exactly what will happen.