Facebook Redesign: Appealing to a Billion Users

When it comes to redesigning a website, it's a very daunting task.

Dealing with user expectations is tough; not everyone will think the new design is an

improvement.

Many will voice their displeasure for the changes that have been made, wishing things would go

back to the "way it's always been."

If you run a small website with 1,000 or so users, you'll hear plenty of users complaining.

Well, put yourself in the shoes of Facebook - a company that currently has over 1.3 billion

users and counting.

Most of these users are happy with the site - why would you change something that is

already pleasing its users?

Margaret Gould Stewart is the woman in charge of product design at Facebook - and she's heard

the complaints far too often.

Stewart has plenty of experience when it comes to design - she's led crews at YouTube and Google

before joining the team over at Facebook.

Recently, Stewart did an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, explaining how she

can revamp such a large site.

Here are some takeaways.

Sweat the Small Stuff

When you want to appeal to everyone, it's important to obsess over the design.

The Facebook "Like" icon is something that Stewart placed very strict guidelines on from

the beginning.

The design team had to conform the height and width to certain parameters, make it understandable in different languages and

make sure gradients and borders would perform well - no matter what browser a user is accessing.

The lead designer claims to have spent almost 300 hours designing the "Like" icon - with the

project spanning over six months.

False Positives

It's important to analyze the results from user data but Facebook makes sure they don't jump

to conclusions too quickly.

False positives arise due to the novelty effect - the fact that its new makes it appealing.

Stewart gives the user data results a grace period before

determining whether or not the change was a success.

Don't Go and Surprise People

Make sure that you warn users before rolling out an update.

Explaining the rationale before the change happens and then gradually rolling out the new

product is much better.

Stewart says that she wants people to be emotionally prepared for the change.

Users are Different from Each Other

Each user will use Facebook differently, and they will use

different hardware to access it.

You can view Facebook's website from an iPhone in New York City just as easily as you can access it

from a low-end phone in Australia.

You have to design the product for the world - and for all the different situations that could

arise.

Everyone Will (Not) Be Happy...

You have to realize that there will always be people unhappy with a

redesign.

Nobody really likes change - some are conditioned to the

older version.

Developing muscle memory around a product takes place much quicker than you would

think.

You want to make sure that any changes you make will not

drastically confuse the user, preventing them from using your

product effectively.