MICRO-BLOGGING website Twitter has announced a significant redesign of its site.
The so-called #LetsFly redesign will be rolled out over the next few weeks but can be seen immediately on versions of mobile. twitter.com, Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android.
The social networking site, which only allows 140 characters per message, has been criticised in the past for being too difficult to navigate – especially for those who are not familiar with conventions such as the #hashtag and the @symbol.
Four new graphical tabs at the top of the index will ease navigation and allow for speedier use of the service.
The Home tab allows users access to the timeline – a scrolling list of messages with the most recently posted appearing at the top. This feature, it is promised, will be 500 per cent faster than its previous iteration.
The Connect tab – identified by the @ symbol – is a one-stop-shop where users can monitor everything they are doing socially on Twitter.
The Discover tab – identified by the traditional #hashtag symbol – is a personalised navigation tool which allows users search topics of interest.
The Me tab – identified by a profile outline – is where the user’s profile information sits.
This page has been redesigned and will allow users the ability to showcase more information about themselves, whether by text, with photographs or video.
A feature that is likely to excite users and advertisers alike allows the inclusion of multimedia content, enabling users to display video and photographs within the tweets that contain them.