A Tale as Old as the Internet: Website Redesign Upsets Longtime Users

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Change is tough.

And on the Internet, it can be a real grind. Especially if you're a web designer.

Image by Designecologist

Because people who get used to a website tend to like it to stay that way – no matter how unrealistic that proposition might be.

The recent redesign of 500px’s website isn’t going over well with some people on the Internet.

As you can imagine, they’re trying to dominate the conversation as much as possible.

Characterized by PetaPixel as a “photobook” design, the new look is pretty jarring if you're used to the old look, at least at first glance.

It is clean and minimalist but, at the same time, quite spartan. It is supposed to better showcase creators’ works. But the initial reactions are somewhat mixed.

Explaining the inspiration behind the new look, 500px writes: “…we’ve developed a new recommendation system powered by machine learning to surface more content from photographers, regardless of follower count, including photos from users that are new to the platform…This new technology will help distribute exposure more evenly, in light of the high volume of daily uploads. That means more visibility for more great photographers and a wider variety of content for you to explore in your Home Feed.”

The recommendations can be displayed in a carousel or grid format on mobile devices according to the website.

Naturally, the more you use it, the more it will tailor the photos it shows you to your preferences.

Individual photos now display with a whole lot more analytic information than they had previously. The whole vibe is very social media and Instagram-esque.

One change that has some users riled is that “not safe for work” or explicit photos will no longer be viewable through the iOS or Android app. We don’t know how much that is impacting some disaffected users’ opinions but we’re sure they haven’t missed that little detail.

About Author

Kehl is our staff photography news writer since 2017 and has over a decade of experience in online media and publishing and you can get to know him better here and follow him on Insta.

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