YouTube Revamps Layout to a More Functional Design

Although streaming video giant YouTube has had several small changes over the years, they have recently announced a major overhaul to the site design that makes it much more functional than ever before. The new clean design focuses on better navigability. The header is white to let content take the lead, while the navigation tabs are at the bottom of the app, closer to the thumbnails. There is also a library and Account tab added for easily searching through content. While navigation is being worked on, YouTube is also integrating more gestures. This allows users to fast forward or rewind by 10 seconds with a simple double tap on the video.  The mobile app now also finally gets the playback speed control of the desktop version.

Google says that they will also continue to introduce more features throughout the year. No doubt working on making the experience much more consistent across all platforms. The new layout is also much more “adaptable”. Meaning it can change shape depending on the aspect ratio of the video it was shot in. This means vertical videos will be shown in the best viewing experience automatically without black bars.

On the desktop, the navigation menu is now nested like it is for mobile on the left side. Everything also looks “flatter” so the video content stands out more with less emphasis on the text descriptions. Even the comments area is smaller on default view while the play list thumbnails to the right are more prominent.

The Google-owned streaming service started over 12 years ago with its 320×240 4:3 aspect ratio video support and has now also expanded to support HD, 4K, 360 3D and even live video. The new revamped layout also applies to YouTube’s apps including the launch of a separate YouTube Kids app aimed at family viewing. Check out the list of the recent changes to YouTube straight from their official blog posted recently.

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