Micro-blogging service Twitter today started gradually rolling out redesigned profile pages on the web to its 241 million strong user base. The redesign looks much better than the old profile pages that weren’t very functional.
You can now express yourself better by uploading a larger profile photo, customizing your header image, showing off your best tweets, pinning one of your tweets to the top of your page and more.
In addition to bigger photos and tweet positioning, other enhancements include filtered tweets and other goodies allowing your visitors and followers to learn everything you deem important about yourself…
The seven-year-old service says trending tweets – those that have received more retweets or replies – will now appear slightly larger to boost user engagement.
Key features include:
Best Tweets: Tweets that have received more engagement will appear slightly larger, so your best content is easy to find.
Pinned Tweet: Pin one of your Tweets to the top of your page, so it’s easy for your followers to see what you’re all about.
Filtered Tweets: Now you can choose which timeline to view when checking out other profiles. Select from these options: Tweets, Tweets with photos/videos, or Tweets and replies.
Moreover, visitors to your new profile page on the web can choose to see only your tweets, tweets with photos or video or tweets and replies. I also love how they’ve moved recommended accounts and current trends to the opposite side of the page.
All told, web profiles are now a lot easier on the eyes and somewhat reminiscent of the layout seen on Facebook and Google+.
Pictured top of post: Zac Efron’s new profile page with the pinned tweet and his more recent tweets continuing chronologically underneath.
Below: Channing Tatum’s web profile.
Further below: Michelle Obama’s revamped Twitter profile.
In addition to these, Twitter is highlighting the following example web profiles:
- French TV host @nikosaliagas
- Australian Football League @AFL
- Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter @gilbertogil
- Boxer @FloydMayweather
- TV star @kerrywashington
- Musicians @JohnLegend and band @weezer
Twitter confirmed in an exchange with Tweetbot developer Paul Haddad that the aforementioned design features will be surfaced to the official API “in a few months,” including pinned tweets, “at the same time we add them in our mobile apps.”
Currently, the new profiles are available on the web and to a small subset of Twitter’s user base. Those new to Twitter start with the new-look profile immediately.
“In the coming weeks, we will roll out the new features to everyone,” Twitter said. There, don’t panic if you don’t see your new profile yet as this is a staggered release.
Twitter is also said to be testing a bunch of new ad units, among them one which includes app links to mobile app stores.
And last month, the firm started rolling out a new platform for hosting video which makes it real easy for Twitter’s iOS and Android users to see in-line video thumbnails in their timelines and click to play.
Although this was possible before with Vine clips (as well as with photos and article previews), now this one-click option based on Twitter Cards technology is available for YouTube and other video sources.
The company claims video previews have prompted users to watch the embedded clips three times more often than previously, when clicking a video link in a tweet used to launch a source webpage.
And to think that Twitter was just 140-character messages and links 18 months ago.
How do you like the new layout for Twitter profiles so far?