Understanding the New LinkedIn Layout

Updated October 2020

Have you been on LinkedIn recently? You may have noticed that there’s been a bit of change on the platform. New developments  have resulted in the site looking very different from its former self.

There are more than 706 million accounts on the site, leaving LinkedIn with the challenge of delivering value to a varied groups of users. Coupled with encouraging users to use the platform (and use it to its full potential and use it often) that’s a big task.

In their own words, the  “Today, we’re announcing the redesign of LinkedIn — from the inside out — to continue to help you connect with your community and make your LinkedIn experience as easy, enjoyable, safe, and inclusive as possible. ”

The goal of the new LinkedIn desktop layout is to create  cleaner and more modern look with a focus on community. The guiding principles of this new update are warmth, intuitive, simple, and inclusive. They want to create a humanized, simplified design and streamlined navigation that provides a consistent user experience across mobile and desktop/laptop.

What does it mean to be humanized?

They start with a warmer color palette that is more personable and approachable. The foundational canvas hues are warm and the signature greens and blues offer a pop of color to keep the user interested.

The updated home page formatting takes the limited space into account when prioritizing the use of color and functionality. The traditional linkedIn blue is now used to draw the user’s eye to areas to take action and create a clearer navigational experience.

They have cleaned up the look of the user experience, using more white space, getting rid of divider lines, and removing unnecessary icons. This action not only simplifies the navigation of the platform, but also offers a more calming, enjoyable experience that increases the amount of time you’re willing to spend scrolling.

Meeting accessibility standards was a major objective of this revamp. This means being able to easily adjust text size, more visible icons, and they are even rolling out a ‘dark mode’ in the near future. Another aspect of this accessibility theme is widening the range of communities on the platform. LinkedIn knows that it’s more than 9-5 white collar workers that benefit from their platform, so they are highlighting a broader range of professions, industries, cultures, and abilities to create a more representative, inclusive experience.

What has changed?

Introducing: LinkedIn Stories

LinkedIn seems to be the last on the list to jump on the story train, and it seems to work in the same general fashion as other companies. Stories will be public to your LinkedIn connections for 24 hours and will give your connections to opportunity to privately react. This way, you can share content to your community without worrying about it being permanently visible on your timeline.

Updates to messaging

LinkedIn knows and has reacted to the digital shift in 2020. Whether it’s building rapport with connections or networking from your living room, the’ve added some new functionalities to bring everyone closer together in the DMs.

They are doing this through adding Zoom, BlueJeans, and Google Meet integrations in messaging for an easier transition from DMs to face-to-face conversations.

Ever been banging your head against a wall for sending a typo or sending a message to the wrong person? Fear that send anxiety no more – you can now edit and delete sent messages! Reach out to your peers without the risk of hurting your rep through autocorrect.

Search more

In previous years, it used to be that the search bar was limited to finding people or jobs. LinkedIn knows that’s not all there is to find on their platform, so they’ve made it easier to find job skills, posts, articles and location-specific opportunities.

LinkedIn also now has filters on search, so you see the most relevant content for your query without having to sift through a bunch of unhelpful info.

New functionalities that are different from other platforms

Many of the updates are LinkedIn playing catch-up with the other social media giants, but these updates are specific to LinkedIn.

Get your ducks in a row with LinkedIn’s new organizational functionalities for connections. You can now see who follows you and sort your connections by current company, industry, and location.

Curious how certain people found your profile? You can now see how people found your page and when. This way, you can know what to do to gain more wanted attention, and what to not do to lose unwanted attention.

The digital shift for networking events was a necessary step this year, and LinkedIn wants to propel that into the future as a new normal. There is now an events tab where you can discover new virtual events and see who’s attending what to network, learn, and hear speakers without locational limitations.

This digital shift extends from networking to company moral boosting. There is now a new tab for employees to see milestones, anniversaries, promotions, and trending content within your company. This is to help pull in engagement and enthusiasm from remote workers and create a company culture that extends past the physical office.

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All in all, there have been a few major changes to LinkedIn’s look and layout – in a few places. In other places, not much has changed. Don’t worry, there is still a whole lot of value for free users.

Change is good, people, don’t forget that! I predict it won’t take long to adapt to the new LinkedIn layout.