Tumblr changes its desktop layout, now looks like Twitter – but without all the drama
Tumblr has officially rolled out its new desktop interface to all of its users, despite the fact that select users who first received the updated layout had plenty to say about the changes.
The update was announced in an official blog post from the ‘Changes’ Tumblr account, which explains the meaning behind the revision. In the previous layout, navigation icons were at the top, with a simple pencil logo button at the bottom right that could be pressed to create a new blog post.
With the new changes, the iconic icons have been moved to the left side as a column and largely obscured by labels indicating each button’s purpose. And now the “create new post” button has been labeled and moved to the bottom left instead. Tabs that alternate what’s seen in the Dashboard (Tumblr’s content feed) have moved up, and even the search box is now in a different place.
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According to the ‘Change’ blog, this was done to better educate users about what each icon does. “So now, where there’s space, the navigation includes text labels. Since adding this one, we’ve noticed more of you venturing into previously unexplored corners of Tumblr. However, it is clear that these changes are almost entirely inspired by X, formerly known as Twitter, right down to the label names and order.
Meanwhile, even before this layout change was pushed to every user, there have been plenty of posts disapproving of the changes. The Comments (or Comments) section. of the blog post announcing the interface change has a disproportionate number of negative responses to the revision. In addition, some popular circulating posts even link to different methods to revert to the original layout on the desktop.
Tumblr is making a mistake
As a longtime Tumblr user, I’ve seen a number of changes to the site, most of which are inconsequential at best and actively detrimental to the site at worst. Not to mention that users have been asking for basic fixes for the site for years, such as making the search bar functional, an option to post higher quality videos, a better blocking and reporting system, and more.
There’s also the fact that Tumblr has rolled out other updates to make the blogging website look like trendy social media, like the addition of Tumblr Live (which is only available in the US due to privacy concerns) or Tumblr Marketplace. Not to mention the ban on adult content that was so unpopular it drove out a third of Tumblr’s user base. Tumblr hasn’t been shy about becoming profitable either, especially since every sale of the site has taken place a catastrophic fall in value.
This new layout change, which is largely unnecessary, is clearly another way to appeal to Twitter(X) users who fled the site following Elon Musk’s buyout. However, it is doomed to failure as the two websites couldn’t be more different in their user base, cultures, content management styles and so many other nuances.
In other words, this is yet another change that will serve to alienate Tumblr’s already disgruntled user base. Although it’s kind of ironic that even with all the controversy over this layout change, Tumblr is still a much quieter and drama-free place than X.