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Pinterest quietly pops out a fantastic new layout

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While Facebook was off with their big update show and Google+ snuck in a juicy update, Pinterest quietly gave selected users a preview of what they've been up to behind the scenes at Pinterest.

How do you know if you have the option to see the preview? You'll see this on the left side of your screen:

pinterest preview

 

If you have this preview, you can toggle between the new and the old version but honestly, you won't want to. The new version is beautiful and even more user friendly. The first thing I did when I got the update was contact my friend Kelly Lieberman, host of #PinChat, who is the most well versed social media professional I know on Pinterest to see if she had the new version.

Here are Kelly's thoughts on the Pinterest update and the benefits of them.

1. Large red Pin it button instead of Repin. A button leading to the source website at the top of the pin which is a huge bonus to drive traffic.

Pinterest tips

 

2. The price listed in the pin description is not longer a banner across the pin but now a bubble in the top right corner. Before you pin or on the pin board you see this view and the second is once you click the pin.

Pinterest

Pinterest3. Your view surrounding each pin is enhanced. You can easily see other pins from this board and from this site.

enchanced pin board

 

My favorite new feature is the “people who pinned this also pinned” which is below the pin that you're looking at. While looking at this beautiful pin by Kalebra Kelby, I was treated to the pins related pins which were all equally pinnable. Kalebra hosts The Pinterest Show on Google+, a fun and great way to enjoy Pinterest.

Pinterest

Pinterest

A few additional items of note:

  • Repins and Likes can be seen but are not clickable.
  • This info can only be seen in the Recent Activity section or via email notifications.
  • If you switch to the New Look adjust your email notifications if you want to see who is repinning,
  • liking, and commenting.

If you're brand new to Pinterest, check out Pinning 101 on the Pinterest website. Just for fun, my favorite pin this week that I found on Evan Sharp's, the co-founder of Pinterest, Pinterest board.

Pinterest jobThanks to Kelly Lieberman for sharing her thoughts on the new Pinterest update with me! Make sure you follow her on Pinterest and check out her #PinChat on Wednesday nights at 9 pm EST on Twitter.

Do you have the new Pinterest layout? What do you like or dislike about it?

Photo credit Big Stock Photos.
Article by Peg Fitzpatrick

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77 Comments

  1. You had me at Pinterest! Thanks for the tips Peg! If I could repin your awesomeness then I would.

  2. Peggy! Excellent post highlighting ALL of the new additions to the New Pinterest layout with such pretty images too! I did not think they could improve it this much but ~ WOW they did! And they have pulled me in even more with the Pin feed ~ seeing all the other Pins on a board, the other images from the source, and people that Pinned this also Pinned…even more endless Pinning and inspiration.
     
    Also thanks for the kind words and sharing of PinChat ~ you truly are the best!

    1. @Tribe2point0 I am in LOVE with the new Pinterest, even more than the old version. Now it’s really hard to get off Pinterest, writing this post was a challenge because I wanted to keep clicking around and it was pulling my focus from my writing.
       
      Pinterest made their site the easiest place to find awesome stuff. Amen!

  3. Peggy! Thanks for the heads up re: changes to Pinterest! I do not have the new view yet… but I did notice board cover images will need to be resized… ? LOVE the red Pin It button… and really love the new bubble for price.
     
    Thanks for keeping us in the know – MUAH!
     
    @AndeLyons

  4. I like that the price is now a bubble instead of a strip and the preview of other pins.

      1. @PegFitzpatrick  @eileensideways I thought the same but I’d rather adjust to this change than the one I’m going to have to with Google Reader (which is find another solution for RSS, as they are closing it down!)  Put things in to perspective!

  5. I like the new look, I do prefer the option to share it socially when you first pin it & not have to go back into the pin to do so, but I’ll learn to get used to it. It’s pretty slick looking! Now, to check out the new web analytics …

  6. Great explanation of the new layout. You’ve “sold” me on it. I know that change is inevitable, but not always welcome. You’ve introduced the new Pinterest layout in such a positive light that I can’t wait to leave this post and make the switch. Thanks for the positive spin.

    1. @LindaSamuels Glad you liked it, Linda! I am still finding new things that they’ve done to enhance the user experience. It’s so easy to find fantastic pins now.

      1. @PegFitzpatrick I’m a huge Pinterest fan. It appeals to my love of both visually beautiful images and organization. Interesting that right after I left my comment and went to Pinterest to “switch over” to the new layout, the option to switch had disappeared. Pinterest had it there for me and then removed it. I’ve contacted them, but still no word yet as to what happened. Odd, isn’t it?
         
        Also, I just noticed that next to everyone’s name (on your blog), there is a small, gray number with “pts” after it. What is that? I’ve never seen it before.

        1. @LindaSamuels Oh darn, you had it and it left. Bummer!
           
          I think that the grey number is something in Livefyre commenting system that I use. I never really looked it up.

  7. I’ve heard that the “rearrange boards” is being removed from the new look . . . is this true?  I’m not saying that I’m OCD (or CDO which is similar, but in alphabetical order, as it should be) — but, I like arranging my boards rather than just having them in the order in which they were created.  Since I heard about the new look and the possibility of losing this feature, I’ve been madly creating any board I would think I could want and arranging them in the way I want them to appear forever.  Forever.    Any information you have would be of interest.

    1. @penandra I don’t have the ability to change the boards on the new view but I toggled to the old view and rearranged them a bit. I guessing, since I have no special information, that they are still working on it and the rearrange board feature will be in the full upgrade. I like that a lot too. 🙂

  8. The one thing I miss so far is when you’d repin on the old layout – the “Also Pinned To” with the link to the board of the original pinner (not the person the person your repinning from repinned it from).  I’d find many new, interesting people to follow from this.  Now it’s just a note that it’s shared with followers and a link to see your new pin.  The link to the person it was pinned from is nice, but I’d like to go directly to the board it’s pinned on as that is the topic I’m interested in.

    1. I do miss seeing the original pinner on the pin as well.

      Have you been using the People who Pinned this Also Pinned? I’ve found great new boards and people with this feature.

    2. I find it completely disrespectful that Pinterest no longer includes the original pinner information. It is the original pinners valuable contribution that makes Pinterest. Without the pins, Pinterest would have no value. The original pinners built the rich pin database, which the new Pinterest version is more than happy to flaunt at every point. At least have the decency to acknowledge and thank them for their contribution ! It required no new development, as it existed already. Come on Pinterest show some respect, and I encourage others to provide “please bring back the original pinner details” feedback to Pinterest, as I think it is the least WE can do to show the original pinners that we have and will continue to appreciate their valuable contribution to Pinterest.

  9. I HATE the new Pinterest. Everything takes an extra step. Who’s idea was this? It sucks.

    1. I liked the previous change before this. But NOT this one. It’s slower to load, and the pins are too large. I like being able to see everything quickly. I no longer get that “happy” feeling I had when I went on Pinterest. 🙁

    2. Couldn’t agree with you more ~ basically when someone asks me for my feedback on the new pinterest my comment is “they are taking away our individually and encouraging us to become lifeless masses who just shuffle around content”. At every point it is just about the pins that you can repin. However when it comes to the social side, everything is made that much more difficult. I always thought that Pinterest was a social media platform ~ well with the new version, I now get the feeling that in the near future, Pinterest will be nothing other than an alternative image search engine.

    3. It’s awful. Why does it look so childish with size 150 Black bold fonts in the Catagorie list. It’s like an old phone app when everything was clunky. Dislike it and want my old adult version back. I also had no choice just went to look at it today And it’s all changed. If I wanted a the new version I would prefer to have a choice instead of the choice being taken out of my hands. It’s not just the changes that annoy me but them being pushed AT us by whoever thinks it’s a good idea. Not happy with it at all. How do I get yesterday’s version back please?. The fun and social ease has been taken out to make way for the commercialization side. We already have that well covered it’s called GOOGLE.

  10. Thank you for all of the info but I am not liking the new format. I went back to retrieve a recipe on my Food board. I clicked on it and the large picture came up. Well, first I clicked on the picture as in the old version and it just took me to a blank page. I figured out the Website button was what I was supposed to do. Well, I clicked on that button and still it took me to a blank page. I don’t know what to do and I am not like this change.
    Thank you,
    Shelia 😉

    1. Sheila,

      That’s a bummer! Was it just that one pin? It sounds like the recipe was no longer on the website but I’m not sure.

  11. Hi Bette!

    I switch back to the old view to rearrange my boards, I hope they add that back in. I like to rearrange my boards too. I’d love to be able to rearrange the pins on the boards too.

    Happy pinning!

    1. You can easily rearrange your boards using the new format ~ that is of course only once you figure out how. You just ‘drag and drop them’. So just click on the board you want to move with your mouse, pull it to where you want it, and Pinterest automatically saves its new position.

  12. I’ve gone to the new layout but it seems like I’m getting a lot of pins by pinners I don’t follow. Is there a way to not have that? I like to just see the ones I’m following. Thank you so much for your great and easy guide for the new layout.

  13. Hmmm! I’m not sure I like it. One disappointing feature is when I pin a product from my website, the link that shows up on my pin is not from my website, but shows the website platform instead i.e it will say “repinned from WordPress” rather than my website 🙁 Doesn’t that go against helping businesses? Would love to hear your thoughts and also how you toggled back to the old version to rearrange your boards 😉

    1. See my comment about about how to rearrange pin boards above ~ response to Betty Gobin’s original comment.

  14. Not one person has mentioned the removal of the Comment Button. You can’t make comments on pins anymore.
    One of my boards is ‘Things Tried From Pinterest’ I would pin something I’ve tried and comment on how it worked out. Now I can’t comment on it or other pins, unless it’s in the title section itself.

    Also, the Set Cover button… Gone. To set a cover on a board, you need to go to edit board then scroll through your pics before getting to the cover you want. Very time consuming.

    1. You can comment if you click on the image, then the comments box comes up; but you have to click on the image first (which you didn’t have to do before 🙁

      1. I did see that, but I don’t think that will come up on the main board. So new pinners will need to click on the picture in order to see the comments. It’s an extra step.

  15. For those of us who spend time pinning original pins on pinterest, this new layout is a bummer. Removing the feature to link back to the original pinner is a mistake. I use it all the time, and my many followers found me by using it. This is a wonderful way to find great boards. What is the use of pinning original pins if followers cannot find their way back to the original pinner where you can find great boards. Now when I find a great pin, I am finding myself scanning through a bunch of junk instead of navigating. The “pinners also pinned” may be helpful to some, but to me just shows pins I am not interested in. Also, other pinterest users will now get credit for the original pin. This feature needs to be put back. Otherwise, what is the use! /robinettekelly

    1. It Wasn’t Broke, So Pinterest Fixed It. Now Users Hate It. http://mslnk.bz/15ZxuPb TechCrunch
      While I appreciate your positive review of the new features, the lack of a balanced view in your article makes it seem like a kiss-up. The buzz over complaints continues, and seems to be overwhelming any positive response.

        1. PegFitzpatrick I just find even-handed reviews to be more useful. Since public outcry is so loud as to be newsworthy, the obvious criticisms seem to be glaringly absent from your piece.

        2. mouselink I like the update and they’ve updated many of the things that people have been complaining about. I knew I had an early peek at it and had faith that they were still working on the glitches. That is my even-handed review. If I don’t like the free services, I don’t use them.

      1. mouselink That appeared to reflect what is happening now, but those comments were written in March 2012. Does anyone know what ‘s going on with this latest change? I cant seem to find much on the internet about what has happened in the past few days

  16. Now that I have made the switch, my Pinterest is broken. Pages won’t load, photos won’t load, and links won’t link. I wish I could toggle back, I would immediately. And never upgrade. I want my old Pinterest back!

    1. peroxideblond Pinterest is continuing to update the new layout while they keep the site live. There are some hiccups but Pinning should be back to normal soon.

      1. Tribe2point0 peroxideblond Any news as to when these hiccups will be over and what the hiccups are – could Pinterest staff actually show some respect for their users by creating a list of what they are doing, why the problems with complete lack of repins and other issues are happening so that we at least understand what’s happening, why and when it will all be resolved. But the new look and format is visually unappealing..kind of ruins pinterest for me. They seriously need to revert back to the old look and fast. But maybe they’ve sold out to the need now to start commercialising the site..goodbye to a mass amount of users coming up I feel

  17. I also hate this new look and want the old back. The old looked pretty – and it worked fine. Now it looks awful and isnt working! I hate seeing that “Create a Board” at the start of my row..why?? Either remove it or put it on the bottom row. Why the ugly grey background colour now? Why the ugly little squares around all the follower numbers etc. The images below the board cover are now seperated by spaces and are blurry. It looks terrible!! The old format looked pretty. The only thing I like better now is the board heading font..that’s it! Otherwise it’s ruined for me visually. In terms of my user experience though…huge problems!! I was having a ball on Pinterest..loving the look, and I was loving seeing that I was getting an average or around 50 repins per day – some days more, some days a few less, and I was getting an average of around 2.8 followers each day. From 2-3 days ago – nothing! My repins and followers just came to a grinding halt. I have had about 3-4 repins from people not following me in the past 3 days…and I’ve only gained 2 followers. What has happened? What adds to my frustration, is that there is nothing on the Pinterest site to explain to users what is going on and of course if you submit a question you never get a response. So I’m in th dark as to what has happened? I mean, if I no longer really like the way my boards and the general site looks and add to it I feel like no one is seeing my pins and nothing is happening…I might as well just go back to using Google to find things, and just bookmark pages like before. Does anyone know why my pins seem to have been pulled from circulation…and will they revert back to how it was because this is terrible and if it doesnt change soon, I dont know if I want to keep using Pinterest

    1. Hydraskin I totally agree with you the new look is hideous. I cannot stand the smaller board images, the ugly white borders, and especially the “create a new board” square at the beginning of the boards, very disappointed. I sent a couple of feedback messages in the section where they ask if you like it. I am also a visual person and this has ruined it for me big time. I just don’t get it. I considered Pinterest pretty close to perfect before and the one thing that I wanted, to re arrange pins within a board was not done. Bah humbug.

      1. ChristineKing Hydraskin Yes. I have complained to them as well Christine, and it seems it makes no difference to them what we think. I have slowly gotten used to the grey etc, but I cannot get used to that ridiculous “Create a Board” at the start of my top row. I hate it intensely. I have told them this. I am sure that a million other people have also told them, so why do they insist on it being there. Beside that it looks hideous, it makes no sense that it’s there. Why not just add it to the drop down menu along with upload a pin? But yes, I can remember the lovely white background, and smaller font size inside the boards, and it was 100% more visually appealing. I can’t understand why they changed that. But for heavens sake, get rid of the create a board space.

  18. I should have added..I’m in Australia and the new look had not been ‘rolled out’ here yet..but the dead stop in my Pinterest repins and followers prompted me to switch to the new format as they had been prompting me to for the past few weeks with that banner up the top. So, the problems started before I switched to the new format…but then I wished I hadnt changed when I saw the new format…it’s terrible. Why break something that was fixed??! Why have they done this?

  19. In the old version I was able to click on the pin and it would go directly to the site and site’s page where the pin came from. Now, in the new version, I click on the pin and it goes to the Pinterest page of the site. Do you know how to go directly to the site it came from and not Pinterest?

    1. marykegg Mary ~ it should take you to the website unless the Pinner has edited the source to redirect to a profile or particular board on Pinterest. Do you have a Pin that you can share that is taking you to the Pinterest page?

    2. marykegg Hi Mary ~ sometimes Pins link back to a profile or board on Pinterest or if the Pinner has not included a source link the Pin will return to Pinterest. Hope that helps

  20. summer__anne I totally miss the orginal pinner! I have no idea why they would want to get rid of that feature. I keep hoping they will include it again.

    1. Mmaarriiaa summer__anne The things I miss the most are the ability to see how many pins are in a board, the ability to rearrange my boards, and the ability to see comments and make comments on the board, rather than having to go into the pin itself. In so many ways, this redesign seems like a disaster.

  21. in the old version of pinterest after you rearrange your boards there is a button to save your new arrrangement. In the new one, it is supposed to save automatically…. but it’s not. I have re organized my boards 3 times now but it will not save it and it returns to the old arrangement. I’m getting really frusturated. How can i save this? or how do you go back to the old version of pinterest so that i can save it then return to the updated one? someone please help please please i will love you forever

    1. abbirxo I have easily returned to the old version by using a simple solution put together by Pin4Ever ~ you can find it here http://pinterest.com/pin/286823069990777960/.  The pin takes you to the website and the instructions are really easy to follow.  Hope this helps.

  22. Hoping you can help me – up until a few weeks ago, I was able to pin images from my website but now when I click on ‘Pin it’, the only image that comes up is my logo. Before I was given the option to use any of the images on the page. Any advice?

      1. PegFitzpatrick CollinsPress I’m using Safari – I’ll look into verifying the website although I thought I had that done already

  23. Hoping you can help me – up until a few weeks ago, I was able to pin images from my website but now when I click on ‘Pin it’, the only image that comes up is my logo. Before, I was given the option to use any of the images on the page. Any advice?

  24. Hi Peg,
    I found your blog looking for a very specific thing that I had noticed yesterday and today after pinning a couple of Images.
    No sooner I had pinned the image, another box popped saying “Also pinned to (and the name of a board I had never heard of)
    Is this some sort of new feature I have missed?
    Any insight appreciated
    Thanks

    1. SusannaLobina Hi Susanna,
      I think Pinterest is finding more ways to recommend pins and boards that you might like by doing what you mentioned and showing the board that the pin is pinned on the right of the pin. Also, there is another card with “other pins from” and it you scroll down below the pin there is “also pinned to” and “people who pinned this also pinned.” So many ways to find things that you like. 🙂
      Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting.

  25. A bit disappointed with the new Pinterest. First, can’t find a way to contact to ask questions. Very confusing. My biggest complaint is the labeling of some of the boards. I have always loved the “Craft” board which is labeled DIY and Crafts, but I find very few crafts on there. It seems to me that it has become a dumping board for anything that does not fit another section. I would really think that “Crafts” could have their very own board, as so many people are pinning what they have made. Instead it seems to be filled with all sorts of other types of pins. Frustrating.

  26. as a huge pinner but on my iPad because I liked seeing 1 pin at a time not the whole page of pictures like on my desktop. This change means my iPad is a bunch of tiny pictures instead of a stream of full page images, and I have gone from daily usage to less than weekly. Actually, I’ll often Google instead of looking up my boards now, that’s how irritating not having boards alphabetized is and how little I like the visuals. Some of us move on to products we don’t have irritation with.

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