LinkedIn redesigns LinkedIn Today, changes UI and more

Professional networking site LinkedIn has redesigned LinkedIn Today, the company's social news product. LinkedIn Today enables users to discover what professionals are reading and sharing on the site, as well as articles shared by their connections (people they know), by their industry peers and otherwise interesting write-ups.

The company has not only tweaked the user interface in terms of navigation, but has also redesigned the look and feel for quicker access and a customised experience for news consumption. Let's have a look at the changes.

User interface

The layout (of the page) has been changed to a 'magazine theme' layout that allows users to easily scan and identify relevant news and content. The new layout also creates a page hierarchy; there is one top article displayed at the top of the page and under that, there are article boxes (three in a row) with headings and pictures. You will also find additional information like the name of person/publication/organisation who has shared the article and the time of sharing. One can also use the 'share' or 'save' button to share an article within his/her network or save it for reading it later.

There is also a separate section that suggests the 'topics to follow'. These topics are widely varied and include categories like Internet, IT and related services, management consulting, financial services, software, publishing and public relations & communications.

The company offers further news customisation to ensure enhanced product experience. If you click on 'customize your news' tab (it's right there under the section 'suggested topics to follow') or the gear setting icon (on the upper right corner of the page), you will be redirected to the news setting page where users can choose to follow either individual industries (automotive, accounting, banking, etc.) or the news sources (autoweek.com, ABC News, ajc.com, etc.) or both. One can also use this section to change the news e-mail settings (here you specify when to receive those news digests). The industries/sources followed by a user are displayed in a separate section and the number of followers for each industry is highlighted as well.

"We are continually enhancing the news experience on LinkedIn. We know that having access to real-time information and insights can be just the competitive edge you need to deliver a productive meeting, as well as help you be empowered for your workday. We look forward to hearing what you think about the new streamlined experience," wrote Joann Wu, senior user experience designer at LinkedIn, in an official blog post.