The new site, with a clean new look, is rolling out to everyone

Apr 11, 2012 13:53 GMT  ·  By

Google+ is about to get a major update with the first big redesign since it debuted last year. The new Google+ moves things around quite a bit and looks a lot more polished than the current site.

The biggest change is the left sidebar, or ribbon as Google calls it, which replaces the top nav buttons. The ribbon is fully customizable, giving users access to the features they use and care about the most.

The entire site has gotten a makeover though, videos and photos are a big focus and there's an easier way of engaging with the community and the activity around your posts. The Hangouts section has also gotten a major redesign. You can check out a screenshot tour here.

"A critical piece of [Google's] social layer is a design that grows alongside our aspirations," Vic Gundotra, senior vice president at Google and head of the Google+ project, wrote.

"So today we’re introducing a more functional and flexible version of Google+. We think you’ll find it easier to use and nicer to look at, but most importantly, it accelerates our efforts to create a simpler, more beautiful Google," he announced.

Given the minimalistic look of the old site and the new one, the redesign may seem familiar at first, but there are many, many changes, mostly in the details. The new layout is a bit more intuitive, sections and apps are to the left, you can see the streams from different circles at the top and the chat widget is to the right.

The new site is just now rolling out, so you're probably not going to see it yet, but it should be going live for everyone soon, likely in the next 24 hours or the next few days.

"More than 170 million people have upgraded to Google+, enjoying new ways to share in Search, Gmail, YouTube and lots of other places. It's still early days, and there’s plenty left to do, but we're more excited than ever to build a seamless social experience, all across Google," Gundotra added, providing an update on the registered users number.