14 DAY TRIAL // Flickr is now rolling out its revamped photo page to everyone after several weeks of testing. The new page is a major overhaul and packed full of new or improved features. Some of the most noticeable are the larger photos and better navigation. The new page will now be available to all Flickr users.
“After a few weeks in public preview, we’re rolling out the new Flickr photo page to 100% of the Flickrverse. Our effort in this release focuses on two areas [display and interaction] that will continue to make Flickr the very best place for your photos,” Josh Nguyen, product manager at Flickr, wrote.
“Since June 23, over 800,000 members have helped us test the new page. Discussions and suggestions in the preview group have also complemented usability studies, surveys, statistical studies and other feedback to ready the photo page for today’s launch,” he explained.
One of the most welcomed changes and most likely one of the most requested features as well is the increase in photo size. The images go from 500 pixels wide to 640 pixels, a 28 percent increase if you must know. That may not sound like much of a change, but it’s more than noticeable. Flickr says that most people now have larger displays so the team believed that the larger photos would be appreciated.
And to make sure that the focus stays on the photos, Flickr introduced a new lightbox which allows you to view the images surrounded by a black background and little else.
Flickr has finally fixed one of the most annoying things about the site, the unintuitive navigation buttons. The “Newer” and “Older” buttons are now prominently displayed on top of the image and they’re also easier to spot in other sections.
The third major focus for the Flickr team was on bringing all of the data around a photo together. On the right sidebar you’ll now see the photo’s description, a map of its location, camera data and so on. For amateur photographers, this info is sometimes just as important as the photo itself.