LinkedIn Tests New Design

LinkedIn, the leading social network for business professionals, recently announced that it is testing a new design that will make its interface less cluttered and easier to navigate.

According to the LinkedIn blog, new features include:

1. A global navigation bar at the top of the page that provides convenient access to all LinkedIn services.
2. Simplified local navigation within each of the LinkedIn areas (Profile, Contacts, Groups, etc.).
3. More room available for page content. Less scrolling.
4. A cleaner, less-cluttered look.

Here is a screenshot of the redesigned LinkedIn homepage:

Here is a screenshot of a redesigned LinkedIn profile page:


You’ll notice that the navigation menu at the top of the screen is more prominent and the navigation bar that appeared on the left-hand side of the screen is now gone. This leaves more room on the screen for information about your contacts. By getting rid of the clutter, LinkedIn becomes much more user-friendly. This should entice more people to use LinkedIn for professional networking and may also encourage individual users to spend more time using the site on a regular basis.

Don’t worry if you haven’t noticed a difference in your own LinkedIn account yet. This design is currently available to a select group of users, but may be rolled out to a wider audience in the coming weeks. If you’d like to see a visual comparison of the old and new designs, visit Mashable.com to see side-by-side screenshots of the two interfaces.