In an effort to provide a more streamlined blogging experience, Tumblr has redesigned its post creation interface. Instead of being redirected to your respective composition page—whether it’s for a text post, a photo post, a video, a quote, a link or a conversation—users can now compose a post without leaving the dashboard. Clicking on the post category icons on top of your stream will result in a small pop-out composition window just above the first post on your dashboard.
Before the update, users had to open the reblog option in another tab so that they don’t lose their place in the post stream on the dashboard when they wanted to reblog something cool or funny. Now, you can reblog posts directly on the dashboard so that when the deed is done, you can happily go back to scrolling down the post stream. Unfortunately, if you want to create a new post, you’d have to scroll back up to the top of the dashboard as the post category icons are not fixed on the page. Moreover, opening each of these icons in another tab only redirects you to another dashboard, instead of a full composition page.
As expected, some users are not too happy about the update. One complaint that Tumblr users have been resonating on the web is that the new interface with less buttons reduces the usability of the site as a blog. The controls are minimal now compared to the previous interface where all the options and tweaks are laid out on the composition page. The option to change the custom URL, post date, and photo reply checkbox, for example, are hidden. Users need to click the gear icon on the upper right corner of the post window to access them.
Could this update hint a step towards more lightweight microblogging, like Twitter? To be fair, Tumblr wasn’t a conventional blogging site like WordPress and Blogger to begin with. It’s a simpler platform with a more social approach. The new update might be frustrating to serious bloggers who use Tumblr as their primary platform, but other users may find it more convenient especially when it comes to reblogging.
The photo upload update, however, is truly something to be grateful for, as it now makes it much easier for users to upload a photoset. In the old Tumblr interface, you had to select the photos you want to upload one at a time. Now, in the updated version, you can already select multiple photos and upload them all at once by dragging them from your folder to the browser window. You are also given the freedom to rearrange the photos as you wish, instead of just selecting a preset layout depending on the number of photos there are in a photoset.
Additionally, The Verge reports that Tumblr also rolled out an update to its iOS app, adding a 17+ age restriction.
What do you think about the Tumblr update? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!