Resistance Is Futile: Facebook Wears Down Wary Users With Redesign

Facebook has been giving users the chance to try out the site's new design before it switches over permanently in the middle of this month -- and many users have let them know that they liked the old design just fine, thanks.

But from the looks of things, they're starting to come around. Of the 65% of U.S. Facebook users who accessed the new site from Aug. 17-23, Compete says 40% of those visitors switched back to the old design in the same browsing session. That's a lot, but it's at least an improvement over mid-July, when 55% of "new" Facebook users switched back to the old site in the same session.

Facebook has faced some intense backlash from users (and commentators) when it's made sudden changes in the past – like the addition of news feeds two years ago, and targeted advertising last fall. But those were privacy-related concerns; this is just a new user interface. At very least, we think it's a good idea the company has let its members get used to the changes while still giving them the temporary option of going back to the old, familiar design.

Graph from the Compete Blog