Facebook Lite Launched – A Faster and Cleaner Interface!

Easily the most popular social networking site at the time of writing, Facebook has shot to fame over the last couple of years, and also means that as the site has developed (or should we say Facebook Redesigns and yet more Facebook Re-Redesigns) it has become more and more convoluted with adverts, boxes and stupidly addictive little flash games that somehow waste hours of your life.

It’s also becoming less friendly for the millions of people that access Facebook on the smaller screens (mobiles etc) or for those with poor connections to the internet as the site takes longer to load-what’s needed is a leaner meaner Facebook; step up Facebook Lite.

It is exactly what it sounds like: the same as the original site but stripped down to the basics to make a faster and simpler site. Gone are the boxes, gone are the applications and gone (for now) are the adverts – although unfortunately I fear the latter is only because Facebook Lite is only currently in the beta stage.

So what does it offer? Well you have your ‘Inbox’, Events’ and ‘Profile’ tabs at the top (which incidentally is in bigger text to make it easier to read) which pretty much encompasses the three main things you go onto Facebook for.

As far as the main page goes you are back to basics: people’s status, wall posts, photos and videos… oh and the occasional event. You can say goodbye to the applications, to people encouraging you to take the “Which Muppet Are You” quiz and to celebrations of people’s achievements on ‘Farmville’- and even if you’re like me and use them a lot you’ll find out very quickly that you really don’t miss them.

In fact although it may not look quite as nice as the full option, and at times quite patronizing, you get used to it surprisingly quickly and it doesn’t take one long to notice the speed difference when loading up the page, especially on a lower spec PC.

Although the benefits regarding speed on smaller computers are big enough by themselves to merit Facebook Lite there is another demographic that will also benefit from this simplified version of Facebook – and they are the people that were previously put off by the complicated nature of the full version, mostly the older generations who haven’t quite got the hang of computers anyway.

The bigger text, easy to understand buttons and clutter free screen means that this is perfect for people who have no (or little) experience of computers or the internet but still want to keep in touch with their friends – and it also a lot less off putting to those that just stumble upon it.

So will we be seeing people flooding to Facebook Lite? Well no, for all its advantages for the small screen the lack of the little extras (and of course the fact that it will involve moving away from the familiar) mean that anyone who can load up Facebook within the time it takes to make a cup of tea will do so, you also lose the ability to chat in real-time (although given how temperamental it can be that may not be too much of a loss!). But for those less fortunate this could be a lifesaver, and will allow them to easily and quickly keep in touch – thumbs up to Facebook!

Facebook Standard Interface

Facebook Lite Interface

Via – Geeky Gadgets

Related Pages:

1. Facebook Continues To Grow Towards World Domination?
2. Your Guide to The New Facebook Redesign
3. Facebook Vanity URL Names – A New Land Rush?
4. How To Change Your Facebook Username (Vanity Name URL)
5. The Facebook Redesign…Redesigned

Get Your Free Zath Subscription!

Did you like reading this article? If so, stay up to date with all our latest content by either subscribing to our RSS feed, becoming a fan of Zath on Facebook or by following Zath on Twitter.

You can also sign up to the Zath Newsletter and receive email updates by simply entering your first name and email address below then clicking the 'Submit' button:

We hate spam too, we'll never disclose your email address to anyone else!