Facebook Lite Goes Live to Capitalize on International Growth — and Simplicity
Facebook has just launched a new version of the site, called Lite, to give users a simplified, faster-loading experience than the traditional www.facebook.com. The company has said it’s intended to help new users, especially people with with poor internet connections, have a better experience than they have had so far. The app is only live in the US and India, according to Facebook developer Blake Ross, but a worldwide rollout doesn’t seem too far away.
As anyone who has tried to access Facebook on a slow connection already knows, features like photos can take forever to load, or even not load at all.
But more generally, the design aesthetic of Lite is appealing. The news feed includes a simple top toolbar, just items from your friends and a few obvious buttons for posting updates or media. The profile page is similarly bare. However, there’s no bottom toolbar for any third-party apps. There are currently only a few crucial in-house apps available. Facebook’s own Photo and Video apps are located within the profile page, while Events is available in the top toolbar.
Lite became available as a beta test last month. As a Facebook spokesperson described it to us, then:
Similar to the Facebook experience you get on your mobile phones, Facebook “Lite” is a fast-loading, simplified version of Facebook that enables people to make comments, accept Friend requests, write on people’s Walls, and look at photos and Status updates. We are currently testing Facebook Lite in countries where we are seeing lots of new users coming to Facebook for the first time and are looking to start off with a more simple experience.
Facebook is currently seeing massive growth around the world. The company says some 70 percent of its more than 250 million users are from outside the US. Countries in Southeast Asia and Europe are seeing especially notable growth. Of those, some 65 million are already accessing the site on their phone.
Facebook’s previous logic for serving international users makes sense. But, of course, you can access the site from anywhere in the world now. So if you’re on a fast internet connection somewhere — and you just like a minimalistic feel for your web services — well, you can use it, too. That is what some US users are planning to do. Indeed, the reaction from US users has prompted Facebook to release it intentionally for US users, something it hadn’t previously planned on doing.
I’m asking Facebook what the long-term plan is for Lite. If this version of the site becomes significantly popular, third-party developers are likely to wonder how they can start accessing users through it.
September 10th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
[...] Via InsideFacebook Facebook has just launched a new version of the site, called Lite, to give users a simplified, faster-loading experience than the traditional http://www.facebook.com. The company has said it’s intended to help new users, especially people with with poor internet connections, have a better experience than they have had so far. The app is only live in the US and India, according to Facebook developer Blake Ross, but a worldwide rollout doesn’t seem too far away. [...]
September 10th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
[...] Facebook Lite is a simplified version of the site, and it just came out of beta for the English-speaking Facebook world today. Although Lite is primarily intended for users with slow internet connections, it also reflects large-scale design changes that Facebook is gradually in the process of making. [...]
September 10th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
[...] rumored lighter version of Facebook is now available for preview in the United States and India. The new version’s primary purpose, according to Inside [...]
September 10th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I’ve heard all about this “lite.facebook.com” thing that is supposed to be less cluttered.
But when I go to lite.facebook.com, it redirects to http://www.facebook.com and nothing looks different.
What’s up with that?
September 10th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
[...] Facebook Lite Goes Live to Capitalize on International Growth — and Simplicity [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 12:27 am
Jesus, why are you still using increased letter-spacing in your post body? Whatever you’re getting in return for reduced legibility isn’t worth it.
September 11th, 2009 at 3:06 am
[...] has launched a lite version of its site. It will give users a simplified, faster-loading experience than the [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 5:08 am
[...] out to more end users. The app is only live in the US and India, according to Facebook developer Blake Ross, but a worldwide rollout doesn’t seem too far [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 5:46 am
[...] Facebook Lite Goes Live to Capitalize on International Growth – and Simplicity [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 6:49 am
[...] knapp einem Monat hatte Facebook eine Lite-Version der eigenen Plattform angekündigt, die jetzt online gegangen ist – zumindest in den USA und Indien. Wir müssen uns noch mit einem Screencast [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 7:08 am
[...] повідомляє ресурс Inside Facebook, була запущена полегшена версія соціальної мережі [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
[...] Facebook Lite: Facebook, only liter. [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[...] Eric Eldon’s review at Inside Facebook points out one fact you’ll either love or hate “The profile page is similarly bare. However, there’s no bottom toolbar for any third-party apps. There are currently only a few crucial in-house apps available.” [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
[...] [via Inside Facebook] [...]
September 11th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Facebook is full of spammers now
September 11th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
[...] knapp einem Monat hatte Facebook eine Lite-Version der eigenen Plattform angekündigt, die jetzt online gegangen ist – zumindest in den USA und Indien. Wir müssen uns noch mit einem Screencast [...]
September 12th, 2009 at 1:29 am
[...] accepting friend requests, looking at photos, updating statuses, and writing on walls. According to Facebook’s own numbers, roughly 70-percent of its users are located outside of the [...]
September 12th, 2009 at 6:46 am
[...] [來源：Inside Facebook] [...]
September 12th, 2009 at 11:22 am
[...] Insidefacebook, Twitter [...]
September 13th, 2009 at 7:24 am
[...] Via | Insidefacebook.com [...]
September 14th, 2009 at 11:09 am
[...] Facebook’s own numbers, roughly 70-percent of its users are located outside of the U.S. Originally posted to AppScout. [...]
September 14th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
[...] status updates by inserting an @ symbol before a friend’s name. Facebook has also started testing a “lite” version of its site that removes some of the clutter and makes it all look a little simpler — a little [...]
September 14th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
[...] Facebook Lite Goes Live to Capitalize on International Growth — and Simplicity [...]
September 14th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
[...] jau bandėte naująją FACEBOOK Lite versiją? Jei ne ir norite tai padaryti, nusistatykite savo kalbą į ENGLISH ir pirmyn į [...]
October 6th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
[...] looks simpler, and not so different from Facebook Lite, the site it introduced in August, that it originally described as a faster-loading version designed for users with slow internet [...]
March 17th, 2010 at 2:53 am
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