StumbleUpon is testing a new layout aimed at helping people get to content they want to read more quickly. Taking cues from the mobile app it released last week, the web discovery service has introduced a more grid-like, photo-focused layout to beta users for testing.

Previously, users could only “stumble” through the network’s content by selecting categories and seeing what the program produced. However, users now have more control over the pages they see, as well as new discovery options.

Goals

StumbleUpon vice president of product Cody Simms said that the redesign has three main goals: to highlight new ways to find content that’s interesting to specific users, help users define a stronger sense of identity on the site and let people know what other StumbleUpon users are viewing.

To accomplish those goals, the team has pulled a lot of cues from the iOS application the company released last week, including StumbleDNA, Activity, Experts and Trends.

Social discovery by Activity

The company declared in its announcement that “social discovery [now] is at the heart of StumbleUpon.”

This is apparent in the new ‘Activity’ feature which lets users Stumble the pages their friends have recently liked, commented on, or shared to Facebook and Twitter.

Experts & Trends

Average users that have a history of posting things that resonate with the larger StumbleUpon community are deemed StumbleUpon “experts”, and get prime real estate on the page. 

A new “Trending” page has also been introduced, allowing users to easily find content that is blowing up across the site.

StumbleDNA

One of the new focuses for StumbleUpon is user identity, and the cornerstone of this is a new feature called StumbleDNA.

Every user has their own StumbleDNA based on the content they like. For example, a user might be 47 per cent tech, 23 per cent sports and 13 per cent outdoors. StumbleDNA is represented by a coloured bar at the top of the page throughout the StumbleUpon experience, with colours representing categories of interest in a spectrum-like graphic.

“It’s important to note that this is just the beginning of our work on identity and StumbleDNA. This feature and other features that help bring identity into the StumbleUpon experience will evolve across future mobile and desktop releases,” said Simms.

Lists

The other big part of StumbleUpon’s new direction is its incorporation of lists, which allow users to put their “Likes” into collections they can either share with friends or keep private.

Similar to a customised Pinterest board or Amazon List, Simms said that lists are one of the company’s most-requested features.

An engaging opportunity

The new social discovery tools on StumbleUpon highlight the importance of creating engaging content that users will want to interact with. Now, sharing engaging content on StumbleUpon can result in more views and attention for articles attracting larger audiences.

For brands looking to engage with audiences and create sharable content, featuring a StumbleUpon social media button on a company website may be an advantageous way of reaching this burgeoning community. 

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