【X-Deal (2011)】

YouTube.com's finally getting a new look.

A year after it was discovered YouTube was testing a new flatter,X-Deal (2011) more minimalist website design, the company's now starting to roll out a public version as an opt-in setting.

Anyone can try the new look out, but if you don't like it you can easily opt-out and revert back to the old design.

SEE ALSO: YouTube TV is exactly what live TV streaming should look like in 2017

The website redesign is based off of Material Design, the UI and design language Google created to give Android a modern look and feel.

In fact, the new cleaned up YouTube website looks a lot like YouTube TV, with a strict deemphasis of the website menus and emphasis on creator content.

"We don't want the UI to distract," Fred Gilbert, Head of User Experience at YouTube, told me during an early preview of the website redesign last week. "It should always be about the content."

Gilbert says the company went through great lengths to make it easier to discover more videos.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Left:YouTube (old) Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Right:YouTube (new) Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Distractive elements like the blue video title links are now toned down to black, sidebar menus have been cleaned up, and even the YouTube logo and the search bar in the upper left are smaller. Channel icons are smaller and round now. "There's a lot more room to express yourself on banners," Gilbert says.

Other things are more intuitive, too — like when you scroll down in the Home and Subscriptions sections and content just populates automatically instead of having to click "Load more," or how you change your language (it's now in your profile settings instead of at the footer of the page).

The new aesthetic is pleasant and immediately makes the current/old (whatever you wanna call it) version look outdated. Goodbye dull gray background!

Left:Old channel page Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Right:New channel page Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

But YouTube didn't just give the website a fresh coat of paint. There are plenty of improvements to the foundation — all of the under-the-hood changes that users may not notice, but will allow YouTube to roll out powerful new features in the future.

"One of the reasons we're spending so much time is because we want to do new things — faster," Gilbert says.

The new YouTube website's built on the Polymer framework. Yes, it'll make things run a little faster and smoother, but long term we'll see bigger features like the site's new Dark Theme, which swaps out white for black and is way easier on the eyes at night — not an easy flip-of-the-switch setting on the engineering side I'm told.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

It's a beautiful new look, and I don't think anyone who opts in is gonna revert back. But the fact that it's opt-in suggests it's like a beta, which isn't the case according to Gilbert.

"It is showing the work early," he said. "There's a lot of things we just want to test out and make sure it's the right thing and we're putting it out. We never go from zero to 100. We are comfortable enough to put this version out there and we hope to hear feedback."

To opt-in and try out the new site redesign, check it out here.

---

Featured Video For You

---

How to unlock YouTube's secret Dark Mode

---

Topics Google YouTube

• Tech
• Entertainment
• Digital Culture
• Games
• Shopping
• Life
• Social Good
• Science

• SXSW 2025: How 'Territory' is revolutionizing VR accessibility with aesthetic access
• There's a glaring gender imbalance in auto repair, but women want to change that
• This toddler watching Superman take flight is the definition of joy
• 'Judgment' is one of the best detective games ever
• Why Building a Gaming PC Right Now is a Bad Idea, Part 2: Insane Graphics Card Prices
• Facebook's AI crushes professionals in six
• Cat owner learns the hard way to read those Amazon descriptions carefully
• Blair Braverman uses her adorable dogs to talk about body image
• Barcelona Open 2025 livestream: Watch live tennis for free
• 'The Handmaid's Tale' wasn't snubbed for a Best Drama Emmy

• Sports reporter fired for anti
• Man films the moment Tiger Woods' golf ball knocks him off his feet
• People are petitioning to drink the mummy juice from the probably cursed sarcophagus
• Little girl's official adoption hearing gets a magical Disney twist
• Blind cat and her human climb Ireland's tallest mountain for charity
• 'Aquaman' star Jason Momoa admits jeans were a 'bad choice'
• Math question meant for 10
• Firefox finally gets an option to mute sites with autoplay sound
• Spock is coming to Star Trek TV for the first time this century
• This ceramic can pot pipe will give you stoner nostalgia

• Amazon Pet Day: All the best deals
• Mathematical study shows exactly how ride
• Janet Jackson gives birth to her first child at age 50
• President Obama's goodbye tour gets an official 'farewell address'
• Tesla sales are reportedly falling globally. How bad is it?
• Twitter makes website redesign official — and no, you can't opt out
• Hurricane Barry photos show a Louisiana city deep under water: PHOTOS
• Elon Musk's secretive Neuralink has an event next week
• Should You Quit Your Job To Go Make Video Games?
• Blair Braverman uses her adorable dogs to talk about body image

• Wordle today: The answer and hints for February 22, 2025
• 'Devotion' and the real horrors of censorship in China and beyond
• This Twitter exchange about space between NFL players will really make you think
• Chromecast vs. Fire TV Stick vs. Roku Stick: Which should you buy on Prime Day?
• Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 5, 2025
• Redditors share portraits of their dogs posing majestically for the camera
• Elon Musk's secretive Neuralink has an event next week
• Guy documents a 9
• Amazon requires sellers to use more efficient packaging, or pay up
• Oh nothing, just a terrifying snake eating another freaking snake on video