Craigslist Grid View Debuts, Finally Offers Prettier Design

Craigslist on Sunday rolled out grid view, a new way for users to view photo based posts that circumvent the company’s dated interface.

Users can toggle between a grid of photos and text links depending on their own preferences. Each grid view is based on the category users are browsing.

Craigslist has long preached the simplicity of its design, a move that has kept its loyal users coming back time and time again to find products, hire workers, and even meet new people. The new design is a step forward for the company while still allowing it to keep a minimal focus on design.

According to Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, changes to the site are driven by community member requests.

Craigslist, while slow to change, has been implementing new features over the last year. Most recently, Craigslist added a mapping feature to its platform, allowing sellers to show buyers where a product is being offered.

By inching towards a new design, Craigslist is allowing its users to slowly accept changes while testing new protocols for efficacy.

Craigslist is currently offering the new grid view feature in the United States and Canada. The grid view function is only available for certain categories including housing, for sale, and personals.

To use the feature, users are shown four buttons they can toggle. The buttons include list view (for plain text listings), pic view (for text plus a thumbnail), grid view (for the new photo-heavy view), and map view (to view listing locations plotted on a map).

Craigslist has not said whether or not it will roll out grid view to other geographies.