Across its existence, the popular content aggregator website, Reddit, overhauled its design with a more modern-looking UX. If you are one of several people who prefer the old Reddit and want to enjoy Reddit’s content through it, this article is for you.
Viewing the old Reddit
Viewing the old Reddit may take different approaches, depending on the platform you enjoy Reddit on. Here are the steps in some of the platforms:
Using the Desktop website
Switching back to the old Reddit on your Reddit desktop website is fairly straightforward. Locate the dropdown icon at the top right corner of the screen, next to your username icon. Clicking on the dropdown will reveal a series of links, including your “online status,” your profile, and a link to your avatar. Below these links is the “user settings” link.
Clicking on user settings will take you to a page with multiple options, including “account,” “profile,” “safety and privacy,” “feed settings,” “notifications,” “subscriptions,” and “chat and messaging.” Ideally, you will arrive at the “account” section. However, if you do not, you can simply click on it.
When you are on the “Account” section, scroll to the page’s bottom. Here, you will find the option to ”opt-out of the redesign” below the “opt into beta tests” under the beta test category. All you have to do to view old Reddit is simply click on the “opt-out of the redesign” toggle.
After clicking the toggle, a prompt will come up, asking you if you are sure and that there is an option to switch back to the new Reddit on the old Reddit. Clicking the “opt-out” icon will reload your page and bring you to old Reddit.
Alternatively, you may follow this link https://www.reddit.com/settings/ and scroll to the bottom. This would take you to the “account” section.
Using the Mobile website
It is relatively easy to view the old Reddit on the Reddit mobile as it is the default view. However, because the site loads into the mobile version, it is somewhat different from the desktop version. You can quickly fix this by requesting desktop version.
To request the desktop version, click on the three-line icon on the top right corner of your screen. It will reveal a panel that discloses your user name, link to your inbox, coins, premium, powerups, and your communities. Under these, you will find “settings.” Clicking on this will subsequently reveal a dropdown, including “dark mode,” “ask to open app,” “language,” and “request desktop site.” Clicking on “request desktop site” will subsequently redirect you to the desktop version of the old Reddit.
Using the Reddit app
Unlike websites where you can easily revert to the previous design, viewing the old Reddit is slightly trickier here. This is because updating the app through the app store or play store gives you the updated app with the new design.
However, due to the open nature of the Android OS, you can simply re-download an older version from a third-party website and install it instead. However, it is unlikely you can apply the same step if you use an iOS device.
Switching back to the new Reddit
If you switch to the old Reddit and believe you prefer the new design, you can always switch back. On the desktop website, when you switch to the old Reddit, you will arrive at the same page in the old design. As a result, if you wish to return right away, simply toggle the “Use new Reddit as my default experience” switch and click on “save options.”
However, it is easy to switch to the new Reddit from the homepage. You will find a “get new Reddit” link at the extreme top left corner of the screen. Clicking on it will return you to the new Reddit.
On the mobile-now-desktop site, you can do the same thing on the mobile-now-desktop site, clicking on the “get new Reddit” text on the extreme top left corner to get back to the previous version on your mobile site. Alternatively, you can scroll to the bottom of the page to find the “apps and tools” sections. Under it, locate “mobile website.” Clicking on it will revert you to the new Reddit mobile website version.
Differences between old and new Reddit
Here are some of what changes between the old and new Reddit:
Link vs. content
While the old Reddit put emphasizes links, the new Reddit instead chooses to highlight content. This alteration addresses the navigation gap between content, discovery, and comments. As a result, you needed to read through each link’s text before deciding if you would click on it based on the headline. However, you can now view the content by default on the new Reddit.
Customization
Customization options were better suited to subreddits on old Reddit. For example, Reddit removed the ability to allow mods to style their subreddits. Likewise, Reddit also removed the expanded sidebar text, replacing it with a ‘rules’ card on the right rail. As a result, Reddit visitors enjoyed a more unified experience for visitors.
Whitespace
The old Reddit design’s visual hierarchy was on the left-aligned post links. While the new design still emphasizes the post feed, it also includes other peripheral details that users can toggle to hide. Furthermore, while the card format follows a particular information organization, it does not unify between content types. This results in a visual hierarchy unbalance on the new Reddit.
Why do people dislike the new Reddit?
There are several reasons why old users do not seem to like the new Reddit interface. Here are some of the reasons:
The new Reddit interface looks like a mobile app’s interface that has been transferred to the desktop. For example, there is far too much space by the sides of a post. Furthermore, it also entirely strips a subreddit’s ability to be different and unique with CSS.
Another reason for the design’s unfavorable review is its chunkiness. For example, it rearranges items that were all right, is aesthetically questionable, and offers reduced customization. Many users also believe these changes are unnecessary. This is because it fails to make significant improvements and merely tries to offer a likeliness of user-friendly design.