Making your posts more beautiful
Here at WordPress.com we care about making things look good. Automattic, Inc., our parent company, invests heavily in design: every engineering team has a full-time designer. We know making things look and feel great is important and we love making things people love to use.
Over the last few weeks we’ve studied the most popular features people add to their blogs. Things like Sharing, Likes and Ratings. Previously when you turned them on it made your blog look cluttered, defeating the purpose of the features themselves. This made us sad.
After much research, prototyping and testing by Beau and Hugo, we’ve released a simplified, more attractive design. These features now appear as friends, lining up in orderly columns, sharing attractive styles and working together to get you the activity from your visitors you want to have.
You may notice the designs for individual buttons have changed. One specific difference is now the ‘smart button’ setting is now global (renamed “Official Buttons”) and not per button. If you had mixed buttons before, you’ll now have them unified. This was a necessary tradeoff to make the larger design changes possible.
We think you and your visitors will appreciate this new design. If you haven’t used features like Sharing before, now is a great time to turn them on.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Is the count lost? Before there was an indication of how many people tweeted, or shared it on linked in.
August 12th, 2011 at 5:05 pm
If you head on over to Settings, Sharing, and set button style to official, you’ll see the counts.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:30 am
looks very nice. good work
August 12th, 2011 at 9:39 am
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….you guys over at WordPress seriously rock! Thanks…for a great platform and for making fab little changes like this that make my blog even better!
August 12th, 2011 at 9:41 am
Excellent!! What an awesome improvement! LOVE it!
August 12th, 2011 at 9:53 am
Great additions to WordPress!
But I might still use the old ones for a few months.
August 12th, 2011 at 9:54 am
IWCのパイロットはクラシックウォッチ
August 12th, 2011 at 10:03 am
Excellent!
August 12th, 2011 at 10:03 am
I just pressed the “like” button to see how my avatar looks among the other 280
August 12th, 2011 at 10:05 am
Am I right in thinking that the ‘Like’ is still only available in the Comments section? It is useless there, but under the Post – like in your example e-mail – it would be superb.
August 12th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
The example shown is from a live blog – so yes, the like button appears with the post, not the comments.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:14 am
I am not happy at all with the new design! In the old design it was visable for my visitors how many people (for instance) tweeted my blogpost. That seems to be gone. With this the ‘herd-effect’ is gone too. Quite silly that nobody seemed to think about this!?
August 12th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
If you go to Settings->Sharing and set button style to Official buttons, you’ll see the counts for each button.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Thanx a lot for your efforts and testing, this new arrangement of buttons is well done. I appreciate the efficiency and esthetics of it. WP does it better
August 12th, 2011 at 10:28 am
WordPress, you guys are the best!!! Thank you so much for always making great services – you’re the best online. Would never change.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Cool….my blog will look better now!
http://www.starreviews.wordpress.com
August 12th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Hi! That looks great! it was a little bit ‘mess’ before and now look nice in order!
Thank you for thinking us and making all the time new great things!
August 12th, 2011 at 10:38 am
August 12th, 2011 at 10:48 am
I used the awesome screenshot to show the problems I’m having http://awesomescreenshot.com/06figzqe2
August 12th, 2011 at 11:15 am
Great post – thanks for the tips!
August 12th, 2011 at 12:54 pm
I am aware of the efforts WordPress takes in order to make every blog look impressive. I think the new features will definitely make blogging easier. It seems to be more user-friendly in this way.
August 12th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
b4 the print button turned purple and I new someone had printed a blog. what about now
August 12th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Sweet! Thank you.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
I like the new design, however, I can’t see how many times people retweeted my post. People have shared my post in the past and the number of those retweets aren’t there.
August 12th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
If you go to Settings, Sharing and set button style to official buttons, the numbers will appear.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
I agree the change looks good from an aesthetic viewpoint, but now no one can tell how many times my blog posts have been tweeted! I’ll have to use the tweetmeme app again to keep track.
August 12th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
If you go to Settings, Sharing, and set button style to Official, you’ll see the counts in Facebook and Twitter buttons.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Thanks! I think?
August 12th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Thank you! This looks SO much better now!
August 12th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Great: Creativity along with insight and don’t forget luck is a good thing.
Things sometimes change for the better just a little slow.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Hi, on my theme (Enterprise) there seems to be extra line space below the icons and above the HR line. I am comparing to your post above which looks perfect. Please check.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Sorry, I meant to say that the extra empty line is only showing up in Index page and not on specific blog post.
August 12th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
How Can i make the More button ?
August 12th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
If you go to Settings, Sharing you’ll see all the choices for sharing services. If you add enough so they don’t fit, the more button will automatically appear.
August 12th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Very cool, but the Google+ button needs some work to be standardized with the others.
Nice feature anyway!
August 12th, 2011 at 2:20 pm
What A BIG WOW!
Great great… Thanksss…! It`s on the right place now just to make my post beautiful.
August 12th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
What are these ill-tempered lectures about wasting time? A human is always a human, a statistic is merely a human construction. Sometimes we have to research. Only the smug would object.
August 12th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Just having some fun – its a reference to the film Fight Club. I promise next time to use something as an example that’s more fun for everyone.
August 12th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Yeah it looks really nice..:)
http://www.on-firerecords.com
August 12th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
But now how is possible to check the number of shares?
August 12th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
If you go to Settings, Sharing and set Button Style to official buttons, you’ll see the numbers for likes and tweets.
August 12th, 2011 at 3:11 pm
Mine shows up in a pull-down menu instead of lined up across the page. Is it because I put so many on the page that they won’t fit in one line?
August 12th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
If you go to the Sharing page in your Dashboard under Settings, you can see a live preview of the sharing options you’ve set. If you have too many to fit, the rightmost buttons will appear under more.
August 12th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Thank you for fixing this issue! Yes, my blog definitely had the cluttered look and I hated it! Way to keep listening to your clients/customers and giving us what we want!
August 12th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
I just noticed the LinkedIn icon isn’t showing for mine. What’s up with that?
August 12th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
I am clueless on how to add a Google+ button to it. There isn’t one available in my settings so I assume I have to add it myself.
August 12th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
If you are using WordPress.com and not a self-hosted WordPress install, go to Settings, Sharing. You’ll see Google+ as one of the choices.
August 12th, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Thanx a lot!
http://www.mittw.com.tw
August 12th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Share buttons are missing from the Settings | Share page. I suppose this has to do with the changes ya’ll are making but it’s frustrating that there seems to be no way to work around this issue.
August 15th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
All the Sharing buttons you need to turn this on or adjust settings are working. Go to Dashboard, Settings, Sharing.
August 12th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Any ETA for a WordPress-designed Google+ button?
August 12th, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Hi
Please using Tahoma Font because this font isn’t readable in Persian or Arabic language .
Best Regards , …
August 12th, 2011 at 8:00 pm
I agree that this is a slight aesthetic improvement, and I’m happy for it!
Now, if only you could make these huge, garish, *truly ugly* facebook/twitter buttons below the ‘reply’ box go away. Or at least make them opt-in. Since y’all care about design and theme-consistencies. These buttons ARE horrible, and definitely should not be mandatory.
What do you say?
August 12th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
What I’m finding strange is that if I switch to Official Buttons, the Facebook like will only post a like on my profile and not the newsfeed. However, if I use Icon+text, the button effectively becomes a share button that’ll post to both the newsfeed and my profile. I know that Facebook has been switching things up the past few days, so are they to blame?
August 13th, 2011 at 4:30 am
Thanks, the new design looks great. Now if only the Google+ button could be changed. I removed it because it didn’t look right with the rest of the new buttons.
August 13th, 2011 at 6:01 am
I like! But is there a chance “StumbleUpon” might be added soon?
August 15th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
StumbleUpon is actually already available as a service, you just need to drag and drop it into the Enabled Services section on Settings > Sharing within your dashboard.
August 13th, 2011 at 9:44 am
It makes my site display in mobile view much better. It looks more modern and current. MANY THANKS
August 13th, 2011 at 11:02 am
Before they were shattered, now you have arranged them in a nice style, good work
August 13th, 2011 at 11:52 am
simple and beautiful. I like how simple changes make such a huge difference.
August 13th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Can you a Google+ and LinkedIn share button too?
August 15th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Google +1 and LinkedIn buttons are already available, you just need to add them into your “Enabled Services” section by dragging and dropping them on the Settings > Sharing page within your dashboard.
August 13th, 2011 at 6:47 pm
I really like this change–definitely reduces visual clutter. One thing I don’t like is on The Morning After theme, the ratings used to not appear in the Featured Posts on the front page. Now they appear but with a big space between the rating and the featured post. This creates a longer Featured Post area than I had before, and it also is confusing since the Rating appears to go with the post beneath it instead of the post above it due to the space.
August 13th, 2011 at 6:50 pm
Thanks so much…. this is exactly what I have been hoping for. It is so much more pleasing to the eye, and to have all of those buttons in close proximity.
Great job!!
August 13th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
This really bothered me when the post would look so nice and buttons looked so bad. This is a REAL improvement in looks to the posts. You all do a great job!!
August 13th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
Thank you! I didn’t expect such a small thing to make a significant difference, but it really looks fantastic. It’s so much cleaner.
It was one of those things that you intuitively feel is making the page look odd, but you can’t quite put your finger on it.
August 14th, 2011 at 4:50 am
This is great! However, I’m using the Mystique theme and I can’t seem to get my buttons to move from under the share button. They are hidden under ‘share.’ Is this something with the theme I’m using?
August 14th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Hello, I am providing you two examples of empty space showing up after this change which does not look right.
Example 1 is the empty space under the publicize icons on the main index page.
Example 2 is the empty space under the Like button on individual posts pages, but here the publicize icons has no empty space (that’s how it should be).
Please correct this. There should not be an empty space under publicize icons on index page and there shouldn’t be empty space under Like button on individual post page. It is a wastage and takes up my valuable real estate on the site. Thanks.
August 15th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
Thx for the specific bug report, and screenshots! Appreciate it. We’ll investigate.
August 15th, 2011 at 11:56 pm
I assumed this was at http://www.akdn.org/Content/1064, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Can you report the theme, or give the actual link to the posts pictured?
August 14th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
I have a blog biblemarathi.wordpress.com in which I do most writing in Marathi. I am allowed to insert a Marathi equivalent of ‘Share’ but I cannot do the same for ‘Like’. Can this be fixed?
R R Kelkar .
August 14th, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Yes, the new design is really elegant and I love it. I also wrote an italian tutorial for the use of the “Sharing” function, because I think it very useful! Congratulations for continuing progress, I love this platform!
August 15th, 2011 at 12:34 am
Definitely like the new look, but I can’t seem to get the Like button to show on the index page, even though the other share buttons are there.
August 15th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
Currently there is not an option to display the WordPress.com Like Button on your index page, but it’s on our list of things to do.
August 15th, 2011 at 4:33 am
Excellent change! Thanks for the upgrade. Those ugly old buttons were annoying me.
August 15th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
As a writer who only uses ‘social’ sites to post links to my writing or poetry I am particularly pleased with anything that simplifies that process.
I already like the layout and user-friendly aspects of my WordPress site which can only mean enjoyment by the users.
Keep up the good work.
August 15th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
Small changes make great improvements! Thanks!
August 15th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
Thanks. I’ll look forward to it.
August 15th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Nice.
August 15th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Excellent work! You WP angels keep us coming back for more tender care… Love it. Thank you!
August 16th, 2011 at 1:15 am
It’s nice but to be honest I don’t know how to install it, is it automatic? help please.
August 17th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
You can find details on enabling the sharing options here: http://en.support.wordpress.com/sharing/
August 16th, 2011 at 3:33 am
I saw the change but never really checked it out. I just did; I setup my shares and it was super easy. You guys are brilliant. Thank you for proving to me that hype about a certain other blog engine (tumblr) is just that… hype
August 17th, 2011 at 10:42 am
How do you get the Facebook like button?? For me its only Facebook sharing button…:(
August 17th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
If you enable the Official Buttons mode (Settings > Sharing > Button Style) then the Facebook button is their Like button.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Just applied these changes to my blog and love them. Thanks WP!
August 19th, 2011 at 2:50 am
I love it. up to me to work on trying it out now! thanks!!
August 19th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
I just saw this post and then went and enabled sharing, AWESOME!
thanks for the heads up!
mark
August 19th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
Cool! Now we look professional! You guys are great!
August 21st, 2011 at 9:55 pm
The subliminal message of this post was great and (based on the audiance ) so effective. Good job.
August 22nd, 2011 at 4:37 pm
For me, blogging with WordPress is a life-time achievement, associated with countless opportunities. Many thanks to the fella that introduced me to WordPress.
August 23rd, 2011 at 12:21 am
This design looks so much nicer and more streamlined in appearance.
August 23rd, 2011 at 9:53 am
Great! I will try it.
August 23rd, 2011 at 2:57 pm
Could you make more themes like Château? I particularly love it. Though this one is neatly done too.
August 30th, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Thank you—glad you like it. We’re launching more and more themes all the time, so stay tuned for more.
August 24th, 2011 at 10:48 am
I use self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org) is there a plugin that’s functionally equivalent, please?
November 17th, 2011 at 8:07 pm
This update is exclusive to WordPress.com users for the time being, but you might want to check out Jetpack. It brings some of the same great sharing functionality to self-hosted WordPress blogs.
August 25th, 2011 at 10:57 am
Soooo helpful ! Good job ! I’m going to use it right now !
August 25th, 2011 at 11:35 am
Hooo, I think it will never change. I also think it was just an error that the Facebook button seemed cluttered itself (and looked different than what I saw in other sites).
And now that it’s fixed, it has a better view. That’s quite good work. To the WordPress team, keep paying attention on the details, as small as they could be.
Terima kasih. Thank you.
August 25th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
defntly appreciate the design rework!!