The surge in Twitter’s popularity over recent months has been remarkable. According to usage statistics, the majority of Twitter users prefer to engage with the platform through its web interface, rather than third-party clients like TweetDeck or Twitterfeed. While Twitter’s web interface is straightforward and user-friendly, it lacks certain features that could significantly enhance the user experience.
This article explores 10 essential user interface features that could elevate the Twitter web experience for its users.
As Twitter’s popularity grows, so does the need for managing an increasing number of connections. The ability to create groups or categories of followed Twitter users can streamline your feed, enabling you to quickly access updates from specific groups, such as co-workers or local tweeters, and stay informed about local events like traffic accidents.
Auto-complete is a valuable interaction design pattern that suggests a list of options as you type. This feature can accelerate the process of sending a tweet to a specific user, simplify the process of correcting misspelled usernames, and assist in keyword-tagging tweets by suggesting relevant keywords.
Given Twitter’s character limit, incorporating links can be challenging. Allowing users to tweet hyperlinked text not only provides additional room for content but also results in cleaner and more visually appealing Twitter feeds.
Twitter is a rich source of information and an excellent platform for discussions on a wide range of topics. However, the current user interface does not facilitate easy viewing of conversations between multiple users. By incorporating threaded tweets and enhancing the “reply to” feature, users can participate in or follow conversations across multiple feeds and discover other users interested in similar subjects.
The ability to tweet to a group of users is particularly useful for companies and communities, allowing targeted communication. For instance, a tweet to a group of co-workers could be formatted as:
@@friends I’ll be a little late for our lunch date, start ordering without me.
The double “@” symbol distinguishes a group tweet from a direct message to a single user.
Tooltips provide valuable information without requiring users to navigate away from the current page. Hovering over a username in your feed can reveal a user’s bio, while hovering over a mentioned username can display more information about the individual.
Twitter can maximize the potential of its right sidebar by displaying relevant information and statistics, such as the “Most Recent Replies” or “Most Used #hashtags,” to highlight the latest activities and trending topics.
Users appreciate seeing their names mentioned on Twitter. Currently, only mentions starting with “@” are visible on the “@Replies” page. An additional feature that lists all tweets mentioning your username or those you’ve been retweeted in (e.g., “RT @username”) would be beneficial. This feature would not only serve a self-centered purpose but also help users discover individuals interested in their content and understand the popularity of their tweets.
For users following numerous accounts, the challenge of “Twitter feed overload” can be mitigated by marking favorite users and deemphasizing less important ones. This approach provides clearer visual cues for prioritizing content in the feed.
Twitter’s current character limit includes hyperlinks, even when shortened by services like TinyURL.com. Implementing a built-in URL shortener would save users time and eliminate the need to rely on external websites for this functionality.
Share your ideas for improving Twitter’s user interface in the comments section below.
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