PayPal updates website, improves features

Users of the popular web payment service PayPal will soon start to see an updated web UI design for the company's main website. PayPal began rolling out the redesign to select users Wednesday, complete with a guide on where some features were moved to and general navigation tips. The new website also pushes some of PayPal's newest features, such as mobile payments, the iPhone credit card reader and more, to the forefront.

According to TechCrunch, the overhaul significantly improves the main page of the site, enhancing readability and making it less cluttered - a common design trait that many websites are adopting. The multi-level navigation bars have been replaced with simplified "Buy," "Sell" and "Transfer" buttons, and a new "Explore" button allows users to learn more about the services that PayPal offers, as well as new services that are being launched.

This overhaul also shows a mindfulness for mobile users, with navigation optimized for touchscreens as well as desktop browsers. Maximizing web design usability for multiple devices is another popular trend in the industry, which provides a much better user experience for those who visit the site on their smartphones or tablets just as often as from a desktop PC.

Another design change includes moving the login boxes to the top of the window rather than the main part of the screen. Different tabs for "personal" and "business" users still exist, as does quick access to an explanation of PayPal's service, but the overall design makes navigating these features much smoother. Ultimately, the new design opens up the site and ties it to a more modern sense of what the internet is, rather than looking like an outdated relic of the dotcom boom.

One PayPal representative told CNET that the new site was completely redesigned with ease of navigation for customers as the focus.

Since not all of the site had been switched over to the new design as of the Wednesday pre-launch, it is unknown if sub-pages were left unchanged, or if some features simply have not been activated yet. According to CNET, the changes will be rolled out throughout the month.