There really are no points for being the company that does things second.
For the service’s 16th anniversary, Yahoo redesigned its still popular Mail service to make it look more like, well…Gmail. And users are livid at the results. Here’s what the redesign looks like.
The new look introduces a snazzier looking interface along with the ability to display emails as Gmail style conversations, but users were unimpressed.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the comments on a Yahoo user feedback page for the new redesign.
And those are just the top five. The thread had nearly 2810 comments, filled with frustrated, and often furious users demanding a return to the old design.
As it turns out, the old Yahoo Mail had plenty of features that made it preferable to using Gmail, and those features are now gone. The biggest quibble is with the removal of the “tabs” function. User’s used to be able to open individual emails and search pages in separate tabs, something you can’t do in Gmail and the new redesign.
Users also complained they can no longer organize their Inbox using “sort by sender,” or access their folders without leaving the Inbox. The redesign is also missing a “print” function for just the email frame.
On top of all of this, there were some serious technical glitches with the roll-out. Users reported drafts being lost, email contacts being removed and emails disappearing after being sent.
In response, Yahoo issued the following statement:
Thank you for the feedback on the tab feature in Yahoo Mail. We deeply value how much our users care about Yahoo and are constantly engaging with our products.
The recent design changes in Yahoo Mail are important steps to building a more modern and personalized version. We recognize that this is a lot of change and are actively listening to user feedback so we can continuously make improvements.
Much of the blame for the redesign is being directed at CEO Marissa Mayer, who came from Google before taking the top job at Yahoo. There’s now a Facebook page titled: “Yahoo’s new fail mail – Open Letter to Marissa Mayer”
Some comments on Yahoo forums include:
‘She is delusional… she has no clue…we ALL HAVE GMAIL ACCOUNTS….that is not why we use yahoo mail….we use yahoo mail because it has TABS,’ one user said, referring to Mayer.
‘And the fact that she did no research into this like not a single poll or test of this monster before she rolled it out.’
Ouch. This is turning into a PR nightmare for Yahoo as angry users take to the internet and more and more feel like their complaints are being ignored and Yahoo is determined to force the redesign.
