Facebook Lite is here. Verdict: Better

As expected, Facebook is slimming down. The new "Lite" version of Facebook is available for users in the United States and India, according to TechCrunch.

The new version of the site appears to be much cleaner and simpler. It appears, at a quick glance, to be a better site for Facebook newbies or for anyone who finds the current site overwhelming or noisy. It also pushes the old-school Facebook apps off a cliff, which is just as well for the newest Facebook-connected services. Try it at lite.facebook.com.

The major visual change in Facebook Lite, compared Facebook "Classic," is simply that most of the the navigation and info page that was on the left of the page is now gone. The user is not distracted by the mostly superfluous details that resided there. The input box is also gone, replaced by buttons (Write, Post Photos, Post Video) that pop down the actual input forms only when needed.

The new layout feels simpler and faster, almost Twitter-like.

The new Lite version of Facebook is cleaner and faster.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)

Facebook "Classic" has a lot of navigational elements and more data that make the site cluttlered, in comparison.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)

Other tweaks that diehards might notice: the "Friends" tab in the top navigation of Facebook Classic is missing in Facebook Lite, replaced by a new "Events" link that opens up a page of invitations.

All pages on the site seem to be affected. They are simpler, easier to read, and faster. They load faster, partly due to what appears to be HTML optimization at Facebook. My profile page in Facebook Lite weighed in at 11K, compared to 44K in the Classic version. However, the smaller pages may also come courtesy of a dramatically decreased advertising load, which I doubt we can count on continuing, once Facebook Lite enters the mainstream.

I like the Lite site more than the old Facebook and am moving over to it now. Nice job, Facebook.

Other Facebook news today:
Checkmate, Twitter: Facebook 'status tagging' live
Facebook open-sources real-time FriendFeed facet

[Nebetsu]

Why no love for Canadians?

[ircaboose]

not true idk how i got but it worked. I think its invite only though. I didnt get an invite though. Just keep trying to go to lite.facebook.com

[blanchelillington]

no comment

[DrtyDogg]

Not coming up in chrome for me.

[bwrobertson2]

Yeah, I noticed that too.

[jake3373]

works fine for me

[TuesdaysDead]

715 friend requests?!...

[rafe]

Yeah I really don't spend a ton of time managing my Facebook account. I'm more involved with Twitter.

[BarkerDigital]

I use Facebook groups extensively, so I want that stuff on the left...

[dritterweg]

viewing photos using next and previous button cause reload of the whole page, the classic one use ajax which in my opinion faster since you don't need to reload the page at all.

[doctroid2]

I can't see any way to get to groups, nor to post links. Are these not part of Lite? And will they disappear from FB as Lite "enters the mainstream"?

[blondepianist]

As I power user, I couldn't go without lists, and I'd definitely miss the full FB UI, but this could be a great way to introduce friends who still aren't on yet.

[shiningdevil]

I think you should answer some of those friend requests..

[midiexpert]

Umm, no facebook chat? Couldn't find it. I don't like the lite version at all. in theory, less clutter is better, but how about not removing elements that are useful? Or give users the option to show or hide them, maybe??

[fcg1502]

I would love to view that "female profile". My goodness.

[mr_black_cat]

hell yeah

[4score20]

Holy smokes. She's blessed.

[Hey_Radar]

I haven't tried FB Lite yet, but I can't wait to do so. The Full FB is way to slow. It takes forever to open and taxes out my system.

Maybe they can learn from both and come up with a happy medium.

[Lennron]

I just tried it. It basically looks like Facebook did when it first came out. Back when I used to like it. :)

[simonehart]

haha. so true . . . .

[4score20]

I agree. This is the Facebook I remember and liked.

[Alvin_Villaflores]

Facebook Lite is also available in my country, the Philippines. :)

[cptmcnair]

Make a way so that I won't have to see references to Farmville and Mafia and I'll go door to door talking about it.

[1-1-92]

i agree

[Matheis]

Seriously, where IS chat? I understand that facebook lite is a work in progress, but facebook chat is my favorite feature by far (heck, even the iPhone app has it).

I left facebook almost two years ago and am just now getting back into the full swing of things. I personally love the new changes. Facebook has built a clean and well thought out UI (the "taskbar" on the bottom of the page is really useful) and I feel like I'm using a web app or a even a simple OS every time I log in. Facebook really dominates in that I don't often leave its realm while logged in. They have even incorporated this into their revamped iPhone app: there is now a built in browser for viewing a link someone has posted. Adding twitter's "@" function is a stroke of genius.

Comparing facebook and twitter is simply a moot point being that facebook offers more than just "status updates" so any changes made to facebook to make the entire experience match twitter's is lost on me. I'd compare this to arguing that Apple should ship all Mac's with the iPhone OS. I'd rather not lose functionality for a few clean lines. If I want to post something quickly I'll use my iPhone for that. For anyone who doesn't have a smart phone or messaging phone (most carriers offer a model or two) with a modest facebook app then anyone can use SMS to send or receive a quick update.

I have no problem navigating through facebook's current full-featured website nor does my 71 year old grandmother. That being said, facebook lite may become more popular with people using netbooks or an ultra low voltage processor equipped PC connected to the internet via a mobile broadband card and thusly find the stripped down version of facebook easier to navigate simply because it loads faster. Maintaing both the lite and the current version could be a winning combination for facebook.

[jonathan0766]

And it was nice enough to keep the ... generous single girls ads on the right side! Gotta chase those ad dollars.

[TetsuoTW]

*********, it's the bloody Internet, do they not realize the Internet is global? Thanks for bloody ignoring everyone who either isn't American or isn't one of your outsources, d'bags.

[omnichad]

It's kinda hard to test out a new interface when you have to translate it to 50 different languages. This is a bit more agile. And don't say that the UK would be just fine with American English on their Facebook. They would be saying *** - why doesn't it say "colour"?

[1-1-92]

gday

[hankthedwarf]

I'm liking it, but taking out the notification bar from the bottom detracts from the experience. If they kept that it would be a lot better, without adding much noise.