Pinterest unveils new look, updated search and browsing

With so many websites ripping off its design, Pinterest has to stay ahead of the curve

In jjust a few short years, the Pinterest design has been copied over and over again, by start-up and established properties alike. So what do you do if you are Pinterest, and you the one being repeatedly copied? You stay ahead by updating your design and giving users the features they have been asking for.

Pinterest unveiled its new look on Monday, complete with new discovery features, better browsing, bigger pins and a more reliable foundation.

With the new design, users will be able to explore the entire board without ever have to leave the page that they are on. They will also be given the ability to browse through pins from the same website.

Users will also be able to see a screen showing what people who pinned that also pinned.

In addition, the site will also be featuring bigger pins, and a rebuilt foundation make Pinterest more reliable for users, and easier for Pinterest to improve.

“We also responded to some feedback from pinners who told us they hated losing their place while browsing,” said lead product designer Jason Wilson in the blog post. “Now, when you scroll through pins and click on something that interests you, the back button lands you right back where you were no matter how far you’ve gone.”

The Pinterest-like phenomenon

It's pretty clear why everyone wants to rip off Pinterest: it has been a huge success.

A Pew report recently revealed that 12% of the U.S. adult population is now on Pinterest. Among women, that number skyrockets to one in five. Global user visits exploded to 48 million visits in December 2012, compared to just nine million the year before, according to comScore.

The site has raised $2338 million, including a $100 million round in May 2012 and a $200 million round last month.

With stats like that, it’s no wonder everyone suddenly wants to be Pinterest, with newbies and veterans alike getting in on the action. Notably, eBay—one of the first e-commerce players on the Web—redesigned its layout to be more Pinterest-like. Similarly, Facebook introduced its new Collections feature, which is essentially a Pinterest within Facebook. 

Smaller Web properties like Snip.it, a place to collect collect articles and organize them into topics, which redesigned its website and mobile version to look like Pinterest in July. 

There is also Wanderful, a Pinterest for local papers, with platform that displays advertisements in a engaging and social way, and which its CEO says will look like Pinterest. And The Fancy, which VatorNews reporter Faith Merino called “essentially a reconfigured Pinterest with a stronger e-commerce foundation.” And Tapiture, which wants to be the Pinterest for men. 

With everyone and their mother wanting to take a piece of its action, all Pinterest can do is try to stay ahead of the curve and give its users what they want.