Over the last few months, Evernote has rolled out new versions of its most popular apps, with redesigns to iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac. And now it’s finally time to turn to the Web version of Evernote, in what will be its first major redesign since Evernote launched.
While there’s been nothing wrong with the Evernote’s Web interface per se, when you compare the web experience to native apps, the interface makes you happy that you have downloaded the desktop client or the mobile phone app. It’s sort of dull and gray. The new interface has been revamped. It’s brighter and it now has the recognizable three-panel interface. From left to right: your notebooks, your tags, your note list, and your single note view.
The Web version also features Notebook Stacks (so you can easily group your Notebooks), a Snipper view (so you can see contents without having to actually open a note), and Autosave.
The Changing (And Growing!) Evernote Demographic
CEO Phil Libin says that only 13% of Evernote users currently use the Web version, and with those statistics in mind, it does make sense that this was the last app for the company to redesign.
But Libin notes that since Evernote’s launch, its demographics have shifted substantially. No longer is Evernote solely used by professionals (professionals with their fancy smartphones and native apps, that is). The tool is becoming used by more and more students. For many of them, that means using the Web version – not simply because they’re accessing Evernote via the computer lab, but because (and please take note here developers) they don’t download software and they prefer the browser.
This update also adds a new feature to Evernote: the ability to share individual notes over Facebook and email. Users will be able to share a note with others – in the words of Libin “share your private brain with the social brain.”
The addition of a Facebook share mechanism comes pretty late in the game for Evernote. While startups are often told to include viral loops like Facebook, Evernote has hardly needed such a thing. The company is adding over 26,000 new users a day. Nonetheless, the ability to share notes to a Facebook wall or to a Facebook group will likely only serve to help boost that growth.
