I Don't Like The Upgraded Visual Admin Screen For 2023

[togden]

Hello  Fellow Merchants,

Just wanted to hear your thoughts on the new upgraded visual admin screen. Shopify says it's easier. I don't agree. I prefer the admin screen the way it was. I'm finding it difficult to locate certain information. The fonts are much smaller, and the color scheme is monochromatic, which would make it challenging for anyone who is visually impaired.

Let me know what you think.

[MagCAD]

I'm also struggling to adjust, hoping there is a way to have the visuals returned to the previous design but not finding one.

[tonytapay]

There is no way to revert so far. I guess Shopify engineers know better than people who work all day using the admin page (eyeroll).

[togden]

Me too! I loved how the previous version of the admin page was designed. It was so easy. All the information I needed was in one place. Now I have to search for the same info in different tabs. It's time consuming and frustrating. Like you, I hope they provide an option to return to the previous design.

[ShopBoston]

Terrible layout.  Yesterday, I could quickly see live visitors, orders, revenue. 

Now there's an almost meaningless graph taking up the top, and multiple clicks are required to find the info that used to be on the dashboard.  

[togden]

I don't know why they did this. It isn't good business to make decisions that directly affect your customers without at least gathering some feedback from them.

[tonytapay]

There are a couple of threads lower down about this and they're FILLED with people who don't like the new admin page. I'm one of them. It's terrible and less useful, forcing me to dig for information that used to available at a glance. Terrible.

[togden]

I hope Shopify listens and provides another option. Based on the difficulty in using the admin page, I don't think they consulted merchants who actually have to use it.

[Lane_Borg]

I'm liking and reposting/replying on every thread it's been brought up in to make sure they all get visibility for the Shopify folks who (hopefully) read this. I've seen way more engagement and views than normal in a short time for all the admin dashboard related threads. Hopefully it becomes clear they dropped the ball and make the necessary changes to regain their customers' trust.

[JPHB85]

I would venture to guess that some people haven't even see it yet! my laptop is still showing the old version even though my desktop switched over.

[togden]

Interesting. I wish I still had the old version. I can't imagine that Shopify thought they could make such a drastic change without backlash. The new version is by no means an improvement.

[Lane_Borg]

What?!?! Lucky! 

[togden]

Great idea! Hopefully if enough of us speak up, they will rethink this... or at least provide an option to revert to the previous version.

[Lane_Borg]

If you look at some of the threads, there's a link to Shopify's Medium article and YouTube video on the topic. I'm posting and sharing there too. In two days, one of the threads has gotten into the top 10 most liked topics. If that trend keeps up, they'll have to see it was a bad decision and that their customers want a change. I also read that entering support tickets is a good way to get their attention and make sure they see this feedback. I don't know if it's true but I'm going to try it.

[tonytapay]

There are now at least 5 posts about this topic. I've tried to post my own but it's flagging it as "flooding" the forum and won't let me post. There is not a single person who likes this change. There have to be meetings going on about this right now. I'd bet money that they're going to stall and hope that we'll "get used to it." Not a chance.

[togden]

Interesting. I sense chicanery is afoot. Prompted by another merchant who is unhappy with the update, I went to YouTube. The comments under the video "Shopify Edition Summer 23" are suspiciously complementary regarding the new visual update. It's completely the opposite of what people in the Shopify community forums are saying. Is it possible the negative comments are being removed? How is it no one here likes the visual update and practically everyone on YouTube "likes" it? Hmmm.

[tonytapay]

If you go to here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYkXfmrTK48&t=109s you'll see plenty of negative comments. It may just be that more people landed here to make their thoughts known.

[Francisco_MW]

Nothing about this is change is good IMO, flat out terrible. The right side of the page used to have the option to view daily/monthly stats on your sales including a snapshot of which sales channel the sales are coming from. That is now gone and as far as I can see I dont see where in the analytics this information lives in. Its looks like some of this information is spread out over various customizations in the Analytics menu but it is not in one simple location as it was before the change.

As you mentioned the font is significantly smaller which can be an issue for some.

Was there any User Experience testing done by shopify? There are several threads about the new admin homepage and ALL the responses are negative. I've said this in the other threads, but typically when companies make this type of a significant change to dashboards they allow users to compare and preview the dashboard. There is no option to revert back to the old version. This was not a well thought out change.

[togden]

Well said. I don't know why Shopify wouldn't beta test this and gather feedback from the merchants who have to use it. After all, WE are their customers. We can always choose another platform. It may be challenging to migrate, but if they keep making decisions without enlisting our feedback or at least informing us of the changes, I'll go elsewhere.

[gfgflowers]

I agree - I've already dropped everything except my website from Shopify ecosystem as a result, looking into other options for that. I don't have the time to migrate with them and teach them how I want to work all over again.

Additionally, the order screen now includes all fields - even if they're unpopulated meaning I have a double sided print for every order. Might not seem like much but they've doubled my printing costs in one hit!

[JPHB85]

It is beyond the worst update they have ever done. It is terrible in every way.

[Jacobsenra]

I spend about an hour chatting this morning with Shopify chatting about just how horrible the new home page is.  No way to go back so best thing you can do is chat with Shopify just how bad it is so they continue to get feedback.  They don't ever seem to listen but maybe if enough of us make noise....

[togden]

That's a great idea. Maybe if enough people voice their dislike of the home page, they will listen. (Hope springs eternal.)

[JPHB85]

Yes, I suggest everyone creates a support ticket with them so they know! I sent one in and they gave me some BS about 'working on making the dashboard more customizable in the future)... aka we can expect that in a year and NEVER. and then proceeded to give me BS 'helpful tips' on how to improve my shop and sales. 

[tonytapay]

Do you create one by simply asking them via chat?

[JPHB85]

You can either do chat, or I did the 'submit message' because I didn't want to sit there and waste my time. I just wrote out all of the information I wanted to share and sent it. they get back to you in a little while and you can answer at your convenience

[Lindleywood]

We made a formal request to Shopify Help on Twitter to address the Accessibility issue as a matter of urgency. We simply can not believe that in 2023 someone signed it off without considering how their colour scheme with low contrast, tiny text and replacement font would affect users. To then not include an Accessibility option once making a decision to make it the default was a very poor one. We also asked them to log our dissatisfaction with the home page/dashboard downgrade. They confirmed they have done so on both issues.

[togden]

Thank you so much for taking action on this. Hopefully Shopify will listen.

[JPHB85]

I mean just look at these two next to each other and you can EASILY see how much more information you could quickly see in the old version.  As a small business of one person these are things I looked at throughout the day regularly.

I find it insane they don't think we'd want to see a monthly and daily snapshot next to each other. And so many other things that just seem LOGICAL.

[tonytapay]

And what is gained? What is the value in so much unused screen real estate? Wonderful grey background (eyeroll) where we used to have useful information. 

[JPHB85]

right? exactly what I needed, more boring gray and 20 more buttons I have to click

[togden]

I completely agree. The previous version gave us everything we needed at a glance. The new version is not only inconvenient, but inefficient. Having to search and click for info that use to be on the home page is a huge time waster.

[JPHB85]

yep!

[Lane_Borg]

LOL, just the amount you had to black out on the old admin page shows how much more usable, important information it had compared to the new one.

[SPLKim2]

Totally agree! The previous admin screen had everything I needed to see - customer numbers, add to carts, highest page hits, social media & marketing campaign hits.  This gives none of that information at a glance - have to go and find it on different links.  Not user friendly at all!!

[CHDAB]

As a Shopify user from 2019, I own multiple stores and have kept using Shopify for my e-commerce businesses but I am TIRED, EXTREMELY TIRED of Shopify simply imposing their ridiculously BAD updates without ever listening to their customer base.

We either need to gather all up together as merchants and sign a petition or we all simply need to switch to other alternatives. Indeed, some of their competitors have much much better offers, sometimes even products, so although it can seem too difficult to migrate, the ROI would be there.

SHOPIFY LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS INSTEAD OF FORCING US TO WORSE AND WORSE UPDATES EACH TIME. THE NEW HOME PAGE IS ABSOLUTE TRASH, IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT USER-CENTRIC. THERE ARE NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE SUCH AS ATC, IC, ETC. THE SCREEN IS EMPTY AND PROVIDES NO VALUABLE INFORMATION.

WE ARE SERIOUSLY TIRED OF THOSE UPDATES. YOUR PRODUCT KEEPS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE. YOU DON'T EVEN LET US CHOOSE BETWEEN THE OLD LAYOUT AND THE NEW LAYOUT. IMO THE OLD BLUE LAYOUT WAS THE BEST BUT IT KEPT GETTING UGLIER AND USELESS.

YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY TERMINATE THE UX TEAM YOUR ARE WORKING WITH BECAUSE THEY ARE LITERALLY SABOTAGING YOUR USER EXPERIENCE.

HOW CAN YOU NOT ASK MERCHANTS OPINION ON THE NEW HOME PAGE AND MAKE A POOL???

HOW CAN YOU NOT LET US USE PREVIOUS LAYOUTS???

YOU ARE ALL ACTING LIKE AN AMATEUR STARTUP THAT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THEIR DOING, JUST COPY GOOGLE'S WAY OF UPDATING LAYOUTS, USE YOUR MIND !!!!!!!!!!!

[Lane_Borg]

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@CHDAB wrote:

We either need to gather all up together as merchants and sign a petition or we all simply need to switch to other alternatives. 

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I'm down. Implement the ability to roll back to the old format by the end of Q3 or everyone leaves for Q4 when the sales from Shopify Payments really matter to them? They claim that Polaris will be out of beta in September. Should be easy enough to implement an old-style dashboard by then. 

[JPHB85]

I truly don't get it. It's just insanity.