Pinterest has ditched its ‘Pin It’ feature in a move that it feels will be of great benefit to all brands with a presence on the network.
But rather than the function being scrapped completely, it is being replaced by a ‘Save’ button. Pinterest hopes this will make one of its best loved features easier for people to understand and use around the world.
Saving ideas
Steven Walling, Pinterest product manager, explains: “Pinterest has always been the save button for the Internet, and we’re making it official. Now when you go to save ideas, you’ll see the ‘Pin it’ button says ‘Save’.
To some, it might just seem like a small word change, but Walling believes that because ‘Pin It’ has been such a huge part of the Pinterest experience, this little change is actually a big deal.
Now that more than half of people who use Pinterest are from outside the USA Walling says that Pinterest has been working harder than ever to make sure its app and website are easy to use no matter where users live or what language they speak.
“Unfortunately, it turns out that the notion of ‘Pinning’ ideas doesn’t always resonate with everyone around the world,” he explains.
“So we decided to test what would happen if we swapped our Pin It button for the more utilitarian Save instead. We were amazed by just how many new Pinners started saving ideas on Pinterest, especially people from outside the US.”
In spite of the impressive numbers, Pinterest struggled with the decision to make the change.
Walling says: “We have a lot of love for our Pin It button, which has served us well for so long. But the most important thing is for Pinterest to feel welcoming to everyone, and that’s why ultimately we went with the more understandable Save.”
Having more people around the world saving ideas to Pinterest is great for everyone, according to Walling, because it means a wider and richer selection of Pins to explore – more authentic Japanese recipes, more French street styles, more Scandinavian parenting hacks etc.
“Also the more people who save ideas on Pinterest, the more people there are going out to try those ideas in their lives. And really, that’s what Pinterest is all about: Helping people discover and do things they love,” Wallings adds.
Along with the new Save button, Pinterest has also worked on improvements to the Pins themselves. Users can now see all the boards people have saved the Pin to across Pinterest, providing even more places to find fresh ideas.
Walling commented that he hoped the updates will make Pinterest more welcoming for everyone – old-school Pinners and first-timers, outside the USA and in.