3 Ways to (Sort of) Get the Old Lifehacker Back
February 13, 2011 by Evan Kline 
12 Comments
Lifehacker, one of our favorite sites here at 40Tech, just got a redesign, along with the rest of the sites under the Gawker umbrella. The redesign has been a bit controversial, to say the least. Users have complained that the site is slow, hard to navigate, and clunky.
Personally, I hate the new design. Ajax and javascript can be great, but not when an entire site is built around them. I like sites to be scannable, and I want to be able to jump around quickly.
I love Lifehacker’s content, though, so I’ve been trying to find a way to make the site easier to digest. Here are three alternate ways to get Lifehacker’s content. They aren’t perfect, but I actually prefer them to visiting the main site.
1) Visit the full RSS feed
Even if you don’t subscribe to the RSS feed, you can still use the feed to your advantage by navigating to the feed address, and reading the site’s content there.
2) Visit the mobile site
You won’t see any post excerpts, but if you just want to see Lifehacker’s headlines, you can visit the mobile site in your desktop browser.
3) Use the new “blog view”
The new design does offer a way to see posts in reverse chronological order. To do so, click on the “blog view” button, which is hidden next to the date and time at the top right of the main column (see the arrow we’ve added in the image below). Scrolling in blog view doesn’t work as well as it does in a traditional blog design, but it beats scrolling through the new design. You also get blog snippets, to help you decide whether to read a full article or not.
What do you think of the Lifehacker redesign?
Related Posts
![How Many Items Do You Have on Your Computer Desktop? [Reader Feedback]](http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/themes/headlines/functions/thumb.php?src=wp-content/uploads/2012/02/clean-desktop.jpg&w=35&h=35&zc=1&q=90){kind=small}
![What Chrome Apps Do You Actually Use? [Reader Feedback]](http://www.40tech.com/wp-content/themes/headlines/functions/thumb.php?src=wp-content/uploads/2012/05/image_thumb.png&w=35&h=35&zc=1&q=90){kind=small}
uk.lifehacker.com seems to serve it up in a manner somewhat similar to the old style. Don’t know for how long though!
That’s better than any of the ones in the article- thanks, Daryl! You’re right, though. I’m worried that it might not last long. For now, I’ve bookmarked it, and that will be how I visit Lifehacker.
ca.lifehacker.com is using the old version still. New one is problematic due to the reliance on JavaScript :/
Thanks, Sunny. I’ve been using the Canadian and UK versions whenever possible.
I loved my Lifehacker and Gizmodo, but since I can’t view it the way I want I’ve had to give up on the sites.
I hate the new layout so much that it made surfing the site visually impossible.
Always sad when you have to give up sites you love.
I definitely go there much less than before. I tend to read it more on my mobile device than anywhere, just because that experience is actually bearable without having to jump through hoops.
Just for kicks, I went over to the site. I don’t see the “blog view” option any longer. At least the whole page scrolls as one now, but it is so dense with information that it really has a cluttered feel and makes my eyes glaze over.
That’s the beauty of reading it via the MobileRSS app on my iPhone/iPad – no clutter and quick tap and delete per topic if it looks like junk (which more and more of their posts seem to be becoming)!
Daryl´s last post ..darylgriffiths: How village pubs could be a shining model of community ownership http://t.co/zxAhv6NL via @guardian #suffolk #lidgate
Sorry folks – don’t know why my last Tweet was included in that reply – something going on at the 40tech end.
By the looks of it if you put your Twitter “address” in the URL box for comments, you need to untick the box below “Submit Comment”? Trying that now…
Thanks, Daryl. I’ll have to look into it. I’ve been thinking of dropping CommentLuv anyway, for a variety of reasons.
Aha, I see now Evan.
Yep, it’s CommentLuv again. Looks like the plugin has changed from my recollection of it on 40Tech previously.
Never really knew what it was all about and I don’t recall seeing it elsewhere, so I guess dropping it isn’t going to be a massive hardship!