Feedback on the Library Redesign

[nsprung]

Thanks to everyone who’s been participating in the beta and sharing feedback - we really appreciate your help!

For any feedback, bug reports, or suggestions related to the Library Redesign, please post them in this thread so we can keep everything in one place.

The more you say, the better. This means everything from a bug you’ve noticed, to a concern you have about how this design will affect your learning, to just plain praise (if we earned it!).

Thanks again for helping us test and improve it!

[bbbblinq]

Well done for significant effort on improving Lingq.

I think I’m part of it. I downloaded a bet version recently from an email from you. This was the only way to make it work on my Boox note air 2.

Wait, are you going to mess up anything I like? I’m tending to risk averse; “don’t break it” these days.
I read a million words a year in Greek (and a bit in other languages) in sentence mode and usually in Chrome.

Please don’t mess up that experience
Please ensure I can read sentence by sentence with shortcuts (in Chrome, not yet in app) with reasonable audio and translations.
On praise, I’m positive about you on Linkedin. Gathering and linking people may help you. Are there things you’d like users to do?

Library redesign: I assume I’ll adapt.

Please restore the % of new words in the library screen but it would be better to include 0 to 3 not just blue.

When should we look out for this. It is app only or on the web?

[len1984]

The book course interface has been updated, but the reader interface is still the same. Has it not been updated yet?

[nsprung]

Hi @len1984 The reader redesign will be updated later this month. The first major change is the Library redesign which you see here.

[len1984]

Will the new book interface support personalized settings in the future? For example, can existing fixed modules be replaced or disabled?

[bbbblinq]

@nsprung

e your help!

For any feedback, bug reports, or suggestions related to the Library Redesign, please post them in this thread so we can keep everything in one place.

The more you say, the better. This means everything from a bug you’ve noticed, to a concern you have about

Are we talking about version 6.1.23 (622)? I saw that in an email in June.

[bbbblinq]

I’ve managed to listen to almost 19 hours of content in the first 18 hours of today. I’d like an award for imposisble productivity. Unless maybe there is a problem.

I’ve only been using sentence mode.

Something is clocking up listening time. It has happened before. I don’t care about the listening statistic (but thought I should let you know).
I’ve used a few devices but can’t hear any of them playing lessons.

[bbbblinq]

I’ve seen the note with the new release of the app; v6.1.25 (627).
“• Lessons from downloaded courses open offline again, and downloads keep running when you leave the course”
In principle; great. I’d like to have a lot of content on an aeroplane.
I thought I read that “download” were only about audio.
Can we know what is downloaded so we know what is available and also what we don’t need any more (which might take up a lot of memory).
Can we free up memory on a device when we don’t need things downloaded?
Sorry if these seem like conflicting needs (availability vs managing memory).

I’m starting the app. It’s as simple as download it and click on the file (if you have the installation (tester?) program installed on Android, but some instructions might help people take that step. I wasn’t sure.

I’m looking at it now.
GOOD
Words read today on top (big screen): great.
It has my current information.

Sentence mode plays consistently at a set speed.
REVIEW
If I click on coins, I’d like to see today’s statistics, not the 7 day statistics.

Layout is different to Chrome (a top left menu button). I was getting used to seeing the activities area. Why not pick a format across devices? Minor issue I suppose.

I DON’T LIKE

My current Lord of the Flies lesson is 13:19 minutes long. No one cares. Is it hard to understand? KNown words/all words is a useful statistic but it’s missing.

I only use sentence mode. Why do I have to click on it in every single lesson (thousands).

Shortcuts don’t work

In sentence mode, statistics have disappeared. I can’t even click on something to update “words read today”. They are hidden several clicks away. I clicked on >>>, statiscs and got a screen that looks like the one that damages my word count (adds al words to known in error). It’s not on the librarby screen. I want to ditch the app and go to Chrome. Even the library and coins area only tells me about coins (useful) , not words read (a big statistic). The library screen says words read is 0 but I read a few sentences. Please keep coins and words read at the top of the screen during all learning activities or at least one click away.

Let users eradicate page mode. I have to go through it to get to my sentence mode and to get back to the library.

Please count clicks for a user to do key things. Go to the current lesson (sentence mode); another recent lesson; next sentnece + audio + translation (godo on the app, not on Chrome); change language; get coinc and words-read statistics

Stats on the library screen seem stuck at 0.

I’d expect a “downloaed lessons” in the Continue Study area or I don’t trust that anything is downloaded. And the menu for a lesson doesn’t have a download option. So before a flight it seems you have to only use the lesson you want on a flight or the wrong one will be downloaed. But you may have then nearly finished the lesson and have to read it again. Can you make a download area like Netflix?

I’m going back to Chrome; it’s much better (the app should be the better one).

Added 13:42
I wonder if it would help to have personas of users:
•High volume users with a hard language (me; values few clicks, easy to see statistics, shortcuts, slow speech, downloads, sentence mode only)
I’m guessing at:
•High volume users, easier language: I imagine they use audio more, page view more etc.
•Medium users

•Light users

[nsprung]

@len1984 I’m sorry, what do you mean by fixed module?

[nsprung]

@bbbblinq We’re referring to the Web Library page with this update. This shouldn’t affect tracking of listening hours and other things like that. Although we can of course investigate incorrect listening time tracking.

There isn’t an Android version out yet for testing the new library with.

[CGagne]

I like the new design. It’s very useful to have quick access to the playlist and to be able to quickly review cards (I don’t typically review cards, but now that it’s very easy to run through 25 of them, I might start doing that more regularly).

I tried the website on my laptop, ipad and iphone and all work well. The only potential concern is how much space the playlist and flashcards take on the iphone screen. It would be nice to have the option to not show (or not show, i.e., a toggle) the review cards.

Other comments related to the cards: I am not sure how to change which words/expressions appear in the set of 25 (they seem to be the same words each time). Also, other than flipping through the cards,I didn’t notice a way to indicate whether I remembered the meaning correctly or not.

[len1984]

These fixed function categories are all fixed. Wouldn’t it be better if they could support personalized settings, such as changing the displayed content or turning them off?

[Caldazar]

Hello! Thanks for including us in the beta test! A few thoughts:

-I know this isn’t new with this change, but I appreciate that you’ve added buttons to be able to quickly source between stuff native to LingQ, from youtube, and from other sources.

-I like the flash card review thing at the top. What I’m not sure is how to modify the words that it shows. For instance, I think it would be better if it prioritized high-coin-value words, which are more “bang for your buck” than random words that you might have saved but rarely come up. Perhaps it could have multiple settings, such as Due for Review Newest/Oldest, Alphabetical A-Z/Z-A, and by coin value.
-Secondly on the flash cards, I see that I can flip the words, but I didn’t see a mechanism to tell it whether I got the word right or not such that it would update that the word has been reviewed. Perhaps I missed it?

-I note that the overall format hasn’t really changed beyond the side bar being collapsible and the elements at the top. In that sense, it looks like this update largely impacts the “Continue Studying” bar. I think the adds of the cards and the audio thing are useful, I’d be much more likely to actually do some card review if they are just right there, but I am still not a huge fan of the layout of the rest of the page below that top section. I love that we can remove lines now, like for the mini-stories and “getting started,” but having to scroll to the right within a section is not the most ideal. I think it would be preferable if we just scrolled down and saw material from our stated interest areas (culture, science, travel, etc) intermixed and could pick what we want to study, not find the correct topic and then scroll right or go into a separate page to find something within that topic. Also, I did like the thing where you hovered your mouse over the title and it would auto-translate, but I remember people complaining about it. I know that is not directly related to this update, forgive me for expanding the scope.

I’m excited to see what you have in mind for the reader! Thanks for continuing to improve the LingQ experience!

[ZayaFTW]

@nsprung

For any feedback, bug reports, or suggestions related to the Library Redesign, please post them in this thread so we can keep everything in one place.

I’m sorry that I posted my initial feedback outside the beta testing area. I just thought it didn’t exist because I kept getting that error. Also, after looking at some screenshots of other users’ interfaces, mine appears different — perhaps because of my 1440p resolution. If that’s the case, then maybe the differences are something I’m just going to have to live with as a user. Anyway, here’s my feedback:

Just sharing a few personal thoughts on the current Library layout. These are only my opinions based on how I would like to see the site — happy to hear other perspectives or if I’m missing something.

POSITIVES

• The lesson level icons are noticeable, clean, and well designed.

SUGGESTIONS

1. Spacing issues
   The large empty space between the top “Continue Studying” section (especially the big featured lesson on the left) and the “For You” section below feels unappealing and creates unnecessary dead space.

2. Alignment problems
   The “See All >” button is not aligned with the “Lessons / Courses / Imported Lessons” tabs and doesn’t sit flush with the recent lessons.

   

3. Right sidebar balance
   The right side of the screen currently feels off. While the sleek and narrow Listen panel makes sense, below the Review panel has too much empty space. Making both the Listen and Review boxes the same height would use the available space more evenly and look more balanced.

4. Layout structure
   Consider extending the “For You” suggestions into a full-width row (similar to the Books row below it). This would create clearer visual separation between the three main areas:

• Left: Lessons / Courses / Imported Lessons
• Top right: Listen / Playlists
• Bottom right: Review / Vocabulary

A continuous “For You” row underneath would help the layout feel more intentional.

5. Listen panel functionality
   The current Listen panel looks clean, but it’s quite limited. It would be useful to have a small mini-interface on the main Library page that lets users switch between playlists or select another lesson from the current playlist without having to open the full Listen view.

6. Source logos at the top
   The logos for LingQ, Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, and TikTok are inconsistently sized and hard to identify at a glance. Using more consistent symbol versions of the logos (instead of the full wordmarks) would improve clarity and visual balance.
   I’ve already posted the images of what that would look like once here at this link so I won’t bother posting them again.

---

Update – Create Course option missing in the new UI

I’ve noticed another issue with the new Library layout.

In the old interface there was a clear green Create button that allowed you to create a course or import material directly.

In the current version:

• There is no Create button on the main page or on the right side anymore.
• The only remaining Create option is in the left sidebar.

• That left sidebar button only offers “Lesson”, “Lessons in Bulk”, and “New Chat with Lynx” — there is no “Create Course” option.
• After clicking “See All >” from the home library page and landing on the main Courses page itself there is also no way to create a new course.

Right now the only way to create a course is to first try importing a lesson and then create the course from there. This feels unnecessarily complicated compared to the old design.

I think the ability to create a course should be restored in a more visible and direct place (either back on the main Library page or added to the left sidebar Create menu).

Thanks for looking into it.

[porthos]

For some time now, whenever I come across proper nouns or abbreviations, I’ve been using the ‘ignore’ option. This way, I prevent an increase in the number of words that might be misleading. If there’s a word I’ve missed in the past, I check it within the text and change it from ‘known’ to ‘ignore’. When I did this, the word count in the top right-hand corner would immediately drop by one. However, in the new interface, this doesn’t happen, which leaves me in doubt. As a result, I have to refresh the page, etc. I think this needs to be fixed.

In other words, just as we see the count increase instantly in the top right when we convert a word to a recognised term, we should also see it decrease. This is currently specific to the Beta version. I hope it won’t become permanent.

[johdu]

YES to this: “I think it would be better if it prioritized high-coin-value words, which are more “bang for your buck” than random words that you might have saved but rarely come up. Perhaps it could have multiple settings, such as Due for Review Newest/Oldest, Alphabetical A-Z/Z-A, and by coin value.”

[PageTurner91]

The main issue is information overload. The interface looks polished, but too many elements compete for attention, making it harder to quickly understand what to do next.

• Simplify lesson cards. Focus on the information needed to make a quick decision: title, source, % of unknown words, and duration. The % of unknown words should be more prominent than the current “Level” badge, as it gives a much clearer indication of difficulty for the individual learner.
• Reduce secondary information. Counts for new/LingQ/known words, likes, detailed stats, and hover-only information could be moved behind an expanded view or hover state.
• Add simple filters at the top — e.g. Level and/or % of unknown words, Duration, Genre. This would make content discovery much more straightforward than relying on scrolling through multiple shelves.
• Make the experience more action-oriented. The main screen should quickly answer: Is this content suitable for me? What should I do next? What should I review?
• Make Review contextual. Instead of random words, show words from the most recently completed lesson, with a focused set of up to 10-15 words.

Overall, the goal should be to reduce cognitive load and prioritize the information that helps the learner make a decision, rather than showing everything the product can measure.

Good examples:

[ericb100]

I don’t think I signed up for the beta, but I did notice the sidebar on the left in the browser version with the history of what I’ve done. I really like this.

[Hsingh]

I like that activity log as well, (I think it is a good alternative to the streaks without the stress) They could also add a way to access a more detailed day to day activity log in a separate page in the future.

[corenvps]

I want to propose a useful feature for the library. There should be a difficulty measure that tells us the difficulty of the lesson by calculating unknown word/known word ratio. For example a lesson with 20% unknown words should be categorized as an easy lesson or one with 60% unknown words as a difficult lesson. Thanks for your zeal.