Vine website gets major update, includes search and discovery features

By Trevor Mogg Published May 2, 2014

Vine on Thursday launched a revamped and richer Web experience for desktop users of the short-video service, one that looks set to win it a whole new legion of fans.

Three months after landing on the Web, and just over a year since the Twitter-owned service launched as an iPhone app, Vine has seen fit to launch an enhanced Web version aimed at computer users. And you no longer need an account to access the site – everyone’s welcome.

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“Up until now, the primary way to watch, share and discover Vine videos has been on your phone,” the company’s Janessa Det wrote in a post announcing the new look for Web. “We’ve heard from the Vine community that you sometimes want to explore Vine and view videos on your computer too. Today, we’re excited to introduce a brand-new version of vine.co, which adds a bunch of new features that will help you find and discover Vine videos on the web.”

The redesign includes a brand new home page with 12 channels including Animals, Family, Places, and Sports – the same as what you see via the mobile app’s Explore tab.

Click on any of these and you’ll skip to a page featuring a slew of hand-picked six-second shorts for your enjoyment. The home page also includes a Popular Now section, Playlists, and Trending Tags to help you find the best content on the site and stuff to suit your tastes.

In addition, the site’s designers have added an all-important search box, giving you the chance to dig deep into its growing database of videos.

When Vine launched in January last year, there’s no doubt many were puzzled as to how a site based solely on looped six-second videos could possibly be a success. But it wasn’t long before creative minds started posting some fabulous content perfectly suited to the medium, helping the app to steadily build an enthusiastic following of creators and viewers. If you’ve never explored Vine and its endless stream of skits and sketches, its new website is the perfect place to see what it’s all about.

Chances are, after watching some of the more inspiring shorts, you’ll want to give it a go yourself….

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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