Instagram cleans up its website to mimic mobile and make photos pop

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Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Instagram began rolling out a sharper, faster web site on Tuesday that all 300 million-plus users will have access to by the end of this week.

Expect a refreshed look more closely resembling Instagram on mobile devices.

On profile pages, for example, Instagram ditched the grid of images above the user name. The social network also swapped out square-shaped profile photos for rounded ones and now emphasizes larger images. So instead of serving up rows with five images each, Instagram's redesigned site will keep each row to three.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The platform also applied this look to hashtag pages:

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The overall effect to Instagram on the desktop feels cleaner, more modern and easier on the eyes, representing the biggest change to Instagram on the web since the social network introduced it in November 2012.

Translation: Instagram users shouldn't mind skimming photos on their desktops in a pinch now that the site mirrors the popular app.

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