Twitter's 9 Biggest New Features: What You Need To Know About The Redesign (PICTURES, VIDEO)

Twitter on Thursday introduced a dramatic overhaul of its website and mobile apps.

The redesign focuses on simplicity and encourages participation from both established users and newbies who might not be familiar with the site's modus operandi. A new emphasis on organization will streamline the site's features. Bringing hashtags (#), @mentions and personalization into the foreground, Twitter has broken the site's layout into four separate sections. A customized feed will help users easily discover and interact with new content. Twitter has also created unique pages just for brands.

The company hopes to "bridge the gap between the awareness of Twitter and the engagement on Twitter," said CEO Dick Costolo said at the design's launch at the company's new headquarters in San Francisco, according to the AP.

TechCrunch says of the revamp, "While some aspects of the redesign look like reorganized versions of what was there before, the heavy incorporation of symbols could help the service become more mainstream than ever."

Check out the slideshow (below) to see Twitter's 9 biggest new features.