Every site needs sprucing up every once in a while, even Habbox has gone under the knife a couple of times since it opened back in 2004. Habbo Hotel is unlike most other sites, they can't just update the homepage layout or information on it, as they also have to develop new features for the client, including new help systems and console adaptations.
Design 1 - February 2001
The original Habbo layout was used from the opening of the hotel in 2001 for just over 2 years, whilst the community was still growing. The layout was quite plain but covered what needed to be covered. It displayed the amount of people online, the amount of people in particular guest rooms and small pieces of information about the hotel.
Design 2 - June 2003
February 2003 and Habbo felt that the hotel needed sprucing up, so they did it! This then presented us with the ever famous orange and blue layout. Though it was still rather simple it had so much more information on than the previous layout. You could find out about the latest news in 'Habbo Today', see basic information on the hotel, such as who can use it and what software you need, along with being able to view the latest events! This layout often proved to be very simple, effective and easy to navigate around.
Design 3 - May 2006
After just over 3 years it was time for another change, this brought us the third design of the Habbo Homepage. This design was much more interactive (with emphasis being put upon the use of images and could fit so much more information onto it. However, initially many Habbos became lost due to the abrupt change to a more complex navigation system. Some of the things Habbo used this space for were showing the latest news stories, events and you can even access your account's information, right from the homepage!
Design 4 - December 2007
The latest, current homepage has now been in action since November 2007 and has had a number of changes made to it, just a few modules added, a few removed and a few changed around a little bit. This particular design had moved away from the traditional 'blue and orange' colours which has symbolised Habbo for quite a few years. This new design also meant that you now had to log in before being able to access the site, rather than logging in on the client. This new, sleek design allowed you to do so much, with the click of a few buttons! Some of these things include viewing your Habbos information, including when you were last online, any outstanding messages or friend requests and any new guestbook posts. Another feature of this homepage is seeing the latest news stories, your online friends and groups you are a member of!
Design 5 - 2010
Design five wasn't much of a change but brought a brand new login page with more ways to login to Habbo and also modules removed and replaced with new ones on the /me page. The Login page decided to go for a whole new design, with mainly a green and black theme. It also features an image of the new hotel view and a few more options to login with services such as Facebook, Google and others. The top twenty tags which most Habbos liked were also kept on the login page.
The /me page didn't change much but a few modules were replaced with more interesting and new ones. A few modules which were recently added are 'Hot Campaigns' which shows the latest two campaigns in the Hotel and 'Staff Picks' which showed the latest groups and rooms recommended by staff.
Tweaks: As Habbo has planned to keep design 5 for a longer period of time over the months it has been doing some minor tweaks. One tweak completed a couple of months after the merge was the relocation of the log in box from the side to the top.
The dates of design change are as accurate as we could find. Some dates may be a couple of months off.
Design 6 - 2011
The same with Design 5, Habbo haven't changed a lot in terms of the /me page. The only minor difference is that with the introduction of a new feature, VIP, Habbo added the 'Habbo Club/VIP' tab, instead of the old 'Habbo Club'
Although, the login page has changed dramatically! Habbo abolished the fact that you could login with your Username and changed it to Email alone. They also moved the Email and Password box up to the top of the page and centered it. The Facebook login has now turned into a pop-out tab when you click it. Habbo also introduced new ways to login: Gmail, MySpace, Twitter, Yahoo, Hyves and Windows Live! With Habbo bringing out a new motto "Habbo Hotel... make friends, chillax, get noticed!" They placed that right under the login box and increased the text size. The magnifying glass picture has changed and now has a speech bubble coming out of a Habbos mouth stating how many players are currently logged into the client. Habbo also changed the green graphic for people to click if they want to sign up. Sadly, Habbo removed the 'Habbo Likes:' part of the login page and replaced it with the tab that previously sat at the bottom of the webpage. Now they're replaced with "Customer Support, Parents, Terms of Use & Privacy Policy, Infringements, Habbo Way, Safety, For Advertisers". And lastly, Sulake added their logo at the bottom right hand corner of the page.
The dates of design change are as accurate as we could find. Some dates may be a couple of months off.
Design 7 - 9th September 2011
This time, Habbo purely focused on the new background design. This time the background is full of Habbos mixing with each other and focusing on the fact that you can meet friends on Habbo. As well as the "230 Million Registered WorldWide" part. The only fault I can see with this design is the 'Join now' part of the page is a little off and doesn't quite fit, hopefully Habbo will fix this soon.
