The YouTube Trending Page that was launched back in 2015 is now being replaced by YouTube Charts & Recommendations sections. YouTube says that back in 2015, it was a “lot simpler to capture with a singular list of viral videos that everyone was talking about.”However, today’s “trends consist of many videos created by many fandoms, and there are more micro-trends enjoyed by diverse communities than ever before.”
As a result, the YouTube Trending page will soon go away, according to YouTube’s announcement through a Support page. “Viewers increasingly learn about trends in different places across YouTube – from recommendations and search suggestions to Shorts, comments and Communities. With these shifts, we’ve seen visits to the Trending page decrease significantly, especially over the last five years,” said the platform.
Now, YouTube is shifting away from one all-encompassing Trending list towards category-specific charts. In the new YouTube Charts section, one can find the most popular content in specific categories. “Today you can explore charts for Trending Music Videos, Weekly Top Podcast Shows, and Trending Movie Trailers.” The platform will continue to add more content categories to charts over time. It added the Gaming Explore page will still be your go-to for the Trending gaming videos even though Charts are being added.
Along with highlighting popular content in charts, YouTube will keep showing viewers the videos that it thinks they’ll love through personalised recommendations. This way, it can show a wider range of popular content that’s relevant, and it feels more natural to how viewers already find new videos. “Viewers can still browse content that isn’t personalised in the Explore menu, on creator channels, and in their subscriptions feed.”
Further, the “Inspiration” tab in YouTube Studio will keep giving creators personalised ideas to help them “spot the next big thing for their channel.” The platform is also creating new ways to give up-and-coming creators a boost and help them get discovered, like the “Hype” feature that lets viewers amplify fresh videos they love.