How could Xero improve the homepage?

Movable homepage widgets reduce usability and layout consistency

The current behaviour of movable and responsive homepage widgets makes the interface harder to use rather than easier. When the screen size changes (for example, switching to split screen) widgets move into different positions. The same happens when logging in on a different laptop or monitor.

This behaviour is particularly problematic when working with multiple bank accounts. Trying to keep four or five bank account widgets aligned on the left-hand side is not reliable, as their positions change depending on screen size or device.

As a result, the homepage cannot act as a consistent starting point or reference for work in Xero. The way widgets currently move is frustrating and disrupts routine workflows.

Widget layouts should remain fixed regardless of screen size or device, or users should be given an option to disable movable widgets entirely.

You're AI is hallucinating and creating solutions to problems that dont exist in the real world.

Need to be able to select the amount of columns on your homepage.
4 columns wide is too many

I agree with Heather's comments - I customised my homepage on a 3-wide monitor, and I'm now looking at it on a 4-wide monitor which I use once per week and it is completely different and nowhere near organised the way I originally intended.

The ability to either set a column, or 'lock' a homepage view once you have set it up (eg within my own file, having a locked view for '3 column' and '4 column' so that I can set each separately or stick to 3 column only if preferred) would be fantastic.

I find the new interface very overwhelming compared to the previous two-column layout.

In our business we manage a large number of bank accounts and credit cards, and the new design displays everything in a very dense, visually busy way. This makes it harder to scan and understand at a glance, and honestly creates visual discomfort for me (similar to trypophobia triggered by dense, repetitive layouts).

The old two-column layout was much calmer, clearer, and more usable for accounts-heavy setups. It allowed faster comprehension and reduced cognitive load.

I would strongly appreciate:

An option to switch back to the classic two-column layout, or

More spacing, grouping, or collapsible sections to reduce visual density, or a choice of number of columns we want to have.

Xero has always stood out for clarity and usability — I hope future updates keep that strength in mind, especially for users with complex account structures.

Agree with this - I've posted a comment on a similar issue/topic, but the problem comes from the fact it's ordering horizontally left-to-right.

What needs to happen is that when a widget is placed in a column it stays in that column. That widgets in that column move up/down based on where a new widget is being inserted or removed - but widgets should never move sideways between columns.

The whole horizontal ordering issue is not intuitive, and it also breaks when the number of columns change (e.g. from 3 to 4), widgets in the left-most column can suddenly move into the right-hand column.

Technically, this is because they've implemented the design using a grid layout that wraps/flows as a single unit. What should happen is that each column flows as a single unit in their own right, and the columns then flowed side-by-side so the widgets always remain in the column in which they are placed. The technical solution is just bad implementation design and needs to be fixed so the dashboard and customisation of the dashboard is usable, and for the solution implementation to take appropriate account of human/computer interaction and psychology.

If we could just be allowed to assign widgets to columns instead of in side by side order that would be much more beneficial. So then we can keep the 2 wide look or upgrade to 3 or 4 wide if wanted. Right now it operates like an old simple Iphone app organizer where you can only move something in the order as is assigned 1-10 and not put it in the place you want it. Some of us don't want the columns to change dynamically based on screen size. This disorients the file and makes no consistency if you use different screens or devices.

The new UI is nice, but based on browser size they go from 2 column, to 3 and 4, and everytime the browser size changes my widget placement change too and it's very very confusing, for example in a 2 column view i set my bank account in the left, and when it changes to 3 or 4 it messes everything up and i feel like i have no control on my widget placements, even when i try to move them around they don't really move as expected. this i think needs to be fixed and corrected, the used should be able to specify if they want to use 2, 3 or 4 column view and it should be fixed view.

I agree, the moving accounts and widgets with different screen sizes are going to be a problem for me as I move between a desktop and laptop. ie, different screen sizes. Can we get an option to lock the widgets in place, please?

It would be nice to be able to lock in number of columns and tile order in each homescreen for a user. I have different sized monitors that I move screens between both depending on task. The one smaller monitor displays 2 columns in Xero and the other larger one displays 3 columns in Xero. I cannot organize a page to display the same way on both screens which means there is order for one and chaos for the other. I also hate how the widgets have to move to reorder. Instead of being able to stack all bank accounts in the left column like the feel we are used to we have to play with adding useless widgets to match column lengths and keep all items in line. Very much dislike all these changes and them being pushed down on us in the busiest month for the accounting profession.

I am finding it really difficult to arrange the widgets how I would like them - every time I try and place one where I want it, the layout automatically moves others around.

It's quite frustrating.

I would like the ability to lock individual widgets in a fixed position and allow blank spaces in the layout where I want them. So for example I can have all our bank accounts in a single column on the left and use the right hand columns for analysis.

If I've missed something and this functionality is already available, please point me to it.

In case it's helpful - if you're able to use a browser add-on to apply specific CSS to a given site, you can fix the number of columns by having your browser apply the following CSS to the Xero homepage.

Appreciate this is quite technical, and not for everyone, but if you're doing this already for other sites, it may be useful to know. Change "3" to the number of columns you want, and adjust width to your preference also.

@-moz-document domain(go.xero.com) {
.dashboard-template-beta-grid { grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr) !important; }
.dashboard-template-beta-widget { width: auto !important }
}

Of course, this is not really the solution - only a temporary fix - we need Xero to provide the functionality we're all asking for (and I've since found out, this issue was highlighted during the beta feedback sessions but ignored).

A little update for those that are technically minded (including Xero developers)... you can fix the columns to your preferred layout/size by injecting the following CSS into the Xero site:

@-moz-document domain(go.xero.com) {
.dashboard-template-beta-grid { grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr) !important; }
.dashboard-template-beta-widget { width: auto !important }
}

This won't be for everyone, you need to know how to enable custom/bespoke CSS on a per-site basis ... but it's a useful workaround for people that can get it to work in the short-term.

Maybe also useful for Xero developers.

Totally agree, we need to be able to fix the number of columns AND as somebody else has noted here have the widgets organise themselves within the columns and not rearrange horizontally (scrambling, moving widgets from column 1 to column 4) when switching from a 3 column to 4 column layout.

The new homepage is very problematic for people that use multiple monitor resolutions, different browser sizes (not always maximised for example), and work efficiently with widgets being in the same location (e.g. having all bank accounts always in the left-most column).

Massive oversight by the design team on the new homepage layout behavior.

When I resize my browser - or when I switch to a different resolution monitor - the number of columns now resizes. It can switch from 3 to 4 columns.

This screws up the layout. I organise by column - having all bank accounts under the left-most column, and when it resizes from 3 to 4 - the widgets are rearranged horizontally meaning all the bank account widgets get moved around - the second widget in the first column now appears in the fourth column.

I should not need to be a on a fixed-size browser or screen resolution to keep the same layout.

The fact that widgets align horizontally is also in issue when configuring the layout - moving widgets is not intuitive when widgets keep moving to maintain a horizontal layout when information is presented in columns. When presenting information in columns, moving the widgets and customization actions should be by column also.

Two things need to change:

1. Allow us to specify the number of columns we need. For those that prefer the old dashboard, being able to fix to 2 columns would be a win, and for those of us that use our browser windows "restored" (i.e. not maximized constantly) and do resize browser windows depending what we're doing, not having the number of shown columns change is essential.

2. When supporting the configuration of the layout, having placed widgets remain in their columns and do not re-align all widgets horizontally. When supporting a column layout, have widgets rearrange within their existing columns.

I think the scrambling aspect is really important - I sometimes have my window wide enough for two columns and sometimes for 3. But I really want all the bank accounts in the left column, but for the home page is ordered left to right, even though the columns are fixed width and the widgets can be variable height.

I would much prefer to have it be a fixed number of columns and not scramble as you resize the window.

I'm finally grappling with the new homepage, and I realize that one of the first things that put me off is that all my widgets were scrambled from the order I'm accustomed to seeing them in (even when scaling my browser window shape/zoom to my usual 2-column view).

I see that this is because the old layout arranges my widgets in "vertical" linear order when scaling from 1 to 2 columns (going top-to-bottom down the left column first), where the new layout follows a "horizontal" order in scaling from 1 to 2/3/4 columns (going left-to-right across the top row).

I always prefer to use the Xero homepage in a "2-column" aspect ratio, so the old behavior was perfect for me. (And even if I were to change my window size, the widget grid dynamically scaling from 2 to 3/4 columns in the new layout is still disadvantageous to me - suddenly none of my widgets are in the position where I expect them!)

My strongest recommendation is to abandon that new behavior, and revert to a 2-column max layout.

But if that's not in the cards, then it would still be easier for users to switching to the new homepage if their initial 2-column view reflected the layout that they're used to on the old homepage (by re-sorting their widgets from the "vertical" to "horizontal" order).

Thanks for considering!