Unveiling Zoho CRM's New User Interface - The NextGen UI

Unveiling Zoho CRM's New User Interface - The NextGen UI


Hello Everyone,

Last Wednesday, May 14th,2025, we announced the public release of Zoho CRM For Everyone, our most significant update yet. This release brings a modernized CRM experience with a redesigned user interface, new capabilities for cross-functional collaboration, and greater flexibility for users across your organization.
Read our PR announcement, our forum announcement, and the blog post to know more about this release. 

To help you get the most out of these updates, we’ll be publishing a series of announcements that walk you through the major enhancements now available to all Zoho CRM users.

We’re kicking off this series by spotlighting one of the most noticeable changes — the new and improved user interface, Zoho CRM's Nextgen UI.

What’s New in the NextGen UI? 

  1. A reorganized menu option
  2. The sidebar
  3. Teamspaces
  4. Additional Module Views
  5. Interactions Tab
  6. Enhanced Themes and
  7. Night Mode
Watch this video to get an idea of how your CRM could look!



Let's dive into each of these features in detail : 

Reorganization of menu options from the top band to the left-hand side vertical sidebar. 

Previously, Zoho CRM housed the menu bar on the top where most of the navigation took place, as shown below.


Now, We moved the top bar to the left with a vertical sidebar that is expandable as shown below. This not only declutters the top space but also makes it easier to access your modules and features with minimal clicks.

The Sidebar  

The new sidebar is now an extremely functional piece of the UI with contextual shortcuts for quick settings, neat folders for better organization of modules, and more. Learn more.

The top portion of the Sidebar houses icons to view and work with Modules, Reports, Dashboards, Requests, Marketplace, and Global Search.


The bottom portion of the sidebar now contains intuitive utility icons such as Quick create record, Mail magnet, Calendar, and more. (originally located on the top right corner of the UI).


Expanding the sidebar opens up quick-controls contextual to what you've chosen to work on. This is collapsible in order to allow you to maximize your right-hand side work area.


Contextual Shortcuts through the sidebar 

You have contextual shortcuts to Setup options from here, like creating new modules or folders. While the backend Setup is still intact, these options from the sidebar options offer a quick shortcut.

Create Modules 

You can create either org modules or team modules from the sidebar. This option makes it easy for users to quickly create their own modules and
configure processes instead of navigating to the setup menu every time.

Create folders 

You can create modules or folders right from this location without having to navigate to the backend Setup.  Folders are a great way to organize or group modules in different categories. Say you are part of the Sales teamspace and you have certain sales activities  that you need to perform to touch base with customers like creating tasks, scheduling calls or meetings. So you can group Tasks, Meetings, Calls into a "Sales Activities" folder for easy access and a clutter free side bar. Learn more.

You can also directly create layouts, webforms, wizards, canvas pages, etc from the sidebar.

Organized Teamspaces for Focused Work 

Tab Groups have been transformed into what we now call Teamspaces. If your CRM is used by multiple teams, organizing and managing their work and data can quickly become complex.

We offer a solution by giving each team a dedicated, folder-like space where all their related modules are grouped together. This setup ensures clear separation between teams, making collaboration more focused, and preventing the risk of teams crossing over or accessing modules that are not meant for them.

Hence, Teamspaces are dedicated workspaces for each department or function to organize their work. Whether you're in sales, support, or marketing, Teamspaces help reduce noise and keep your workspace relevant to your role. Learn more.

You have the option to create teamspaces from the bottom of the sidebar or from the Setup menu. The org admin would generally be the one who creates teamspaces, assigns users as teamspace admins and adds users to a teamspace.
Note : Users with the Manage teamspace permission enabled will be able to create and manage teamspaces in an org.
Teamspace Admin
​A teamspace admin is generally the head of a department or a team. For example, a Sales Director could be assigned as the Sales Teamspace's Admin. Once a user becomes a teamspace admin, they can add or remove users, allow reports and dashboards to be created for modules within a teamspace.

Note :  If a user is a Teamspace admin but does not have the "Manage Teamspace" permission enabled, they can only manage the specific Teamspace they’ve been assigned to as an admin. They won't be able to create new Teamspaces or manage any others.
Notes

Features offered as part of this enhanced UI 

  • Additional Module Views have been added to provide you with more flexibility, better insights, and improve productivity when working with module data. Thee view added are :
     --> Chart View : Get a visual representation of your module data with this View
     --> Grid View : Convert your module data into a spreadsheet-like interface where you can edit and manage records directly without having to open each record individually.
    --> Timeline View : Look at how your module is created by viewing data plotted over a specific period of time.
    --> Split View : Split your module data based on picklist fields /users or criteria to segment them for further inferences.
  • Interaction tab : This feature displays a timeline of a customer's journey and their engagements across different channels within your CRM.
NotesWe will post individual announcements for each of the above features in the upcoming days.

Themes

The new UI introduces a refreshed theming experience with 13 vibrant colour options to personalize your workspace. These themes go beyond just cosmetic changes: the selected theme isn't limited to the sidebar; it flows throughout the product interface.

Once you choose a theme, the colour is consistently applied across key areas of the CRM, including buttons, tabs, menus, and other interactive elements. This cohesive design enhances visual clarity and gives your team a more engaging, unified experience tailored to their preferences.

If you want to match your brand colours or give your CRM tool a refreshed appearance, the new themes bring both customization and character to your work environment.

Dark-Mode 

With the new UI, we’re excited to bring Dark Mode to your CRM experience. This feature was designed with both comfort and usability in mind.
Dark Mode offers a visually soothing alternative to the standard light interface, reducing eye strain during long hours of work, especially in low-light environments. It's not just a cosmetic change; it’s about enhancing usability and making your workspace more comfortable.

Once enabled, Dark Mode is applied consistently across the entire product, including the new UI elements like the left sidebar, buttons, forms, and interaction panels. Whether you're viewing records, managing tasks, or collaborating within Teamspaces, the darker interface ensures clarity without compromising on aesthetics or function.

This addition is part of our effort to make Zoho CRM more adaptable to user preferences and modern work styles. You can switch to Dark Mode at any time from your profile settings and choose what works best for you. Learn more.

What can you choose in this implementation?

Day : Prefer a brighter interface? Day Mode offers a clean, crisp, and classic appearance of your CRM, making it not just functional but also visually pleasing. 

Night : Enjoy a sleek, modern look with reduced eye strain, especially in low-light environments. Darker UI minimizes glare and helps reduce fatigue, making it easier to work for longer periods.

Auto : Let the system decide! Auto Mode automatically switches between dark and light themes based on your device settings.


We invite you to explore these exciting updates and see how productivity increases in your CRM journey. Stay tuned for our upcoming announcements where we’ll dive deeper into each feature, helping you make the most of everything the NextGen UI has to offer. 

Regards,
Serena Woolridge




    • Recent Topics

    • Latest updates in Zoho Meeting | Create departments, Share PDF files

      Hello all,   You can now create departments to group team members within your organization. This will make it easier for you to organize department-level meetings and invite members. In webinars, use the Share material feature to share PDF files directly

    • Unify All Zoho Video Meeting Experiences into One Standardized Platform

      Hi Zoho Team, We would like to share an important user experience concern regarding the current state of video meeting functionality across the Zoho ecosystem. The Problem Within Zoho, there are multiple ways to initiate or schedule a video meeting: Zoho

    • [Free Webinar] Product Updates: Quick Catch-Up Session - Part I - Creator Tech Connect

      Hello Everyone! We welcome you all to the upcoming free webinar on the Creator Tech Connect Series. The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar featuring deep-dive technical sessions designed for developers, administrators, and app builders.

    • Project expenses in Zoho Books

      Just the way timesheet is used to calculate labour cost for a particular project, how do i record other expenses against a project such as materials and consumables used for the project? So that under report, I can view the total amount expended on each

    • Blueprint status change

      I want to change the Blueprint status of a workflow. The status is completed automatically when I added the record through API call. But I want to make it active, I don't see any options for this. Even if I draw transition from any stage , it is not visible

    • What is going on with GMail extension.

      Suddenly, it is popping up and saying "Please wait while we work our magic... 10%" and it sits there. Yesterday I waited for an entire hour call and it never got further. Today, it's not resolved. Is there a fix I can do? I've tried all the typical

    • Marketing Tip #6: Cross-sell with related products

      Don’t let customers stop at just one product. Suggesting related or complementary items improves the shopping experience and increases order value. Try this today: Use the Item Recommendations feature in Zoho Commerce and add two to three suggested items

    • i cannot use <b></b> to bold the message in Creator C6!!!!???What?

      Dear experts and friends, Now Creator 6 blocking us from using <b></b> Anyone facing this issue? I faced it on Creator C6 Previously, it used to work. Now failed to work. Faint~ Seek guidance from everyone on how to bold the message. The super simple

    • Zoho Writer - Option to Export as .zdoc format

      I've noticed that it's not possible to export a Zoho Writer Document in the .zdoc format. Isn't zdoc, Zoho Writer's own format? My use case is that I sometimes need to create quite complex documents with floating elements, which sometimes need to become

    • [Announcement] Enhanced Merge APIs of Zoho Writer for automating document generation using Zoho Apps data

      Hi users, With the record_id parameter in Zoho Writer's Merge APIs, fields related to the given record id is automatically fetched from the Zoho app. You don't have to spend time manually mapping the records and fields in the Deluge code. Here is a sample

    • Pin multiple columns and adjust column widths in CRM subforms

      Hello all, Subforms act as secondary forms or tables in which you can associate multiple line items to a primary record and thereby ensure more structured and comprehensive data organization. We've made some recent enhancements to subforms. Here's what's

    • [Webinar] Automate sales and presales workflows with Writer

      Sales involves sharing a wide range of documents with customers across the presales, sales, and post-sales stages: NDAs, quotes, invoices, sales orders, and delivery paperwork. Generating and managing these documents manually slows down the overall sales

    • Automate insurance document workflows with Zoho Writer

      Insurance companies have to deal with creating and managing complex documents and forms, such as policy applications, explanation of benefits documents, brochures, renewals, and claim forms. Handling all of this manually is hugely time and effort intensive,

    • Latest updates in Zoho Meeting | New End of session notification to remind everyone about the session end time

      Hello everyone, We’re excited to share a new feature for Zoho Meeting ; End of session notification. With this new setting, you can choose to remind all participants or only the host about the scheduled end time of a meeting. You can also choose when

    • [Webinar] Zoho Writer for SCM and logistics

      Creating, sharing, and distributing complex documents are constant challenges in the SCM and logistics industry. That's why our next webinar is focused on how to simplify these document workflows. Join us on Jul 10, 2025 for a Zoho Writer webinar designed

    • [Webinar] Zoho Writer for the manufacturing industry

      Creating, sharing, and distributing complex documents are constant challenges in the manufacturing services industry. That's why our next webinar is focused on how to simplify these document workflows. Join us on May 8, 2025, for a Zoho Writer webinar

    • Add Comprehensive Accessibility Features to Zoho Writer

      Hello Zoho Writer Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Writer with a full set of accessibility tools, similar to the accessibility options already available in the Zoho Desk agent interface. 🚧 Current

    • [Webinar] Simplifying document workflows in financial services with Zoho Writer

      Creating, sharing, and distributing complex documents are constant challenges in the financial services industry. That's why our next webinar is focused on how to simplify these document workflows. Join us on April 10, 2025, for a Zoho Writer webinar

    • [Zoho Writer Webinar] Learn how to simplify your HR operations: Part 2

      Hi Zoho Writer users, We're excited to announce the Zoho Writer webinar for July 2024: Learn how Zoho Writer can simplify your HR operations: Part 2. This webinar will focus on how Zoho Writer can help HR teams streamline and automate their entire hiring

    • [Zoho Writer Webinar] Learn how to simplify your day-to-day HR operations

      Hi Zoho Writer users, We're excited to announce the Zoho Writer webinar for June 2024: Learn how Zoho Writer can simplify your day-to-day HR operations. This webinar will focus on how to automate your entire hiring process and generate various types of

    • Branding of native system emails

      Make system emails adjustable in terms of branding. We want our system to be completely white label, because it is not a CRM anymore, it's way more than that. We are following the strategy of "CRM for everyone" to use the CRM in all departments, not only

    • Support “Never End” Option for Recurring Meetings in Zoho Meeting

      Hello Zoho Meeting Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to request support for creating recurring meetings with no end date in Zoho Meeting. Currently, when scheduling a recurring meeting, Zoho Meeting requires us to select a specific end date.

    • Add Custom Field Inside Parts Section

      How to Add Custom Field Inside Parts Section in Workorder like Category and Sub- Category

    • [Important announcement] Removal of Zoho Writer's DocuFiller Add-on

      Hi users, Effective 21st Feb. 2025, we will be removing the DocuFiller add-on for Zoho Writer's Fillable Templates. From that point on, the add-on's functionalities, such as sharing or publishing fillable forms for data collection and receiving submissions

    • Send Automated WhatsApp Messages and Leverage the Improved WhatsApp Templates

      Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're excited to announce a major upgrade to Bigin's WhatsApp integration that brings more flexibility, interactivity, and automation to your customer messaging. WhatsApp message automation You can now use

    • Weekly Tips: Manage External Images in Zoho Mail

      When you receive emails every day, whether from clients, newsletters, or services, many of them contain external images that automatically load when you open the message. While this can make emails look more engaging, it can also impact your privacy and

    • Implementing a Self-Invoicing/Vendor Portal in Zoho Creator

      Hello Zoho Community / Creator Experts, We would like to build a Self-Invoicing Portal (Vendor Portal) in Zoho Creator for our external contractors. Our goal is to allow approved contractors to log in, submit their invoice details (hours worked, project

    • Function #32: Schedule low stock notifications on a timely basis to specific users of the organization

      Hello everyone and welcome back to our series! For a business that heavily relies on inventory, monitoring the stock levels and getting timely notifications of low stock items will ensure a smooth sail. Zoho Books allows you to always keep a check on

    • Is it really true that I can't set the default 'deposit to' account in 2025?

      I've been using Books for 7 years and the default account has never been a problem. I usually manually reconcile invoices and have never had a thought about which account. It has always been my account. However, I recently noticed that for the past 4

    • SINCH HUB MESSAGEMEDIA with ZOHO DESK

      1) what I need from MessageMedia, 2) what I want to confirm on the Zoho Desk Dev Forum. MessageMedia – needs and requirements Goal: Send SMS from a Zoho Desk widget for EU users. Auth: HTTP Basic (API Key + Secret). Keys must not live in the browser.

    • Function #46: Auto-Calculate Sales Margin on a Quote

      Welcome back everyone! Last week's function was about displaying the discount amount in words. This week, it's going to be about automatically calculating the sales margin for a particular quote, sales order or an invoice. Business scenario Where there is sales, there's also evaluation and competition between sales reps. A healthy rivalry helps to better motivate your employees to do smart work and close deals faster and more efficiently. But how does a sales rep get evaluated? 90% of the time, it's

    • Invalid URL error when embedded sending url into iframe for my website when using in another region

      Hi team, My site is currently working on integrating your signature feature as part of the system functionality, it's working great but recently there's been a problem like this: After successfully creating the document, i will embed a sending url into

    • 2024 Email Authentication Standards: Elevating Security with Google and Yahoo

      In contemporary email communication, email authentication plays a pivotal role in mitigating email fraud, spam, and phishing attacks. Brace yourself for a new level of security. Starting February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo will be implementing robust email

    • New features released: Data from Picture for Web, Pattern Fill, and Translation in Zoho Sheet!

      Hello Sheet users, In 2024, the Zoho Sheet team focused on research and development to bring new features that add to functionalities like productivity, data management, collaboration, and more. This year, we're all set to roll them out incrementally

    • Kaizen #59 - Creating alerts and custom messages using Client Script

      Hello everyone! We are happy to resume our Zoho CRM Developer Community series - The Kaizen series! Welcome back to the new start of Kaizen! This post is about Client Script and its simple use cases involving ZDK Client functions. What is Client Script?

    • [Webinar] Zoho Writer for content creators and publishing houses

      Managing multiple drafts, edits, and client reviews doesn't have to slow you down. Join our upcoming webinar to see how Zoho Writer helps content creators and publishing houses create, edit, and publish seamlessly—all in one place. You'll learn how to:

    • Universal search

      Hi, it would be useful if the search bar was universal-so if you entered a term, it would bring up results from contacts, candidates, clients etc all at the same time (but broken down under the relevant headings)

    • Attachment reminder?

      My team and I often need to attach files to our messages, e.g. an explanatory screenshot or a shipping label. More often that I want to admit I mention the attachment but forget to actually attach it. Some email clients have a check-for-missing-attachments

    • ZIA in Zoho Cliq

      Is It possible to use the ZIA feature from Zoho Analytics in the Zoho Cliq?

    • Automating CRM backup storage?

      Hi there, We've recently set up automatic backups for our Zoho CRM account. We were hoping that the backup functionality would not require any manual work on our end, but it seems that we are always required to download the backups ourselves, store them,

    • Next Page