Digg has launched some new Digg Buttons and a widget generator for publishers, which the company refers to as updated tools to improve speed, usability and flexibility of integrations for publishers. A representative for Digg tells WebProNews the updated tools are "one of the many steps we’re taking in advance of the official release of the new version of Digg to make the user experience more inviting and the publisher experience more customized and measurable."

The new version of Digg was recently unveiled at SXSW.

Features of the new buttons include:

– Dynamic display of live Digg count (a feature Digg says statistics have shown to increases likelihood of user interaction)

– The buttons no longer take users to Digg (traffic stays on the publisher’s domain)

– Faster load time

– Customizable look and feel (includes new "medium" button size and an unstyled option so a publisher can create their own custom designed Digg button)

– Related stories from the publisher’s domain to users that click the button

Existing Digg buttons will auto-upgrade over the coming weeks, Digg says, but they recommend that publishers review the new documentation for optimization tips.

With the widget, headlines now link directly to publisher content with the Diggbar, as opposed to Digg’s own page. There are more customization options that don’t require publishers to use the Digg API. There are tabs and columns that let publishers add multiple columns to a widget, as well as make a double column widget. Thumbnails are attached to each story, when available, and if there isn’t enough content to display, the widget will backfill with other relevant content from the same domain.