Last month we heard that a Netflix web redesign was on the way. Today, Netflix officially announced it.
Netflix last launched a redesign four years ago, and lot of people hated it. Eventually, they moved on. It will be interesting to see if the new one goes over better.
“Over the past four years, web browsers have changed a lot, becoming more sophisticated and allowing for richer visuals and animations. How our members use Netflix has changed too. We’re spending more and more time using mobile and tablet apps,” says Netflix’s Cameron Johnson.
“With the new Netflix website, we’ve created a richer, more visual experience, and a website that works more like an app and less like a series of linked web pages,” he adds. “Information appears in-line and in context rather than on a separate page, which makes exploring the catalog faster than ever before.”
When a user hovers their mouse over a title, it will show a slideshow of images from it:
When a user slicks on the title or synopsis, a detail pane opens, which lets you browse episodes, or read details and reviews. There’s a “More Like This” link to let you check out similar titles. You can also browse titles from the same cast, genre, or mood.
Additionally, Netflix says scrolling through rows is much faster. You can click your mouse to advance a full row at a time. This should be much appreciated by users as the slow scrolling has long been one of the biggest knocks on the old design.
They’re starting to roll out the new look globally, but you may not see it right away. It will take roughly two weeks for it to make it to everybody.
Does it look like an improvement to you?
Images via Netflix