NetFlix Redesigns Site For Less Functionality
Just a few days after their almost all-day downtime, NetFlix has rolled out new site “enhancements” including several design changes. One of these design changes were for the Queue section where NetFlix lists all the movies you are waiting for as well as the movies you currently have out. My first thought, was that it looked pretty. And I like the addition of the Watch Instantly column which I assume will allow users to click on a link and start watching available movies in their Queue instead or in addition to renting them.
One feature they removed was the column that listed if you chose a DVD or Blu Ray movie. I can understand with HD DVD being phased out that there is less of a need for that option, but I thought it was really functional to be able to toggle from DVD to Blu Ray right in the queue. This was a very convenient feature that let me change selections without having to take the standard DVD out of the queue, then search for the Blu Ray and add it back to the queue. This may not seem like a big deal to most, but in my house, the Blu Ray player is off limits to the kids. Not to mention, I only have one Blu Ray player in the house and that is in the living room. So I have a need and desire to rent both Blu Ray and standard definition DVDs, sometimes both formats of the same movie. So this part of the redesign has really made the service less convenient.
NetFlix also redesigned their Browse DVDs section, which is the first page you look at once logged into the system. This section has always been terrible and this redesign does very little to improve on it. The best part of the redesign is the section that gives and update on what’s been shipped and received. The rest of the best is based off of their recommendation system. They basically pick five genres that they figure are your favorite and recommend four movies from each genre. This page is useless. I find their recommendation system lacking and unwanted. 99% of the time I know what I am looking for and when I don’t I browse by genre. I don’t think NetFlix has ever given me a recommendation I haven’t seen and ended up renting. What I want to see on the Browse DVDs page is new and upcoming releases. That is why I use NetFlix. If I want a catalog movie, I will buy it or catch in on cable. There is a new releases button under Browse DVDs but that page is just as clunky and disorganized as the main page. Most of the new releases listed are older new releases that I’m not interested in. I want to know what has been released in the last two weeks and what is coming in the next two weeks. I really don’t care about 1-3 month old releases that I haven’t watched.
The Browse instantly section has inherited the same changes made to the Browse DVDs section and if fails just as miserably. While it shows what I have recently watched, that’s not a new feature, it’s always told me that. And again NetFlix is picking what it thinks are my five favorite genres and giving me four movies or tv shows that I should be watching. Thanks, but no thanks, most of the recommendations are way off. Again, what I am looking for is what is new, especially with this section probably adding more movies a week than we see in new DVD releases. I don’t like and I don’t want the recommendations, NetFlix needs to concentrate on highlighting the new additions and improve how users can browse through the genres.
The biggest thing left off this update was the ability to contact support by email. The extensive FAQ is nice, but there are something I want to be able to email someone about. And there are somethings that don’t justify a phone call. For example, I really wanted to give feedback on the new design, but I really don’t want to sit on hold just to tell them I want the ability to change formats back in the Queue. There are many little support issues and questions that could easily be handled by email, yet my only option is to call.
Overall I think the NetFlix redesign looks better than previous incarnations of the site. With that new look though, they didn’t really improve the user experience of the site. The Queue looks nice, but NetFlix has made it a lot less functional for me. Hopefully with more customer feedback, NetFlix can take their site in a direction that is functional and looks good, giving customers the best user experience possible.
March 28th, 2008 at 9:24 am
I called Netflix to ask them about the removal of the format column in the queue, because I also don’t always want to get movies in Blu-Ray since I can’t watch them on my laptop, for example. I was told that it was a glitch that’s being fixed, so hopefully it’ll be back to normal soon. The woman on the phone showed me a workaround for the time being: If you add something to your queue that automatically adds it in Blu-Ray format, when the page comes up to confirm that it’s been added to your queue, it’ll say that the movie is also available in DVD format. Click on the link that says “DVD” and it will change the format in your queue.
Still, not an exact science since you can’t confirm it. I hope the format column comes back soon!
March 31st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
UPDATE: The Format option drop-down is back.