Netflix’s new look is replacing the previous static TV show and movie tiles with dynamic boxes that expand when we land on them. Once we land on a new tile, it will start playing a video from the movie or show, along with a text description and other information, like the total runtime. This strategic move was implemented to help users decide what they want to watch more quickly, increasing their time on the app.
Pat Flemming, Netflix’s senior director of product experience, has stated that the streaming platform wants to simplify the navigation around the app. He also explained that this change is based on research findings revealing that viewers now have to do “gymnastics with their eyes” to find what they’re looking for.
He also stated that users’ eyes have to go from “the row name to today's top picks, to the box art, to the video, back to the synopsis.” So, to find the trailer, description, and other information for each movie or show, we must scan the entire homepage – something that can be pretty annoying for viewers.
“We really wanted to make that simpler, more intuitive, and easier to navigate,” said Flemming. “When you’re evaluating that particular movie, series, or game in the future, you’ve got all that information there in front of you,” he added.
Another thing that Netflix is changing about its homepage is also its menu. In their TV app, Netflix will entirely remove the vertical menu with a smaller horizontal menu at the top of its page, which will follow a similar structure as its web-based version.
This means that the app will only include the options “Home”, “Shows”, “Movies”, and “My Netflix”, leaving back the tabs “New and Popular” and “My List”. And don’t worry! We still have the “Categories” menu, but it is in another format. We can now find it in the “Search” function.
This change also comes from Netflix’s way of tapping into other types of content, other than shows and movies. The company is trying to introduce live sports, like the live fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul and this year’s NFL games.
Netflix is currently testing the new homepage with a group of 270 million subscribers worldwide. But Flemming explained that “If this goes well, which we are enthusiastic and hope that it will, then we would love to share this with most of the member base in the coming months and quarters.”