Bigger — much bigger — but is it better?
Netflix has been gradually rolling out a new homepage redesign to users around the world (as shown in the photo above). It marks the first major shakeup to the streamer’s layout in 12 years.
The move is a bit of a gamble. Netflix’s classic user interface has been an extraordinary success, one that later-to-the-game rivals (such as Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Hulu and Disney+) have all tried to match — or even improve upon. While one can debate how successful those rival designs have been, Netflix has remained the industry frontrunner regarding subscribers (with more than 300 million subscribers worldwide).
So far, a sizable percentage of users have been switched over to the new homepage (it’s being rolled out to LG and Samsung smart TV’s first), and many online reactions have been critical. The new homepage features program thumbnail icons that are much larger, which means users have to scroll further to see more options. Yet the design is also more interactive, expanding thumbnails as you scroll over them with more information about a title (such as a description, cast and any awards won), and it also supports other elements Netflix sees as mission-critical for its future.
One Reddit thread on the Netflix subreddit criticizing the design kicked off with a user summing up the complaints like this: “I have been saying for YEARS that Netflix has the best layout of any streaming service and have been annoyed that other streaming services have an inferior layout. Now, Netflix seems to be copying other services rather than the other way around. Why? Does anyone here actually like seeing fewer options on the screen? … You have to scroll endlessly to make it through what used to be a single screen’s worth of content info. I hate this.”
This is, of course, not the kind of reaction that Netflix had hoped for. Yet the company’s redesign was the result of a year of beta testing in markets around the world and changes to user interfaces always get met with some online backlash (whether YouTube, Spotify or Instagram). While the testing was unable to definitively prove the new layout boosts engagement (the streamer’s programming is frequently changing, which makes this tougher to pin down), the company did find that more users said they preferred the new design compared to the old one.
A spokesperson added that Netflix understands that changing an interface after more than a decade is going to be met with some upset, but “with bigger boxes, we’re showing more information up front to help you make a better decision. Instead of seeing 20 or 30 titles at a time, now you’re seeing information at a glance.”
The new format accomplishes other goals as well, setting up the platform for live events and sports, a smarter search function using Open AI, and enabling more personalized and real-time suggestions. Essentially, Netflix felt the older interface had reached its full capacity and that the new design is more future forward.
Just don’t try telling that to the subscribers who commented on Netflix’s demo video of the new interface on YouTube (sample: “Turned my TV into a massive tablet. It’s frustrating and nauseating trying to find something too watch at a glance. Just because you have slick animations and polished look, it’s not ‘better’”).
For those who don’t have the new interface yet, just wait. The remaining subscribers will get the update soon, though older TVs will see a slightly paired down version as Netflix wants to balance rolling out new features without slowing down the interface’s performance. As for whether the homepage will be tweaked further in response to subscriber reactions, well, you just have to trust that the company with the best algorithm in Hollywood follows the data.
