Most of the time, we know exactly what we want to watch on Netflix (The Great British Baking Show for the win!). Other times, we get stuck browsing movies and TV shows, spending what seems like hours trying to find the perfect thing to watch.
Netflix’s redesigned TV experience aims to help members quickly get right to what they want to watch. Rolled out on July 18, the new interface is based on rigorous research and testing around how to make it easier to find titles on TVs.
According to Stephen Garcia, Director of Product Innovation at Netflix, the updated TV interface—which features a new sidebar—was designed to make Netflix simpler and more intuitive in a few different ways:
- Easier to search and view new content added to Netflix
- Simpler to start browsing with either a series or a movie. Research showed that while members may not be sure exactly what title they want to watch, they do know if they want a quick series episode or a longer movie experience.
- Easier to access titles you’ve saved for later viewing in My List. In testing this new interface, Stephen’s team found that this simpler design helped members find something great to watch.
“While this may feel like an obvious update to some, validating that this TV experience was better for our members took extensive research, testing, and technology improvements,” said Stephen in a blog post. “Along those lines, we will continuously learn from our members and evolve the TV experience so that it gets even more simple, fun, and easy to find the stories that make Netflix great.”
This new update is a perfect behind-the-scenes example of everything that goes into redesigning a critical piece of the user experience. Netflix took the lead from their members, making changes that better match their current behavior versus rolling out new features that would force members to change how they interact.
The effort put into researching and testing is sure to pay off for Netflix, likely resulting in happier members and more hours streamed.
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Emily has written for some of the top tech companies, covering everything from creative copywriting to UX design. When she's not writing, she's traveling the world (next stop: Japan!), brewing kombucha, and biking through the Pacific Northwest.
