Analysis The Netflix Website
Report Distributed June 30, 2016
INTRODUCTION
Overview
Netflix is an American based streaming service from where a subscriber can view TV content as well as movies. It's a subscription service where one pays for the content they wish to stream based on their preference and ability to pay. The choice of the website is due to its stylish layout and easy to navigate the menu. This report analyzes and reveals the advantage and disadvantage of the overall layout and detailed design of the website of Netflix, with attachment of vivid website pictures to help explain to readers.
Purpose
Netflix is one of the most frequently visited websites. Its user-friendly and graph impacted design deserves a careful analysis, as it is both effective in alluring users interest in watching movies or TV drama, and helping them navigate through the website without spending much extra effort. To anyone who want to or will set up a website himself/herself, a scrutiny of the design and layout of the website will be instructive and enlightening. Some crucial considerations of achieving a well-organized paper is summarized below:
Format and Design: consistent throughout website, and pleasant and good color scheme.
Customer interaction and feedback
Easy to Navigate
ANALYSIS
Figure 1: Netflix device selection page
Figure 2: Netflix welcome page
Format and Design
On accessing the website, the customer gets a clear welcome interface from where one can easily locate the log in section and easily proceed to their desired section. From the same page, one is able to clearly see the choices of the devices supported by the website such as the iPhone, Android platforms and TV. The black and red color scheme allow for sharp contrast which makes both the images and the little text available easy to see. The presence of graphic images and slide shows makes the experience pleasant and inviting for new users. There are no advertisements on the site, which makes it easier to focus on just the content one is searching for.
Customer Interaction and Feedback
The presence of feedback channels between admins and users makes it easy for the exchange of information and addressing customers' complaints. The website also has links to social media sites allowing for easy sharing of interesting and new content to a wide audience. The navigation from one feature to another is extremely simplified with every new window opening in a different color scheme. The help center is clearly structured as explained below.
Navigation and functionality
Focus on the core things for newcomers
The main focus of the home page is made on the things that attract new subscribers – these are the bright red “Join free for a month” button (see Figure 3) and three dynamic blocks guiding the new customer to inform her about key advantages of the Netflix subscription. The first one guarantees quick cancellation of service any time, the second one emphasizes the cross-platform compatibility (see Figure 4).
Figure 3: A bait for new subscribers
Figure 4: Step by step: key advantages of the Netflix subscription
The third one is a call to action – a new subscriber is informed about existing plans and tariffs and is invited to join free for a one-month trial period – the same red-colored “Join free for a month” button attracts attention and calls to action (see figure 5).
Figure 5: Call to action – choose the plan and try free subscription
Login for existing subscribers
Existing subscribers don’t have to search across the welcome page to find the “Sign in” button – it’s located in the upper right corner of the page (see Figure 1) and colored with red.
In general, the welcome page allows existing subscribers to login their personal area and attracts potential customers with free trial period. It’s necessary to mention that the welcome page is light-weighted without long texts describing Netflix services and advantages. It’s a benefit of a strong brand, as Netflix, being worldwide recognized, doesn’t have to introduce itself.
Details for the help center section
The help center has four sections, which are clear and easy to navigate to users (see Figure 6).
Figure 6: Help center – well structured with the focus on the most common issues
First section has all information a customer may want to learn about Netflix. Second section has information about account and billing from where a customer can raise queries regarding billing. Third section enables a customer to get help regarding their watching experience such as parental control for explicit content while the fourth section allows one to troubleshoot connection malfunctions such as those regarding the set up and connections to internet. As the contact options are located below the information links, it’s clear that Netflix offers its subscribers the following troubleshooting strategy – first the customers should look up info on the frequently asked questions, then, if nothing is found, they can refer to live support (See Figure 7.)
Figure 7: Two options to contact the support team
Inside Netflix – arrows to scroll content quickly
During the recent redesign, Netlix improved navigation that eliminated the endless horizontally scrolling through titles. If before the customers had to wait as the carousel of titles slowly moved left or right and new titles slid into view, now there’s no hovering, all the customer has to do is click the arrows to slide a row (Tinari, 2015.)
Figure 8: Improved navigation through titles
Movie Details: Improved Representation
Within the improved design of subscriber’s personal area, all of the information about each particular movie or TV show is hidden in a drop-down panel. To expand the details (movie description, rating, tabs for browsing extra content, adding the movie to list), it’s necessary to click the Down arrow on a tile.
Figure 8: Movie details
Viewing details is very convenient, as it doesn’t require opening new URL each time; the details can be opened and closed quickly. Within each expanded panel there are various tabs that provide more information (see Figure 9).
Figure 9: Tabs within Title Details
The mentioned tabs include Overview, Episodes, Trailers and recaps, More like this and Details option that can be accessed on click (Tinari, 2015).
Adding to queue
When a customer adds a movie to the queue, a dialog box appears and confirms the action and suggests similar movies. Controlling the movie queue is organized according with the best usability practices. Netflix gives its subscribers numerous ways to rearrange movies — drag and drop, move to the top, and by rank in the queue (Hanusek, 2012.)
Figure 10: Adding to queue
CONCLUSION
Overall, the design of the Netflix website captures the requirements of a good website. The dynamism of the website and the consistency in terms of relevant content and stable hosts is also a plus. The design team had put a lot of effort in the following features: usability and customer experience; convenience of navigation; wide options for customization within subscriber’s personal area. “External” website is focused on the key purpose – to attract new subscribers, while “Internal” (customer area) provides all the features for content search and organizing for existing subscribers. In design, dark background with brightly colored navigation items focus subscribers’ attention giving nothing superfluous.
Sources:
Tinari, G., 2015. The Netflix Redesign: What’s New and How to Use It. Guiding Tech. Retrieved from: http://www.guidingtech.com/48443/netflix-redesign-overview/
Hanusek, N., 2012. The Best Websites: Functionality, Design, Usability. EM Marketing. Retrieved from http://e-m-marketing.com/blog/2012/04/the-best-websites-functionality-design-usability/
