Netflix's website will stop being an abomination soon
Netflix is testing the new site with some users now, and it'll start rolling out to all users next month, TechCrunch reports. The redesign brings Netflix.com closer in line with the service's mobile and set-top box apps, with a grid of movies and TV shows over a black background.
The biggest change, howver, comes from the site's navigation. According to The Verge, Netflix is scrapping the "carousel" that scrolled--ever so slowly--as you hovered a mouse around the edges of the screen. Instead, users can just click a button to reveal another slate of videos. It sounds like a much faster way to explore Netflix's catalog.
Netflix is also ditching the little pop-up windows that appear as you hover the cursor over each selection. Instead, clicking a video will open an expanded information window underneath, with a description, artwork, current viewing status, and a way to view more details and similar videos. The idea is that you never have to leave the main navigation screen to get more information.
There's no exact date for when users will get the new interface, but it should arrive worldwide in June.
Why this matters: Some users may not like the sparser arrangement of videos in each category, and the redesign will probably bork some of the third-party extensions that tried to fix the interface on their own. Still, the existing design is just too slow and clumsy, and its overall look and feel is out of date compared to Netflix's other apps. A fresh design can't come soon enough.