UX problem in Netflix web interface
In our daily activities we use many digital tools and services through user interfaces. Over time we get used to them. But, when we take a closer look to their functionalities, we can find some issues that affect our experience. Here, I describe a simple problem in the web interface of Netflix, which type of users might be affected, and how it can be solved. Finally, I provide discussion about this real case.
Description
Netflix offers a wide range of alternatives for all audiences. Its web user interface provides options to show details of a video including rating, category and reviews. However, there is no an easy option to get the language information of movies or series. From the user experience context, if users want to watch a video, one of the task they may need to perform is “Find out the language options of a video”. This task can be done to make sure a video has users’ preferred language options, therefore, they can watch it comfortably.
Currently, the task is performed by selecting a movie or series from the explorer, playing it, and clicking on the language options button in the bottom bar of the video player, as seen in Figure 1. This sequence of actions requires switching between two screens as seen in the flow graph in Figure 2. Since there is no guarantee that a selected video has the preferred language options, the task could be repeated indefinitely.
In addition, people expect to see the exact same page when navigating back in a website [1]. Currently, the navigation between the explorer and the video player does not fulfill this expectation since the previous status of the explorer is lost when the user returns to it from the video player.
Affected user groups
It is assumed that users of the interface are familiarized with web environments and understand the type of interactions in these applications. Any user can be potentially affected by the problem, however, it is possible to classify them based on their language preferences:
- Group A: People wanting to watch videos with audio in a given language.
- Group B: People willing to watch videos with subtitles, including hearing impairment individuals.
Due to the amount of effort required to perform the task, the current flow of actions can generate frustration in the users which could potentially make them quit the platform [2].
Solution
In order to improve the user experience and avoid losing users, the platform could implement one of the following alternatives:
- Language options for the profile: Include an option in the profile administration section that allows the user to set language options (audio and subtitles) for videos. This way only movies and series that fulfill those criteria will be shown in the explorer. In this case, the task would be completely avoided. People from group A would find this option quite useful, however, if at some point they decide to watch videos in other languages they would need to reset their options and perform the task again.
- Language information in the explorer: Display language information in the video card that is currently available in the explorer as seen in Figure 3. At the moment, this card has a details section but no language information is shown. In this case, the user still would perform the task, but the sequence of actions would be different as seen in the flow graph in Figure 4. This new flow would reduce the time to perform the task since the transitions between screens would be avoided and the status of the explorer would be kept. Users from group B would find this option useful since they have a broader range of options.
Discussion
This is only an example of user interface issues that are present in our daily activities. I have faced that situation and got frustrated many times. At the time I decided to make this user interface evaluation, I did not know that Netflix does offer an option to browse based on the language as seen in Figure 5. However, this option is limited to a single language and either audio or subtitles. Still, it is an alternative that alleviates the problem.
The moral of the history is that designs are not perfect. The way designers think something has to be used does not always match the way customers actually use it. There is no way to predict what would happen, but it is possible to evaluate designs and improve them.
Have you ever experienced a similar issue in the same or other platforms? Tell us about it in the comments section.
References
[1] Jesse James Garrett. The elements of user experience: user-centered design for the web and beyond. Pearson Education, 2010.
[2] Jared M Spool. Web site usability: a designer’s guide. Morgan Kaufmann, 1999.
