Netflix is rolling out a redesigned homepage that brings the biggest change to the desktop version of the streaming video site since it ditched Microsoft’s Silverlight plug-in in favor of HTML5 with Safari for OS X Yosemite last year.
The overhauled design behaves much more like an iPad or iPhone app with fewer page changes and much more information and interactions on a single web page.
Netflix now presents several rows of genres with relevant movies and TV shows listed beneath in a layout that makes content more discoverable. These rows don’t scroll although they look like they should be able to, but you can click through screens of episodes or films without leaving the homepage.
Clicking a title expands to reveal an overview of the video, again without leaving the homepage, and clicking away will close the expanded view to go back to the browsing view. Overall, the new homepage is much more animated and displays a lot more content at the same time without jumping to new pages. I typically use Netflix on my iPad or Apple TV, but the new desktop design is definitely more inviting and app-like and less like an old website which is great for Mac users.
Netflix says the new design should roll out over the next two weeks.
