Blockbuster Launches New Website Design; Tabs, Avatars & More

Blockbuster quietly introduced a new version of the website today, including a major overhaul of the user interface, including tabs, avatars, and more. A Blockbuster spokesperson told HackingNetflix that the work was done in-house by the Blockbuster Creative Team.

Here's a shot of the new Blockbuster "homepage:"

The most obvious change is the move to a tab-based interface with drop-down menus, vs. the old iTunes-style interface. The tabs highlight the four main areas of the site, including Rent, Buy, My Blockbuster, and Stores.

For comparison, here's the old iTunes-style menu interface.

Blockbuster is expanding the use of AJAX, and when you add a movie to the queue it suggests several additional titles "you might also enjoy:"

The Buy tab focuses on used and new movie purchases. When you add a movie to your cart, it uses AJAX to prompt you for the version you would like to purchase (new, used, HD DVD, or Blu-ray):

Blockbuster is quickly adding community features, and with this release they've added a collection of new personal avatars. This is a different approach from Netflix, where you can upload your own image. Here are a few of the avatars:

Overall I'm impressed with the recent update and the progress Blockbuster has made in the past year. They've come a long way from 2 years ago, where a promised update was finally delivered months late. The UI is much cleaner, and they have some innovative elements that Netflix should consider copying such as the mini-queue and widgets.

I'd also like to point out that Blockbuster does not require you to have a Total Access account to setup a queue, which is a brilliant marketing move. By letting you "test drive" the service, you start adding movies and discover the value of online rentals. Of course they're going to try to convert non-customers at every opportunity, but if you are a subscriber and you have friends that won't join, you can still share movies and recommendations.

What do you think of the new Blockbuster website?

Comments

[MCWHAMMER]

I still have no reason to go to them. All I see is a company desperate to regain customers they lost from their retail stores and to Netflix, so they've resorted to stealing Netflix's design completely. I see no innovation in what they have done, and I am very happy with Netflix right now, so I have no reason to ever consider another rental service.

They will never have my business, even if subscriptions were free for life.

[David]

"They will never have my business, even if subscriptions were free for life."

Well, that's just silly. Your obsessive love for Netflix and your hatred for BB is infantile and irrational. It reminds me of the Mac vs. PC fanboy wars. I bet you're a Mac user ;)

I've been with both services and they each have their pros and cons, both in the website experience as well as policies. Competition is good.

[cmandd]

Yep, just a Netflix skin of the Blockbuster site. Pretty pathetic if you ask me.

[Lydia]

Competition may be good, but Blockbuster's service is so inferior to Netflix's that they don't really pose serious competition anymore.

No web redesign can make up for slow shipments, higher rates of broken/unplayable DVDs, confusing and constantly rising prices and service cuts on in-store exchanges. They should stop spending time and money on pointless avatars and refocus it on the little things - like actually delivering a product people want.

[Edward R Murrow]

Of course the Netflix Koolaid drinkers don't like the new Blockbuster website.

The tabs and the dropdowns make it easier to navigate and the queue drag and drop has been there for many months. Queue refresh seems faster.

Blockbuster versus Netflix website ease of use doesn't really matter to me. I just want to add movies to my queue, have the movies mailed to me, watch the movies then take the movies to the store and get exchanges off the shelf using Total Access.

[Ivan]

I've never had an issued with BB until they decided to raise my prices every other day, I had a local BB 2 mins away and was getting about 20 - 24 flix's a month for $17, as soon as they fix their pricing frenzy ill be glad to go back!

[mattd0g]

"I'd also like to point out that Blockbuster does not require you to have a Total Access account to setup a queue, which is a brilliant marketing move."

Well stated Mike. I think there are plenty of opportunities to bash BB, but I think they have scratched the surface on a very important feature here...you can be a member without having a subscription. Netflix is missing the boat on being the portal for movies (increased content about the movie, news and information, highly functional upcoming release schedules, links to other sources for movies) and social networking.

I think it is myopic to make people have an active subscription to use your service.

[Becky]

I think it's smart of Blockbuster to copy Netflix. It makes the learning curve for converts shallower.

[Jim]

I have used both services/sites and to me this is a big improvement for BB. Netflix fanboys will eternally say that BB copies Netflix anytime they do something right. You think Netflix invented navigation tabs? That's the single most ubiquitous navigation template on the web. Try Amazon circa 1997.

[Old Timer Too]

I just checked at the new BB site still is not 100% good with Firefox. Most of the pages load at about the same rate as NF, but large queues tend to lock things up. They don't with NF.

I'm still not happy with BB over their recent preferential pricing - now going on for far too long, and the tendency to report films as available when they are not is still a major problem, especially when it impacts timely Monday shipments.

On the other hand, NF's practice of holding until the next day to ship from a point further away is just as irritating.

Take your pick - they balance each other out.

"No web redesign can make up for slow shipments, higher rates of broken/unplayable DVDs..."

I must live in one of those few areas where BB and NF actually deliver identical thru-the-mail service. They both are relatively close to a major USPS processing center.

If one or more discs were shipped back, but not checked in, it happens to both accounts at the same time.

If delivery is delayed from them to me, it happens on both accounts at the same time.

Films are processed and shipped on Holidays and received the next day - on both accounts.

They both provide overnight service, though BB consistently adds a day to the scheduled delivery time (they are always over and the disc comes the next day).

Distance shipments: I've had NF promise delivery one day and it come a day later. I've had NF promise delivery one day and it come the day before. The same with BB.

As to cracked, otherwise unplayable discs, I've had identical experience from both - that is, the same percentage of discs (very low) are damaged enough (one way or another) so they won't play.

The advantage is if I get a wait state on one, I usually don't on the other. For those living where both have major distribution points, I still recommend having an account with both, just for that purpose.

As to the new site, once the get the large queue problem resolved for Firefox users, then their site will be equal to NF, in my opinion.

And at that point, ignoring the Total Access feature/prices, it will be a matter of price. And there, NF clearly has the advantage of larger "at-a-time" options. BB still limits any subscription plan to a maximum of three "at-a-time."

[Old Timer Too]

Now that I've had more than a chance to look at the new site, there are some factors where NF is better. When you add a title to your queue (speaking of BB), a partially-transparent window pops up with the notice the title has been added. Most of the time, a number of "suggested" titles you might also enjoy are presented as large front cover images.

This feature is similar to NF's, but the NF feature is much better for the following reasons:

* The NF window floats as you scan the page up and down. BB's is static and you can actually scroll it out of view. I find this irritating and would rather not have the feature.

* The NF window tells you the position where the title was added in the queue and gives you the option to move it to the top of the queue. Not a feature in the BB version. A nice feature in NF.

* The NF window shows you the "star" rating for the suggested titles and gives you the option of rating them if you've seen them. Not available in the BB version. Definitely a problem in the BB version as all you have are pictures of the suggested titles.

I mentioned that once BB fixes the large queue issue for Firefox, that it would be equal. I now have to withdraw that assessment as the above differences give the clear lead to NF. If anything, BB would be better off not providing the feature, since I consider it an irritation.

I may have more comparisons as I continue to use the new layout.

One final comment: When BB did a redesign recently, a lot of the features did not work well and the site tended to be buggy. I haven't found this to be true with this redesign and commend the team for better testing. However, they still have a way to go with some of the features.