inside LOVEFiLM

Update 20/6/12: We’re switching back to the old list for a couple of days as we make some performance improvements, and prepare to roll it out as a default to all customers without low priority

Two weeks ago, we announced a number of changes to the rental list and gave some of you early access to the new list. As expected, the feedback flooded in, so – firstly – thanks for all your comments.

The new list is faster and cleaner, and those who’ve seen it are adding more titles to their list. But it’s clear from your responses that we got a few things wrong. So, we have a plan, which is as follows…

Low priority is staying

We decided to remove low-priority with good intentions, but it’s clear that that was a bad decision. We plan to make low-priority work fully within the new list, but that will take a bit of time to sort out. Hence our next move…

From 18 April: choose the list you want

We will soon start to make the beta release of the new list available to all customers. The default will be that if you currently have low-priority titles, you’ll see the old list; and if you don’t have any low-priority titles, you’ll see the new list. You will, however, be able to switch between lists at any time.

So you’ll still be able to add low-priority titles to your list on the website or on other devices. And on the beta of the new list, you’ll still see low priority titles, you just won’t be able to change a high or normal priority title to low priority.

When we fix low priority on the new list – we will move over to the new list

Keeping two lists live isn’t the best way of doing things, and the old list is particularly draining on our servers. So when we have full low priority functionality on the new list, we’ll start to move everyone over.

See up to 200 titles at a time

A consistent item of feedback related to the removal of the ’show all’ option (changing to a fixed view of 50 titles). So we’ll amend this on the new list to give you the option of seeing 50, 100 or 200 titles. We’re not planning to go back to ’show all’ at this stage, I’m afraid, because activating this for members with very long lists causes knock-on performance issues. A 200 title view will allow most people to see their entire list at a glance, while also ensuring the list is faster than before.

An easy way to move low priority titles to a new list with no dispatches allocated

We know that some of you love your low priority, and some use it to list LOVEFiLM Instant titles for watching online – if that’s you, you could create a dedicated list for this with no dispatches allocated to it. We’ll soon be providing a one click solution to make this even easier. Ultimately, of course, we’ll provide a new and dedicated list for LOVEFiLM Instant titles. More on this soon, but in the meantime, you can find multiple lists here.

Bug fixing

We’ve already fixed a number of bugs, most notably the hovers that disappeared on some lists. Please keep letting us know if you find something isn’t working – we’re committed to getting this absolutely right for you, so thanks again for all your comments…

Simon Waldman, Group Product Director

You might have noticed some changes on the LOVEFiLM website today. We now sit in the centre of your screen. The navigation bar at the top has a new look and feel, and the eagle-eyed among you might have noticed the words ‘How it Works’ at the top there too. There’s also an expanding panel telling you what titles you’ve got at home.

I won’t go so far as to call it a ‘redesign’, but it’s certainly a significant tweak. And it’s the first in a series of changes we’re planning for the coming weeks and months, which we hope will improve your LOVEFiLM experience.

So what exactly have we done, and why?

Sitting in the centre of your screen

LOVEFiLM has always been aligned to the left. From today we’re sitting bang slap in the centre. It’s a bit tidier in general, but – more importantly – this new grid has allowed us to tidy up a lot of old code on our site, which in turn will allow us to make the site faster over the next few months.

A new ‘How it works’ section

The arrival of a streaming service has been the biggest change in our business over the last couple of years, accessible on a myriad of different devices. And nearly a quarter of our UK customers manage their postal accounts on a smartphone.

So the website is no longer just a place for adding titles to your rental list, it now has to act as a place to keep everyone informed of all the different ways that you can access LOVEFiLM and how to get the best out of the service.

Hence, a new ‘How it works‘ section, available from the main navigation.

We have details on all devices; as well as some top tips about the service as a whole. So, if you haven’t yet watched a movie on your PS3 or iPad, or ou want to manage your postal account with your iPhone, or you just want to know how to use multiple lists (so you and your children can share your account effectively), this is the first place to look.

And for more detailed queries, we still, of course, have a phenomenal Help and FAQs section.

The new Account panel

From speaking to lots of customers, we know how important it is to be able to see exactly which titles you have at home as quickly and easily as possible; and to make sure that you’re aware of any information that relates to your account.

So we’ve introduced what we call the account panel, just below the navigation. It replaces the simple strip we used to have at the top of the page. If you click on ‘Show’, this strip expands and automatically shows the titles that you have at home, along with details of your package.

This strip will also carry all announcements from us. Either ‘red’ warnings (that your credit card has expired, for example), or some lighter nudges and suggestions about how you might get more out of the service.

We’ve tried to get the balance right with making this useful, but not too intrusive. The simple rule is that it will appear when there is something new to tell you. You can always ‘hide’ the panel, or remove individual messages.

The best bits of our editorial, wherever you are on the site

On each and every page, just next to our logo (where there was previously a banner advertisement), we now have a strip that showcases our best features, reviews, big name interviews, competitions, picks of the month… all powered by our fantastic editorial team.

And there’s more coming…

These changes are just the first phase of a number of changes we’re making across the site. And we’ll keep you up to date as they go live in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, I look forward to your feedback…

Simon Waldman, Group Product Director