IMDb: why the old layout was better

When you view a film or TV listing on IMDb, you will find it easy to look at. It is easy to read. The layout is great; small photos at the top, basic info about the movie and, if you want to read more, you simply click the link and it expands for you; if not, you know you have the option. Then you scroll down to see the cast list. Once again, its nice and simple- actor name, character name- and so it continues. This is the way it has been for years, likewise, the profile pages for actors and directors etc. have remained similar. 

It used to be, when you clicked on their name it took you to a page not dissimilar to those of the film/tv listings- photos/videos at the top, a preview of their bio/trivia, any links about the actor/crew-member listed on the sidebar- the same as film/tv. It was nice to switch easily from profile to listing without much adjustment. 

Now, however, it takes you to a profile presumably inspired by social networking sites:

The worst part for me, however, is not the fact that they've made the site look like some facebook copycat, it doesnt matter to me all that much as long as the filmography remains the same. Scroll down to find the filmography and you will be faced with this:

It makes the list more difficult to read, and makes the page look cluttered and shoddy. Oh, and if you want to see any of the links, they're all at the bottom of the page as opposed to at the side, where you expect to find them, being either a frequent visitor to the site, or having just clicked from a listing. 

Overall, I just think that the IMDb used to be as it was named: the Internet Movie Database. 

A database does not need to look like a social networking site. Many of the personalities listed on IMDb have twitter pages, and facebook profile, or even myspace profiles- they aren't difficult to find, in fact, most of them are linked at the side... at the bottom of the page. If a profile of this sort was what we wanted- that would be where we went. IMDb was the best way to easily find the full filmography/castlist of any man/woman/film in the industry- this new layout cheapens it- and, in my opinion- will lose them visitors.

Written Badly by Naomi Wong