Changes to comiXology.com

Peter H. says:

I’m concerned by the way the recent changes to your website seem to relegate print comics to an afterthought. 

The
fact that the main ComiXology site is now for digital comics only is
not clear from the main site’s home page.  The top of the home page at comixology.com
just says “Comics by comiXology”– not “Digital comics by…”  There’s a
small nav link at top of the page for “Print Comics,” but it’s about as
small as the text on a legal disclaimer. 

It turns out that the
search tool on the new ComiXology homepage will only give you results
for digital comics, not print– but there’s nothing on the homepage that
says so.  The fact that the homepage search tool returns digital
results only, but doesn’t disclose that fact, makes it seem like you’re
trying to steer users away from print & toward digital (where,
presumably, ComiXology makes more money). 

Overall, the message
of your site redesign is that you’re not all that concerned about the
needs & interests of buyers of print comics.  I’m sure that’s not
the intent, but it definitely is the effect.  The segregation (in search
tool, etc.) of digital vs. print & the downgrading of attention (in
site design & otherwise) to print is, for me at least, a misstep on
the order of Netflix’s misguided attempt to spin off its DVD service
into a separate, segregated operation.

Your pull list function
was the reason I started using comiXology in the first place. 
ComiXology then became the place where I first bought digital comics,
and where I’ve bought most of my digital comics since.  I’m sure my
digital comics purchases will keep growing over time.  But if your site
keeps looking & working the way it does at present, I’m probably
going to stop using it and just maintain my pull list with visits &
phone calls to my local store– which will make it less likely that I’ll
be buying my digital comics through comiXology (versus Graphicly,
direct from the publishers, etc.).

You folks work hard on a site
that in the past has enhanced my enjoyment of comics & has led me to
buy more of them– both print & digital.  But I think you’re really
headed down the wrong road with the new site design, & I hope you
change course soon.

I raised these concerns in an e-mail to folks
at ComiXology support, and got a thoughtful, open-minded reply, saying
that this beta version of the site redesign is very much a work in
progress, for both print & digital, and inviting more feedback.  I
hope other ComiXology users will add their own.

Here are the two key changes I’d like to see on the ComiXology website as you move from Beta to Alpha:

    ** An integrated search tool on the home page, one that returns results for both print & digital.
 
  ** A large, prominent choice at the top of homepage (two big
buttons, or a pagewide frame that’s split left/right) for navigating to
browse either print or digital comics. 

More generally, I hope
you’ll revise this beta site so that it clearly communicates that it’s
interested in serving the needs of customers in print as well as
digital.  (With things like an easy-to-locate “find your local comics
store” link, and just keeping print in mind as you change the site.)

Thanks for considering these ideas.

Kristian Serrano says:

I’d love to see an official Chrome web app that points to the digital store and allows one to cache and read comics offline.