Polish: The UX Details That Matter

Sometimes the best features are the ones users don't consciously notice. They just make everything feel... right.

Shareable URLs That Don't Suck

Original join URLs looked like this:

https://movie-quests.vercel.app/#/?join=abc-123-xyz

Not exactly elegant. Hard to read. Impossible to remember. And that #/? combo? Yikes.

New URLs:

https://movie-quests.vercel.app/join/abc-123-xyz

Clean. Shareable. Professional. And they work everywhere - localhost, Vercel previews, production, future custom domains. The URL generation system automatically detects the environment and builds the right link.

Plus, the old URLs still work. We redirect /?join=SESSION_ID to the new format, so nobody's QR codes break.

Preview Before You Leap

Imagine clicking a join link and getting instantly dumped into a movie session. No context. No warning. Just... movies.

Not great UX.

Now when you open a join link:

1. You see the Session Preview Screen
2. Host's name displayed prominently
3. Current member count
4. All active filters (streaming services, genres, age ratings)
5. Optional: add your own name
6. One-click join button

It answers the question: "What am I about to join?" before you commit.

The preview fetches session data plus host information in a single database call. Efficient. Fast. Informative.

When Movie Titles Go Japanese

Here's a problem: TMDB has movies in every language. Some titles are in Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Korean...

For Dutch/English users, seeing "劇場版「鬼滅の刃」" instead of "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train" is not ideal.

Solution: Smart title fallback

The app now detects when a title contains non-Latin characters (CJK, Arabic, Cyrillic, Thai, etc.) and automatically falls back to the original English title if available.

Examples:

• 劇場版「鬼滅の刃」 → Shows "Demon Slayer: Mugen Train"
• Squid Game → Shows "Squid Game" (already readable)
• オッペンハイマー → Shows "Oppenheimer"

Zero manual configuration. No extra API calls. Just automatic detection using Unicode character ranges.

The full movie library stays intact (anime and K-dramas don't get removed), but titles are always readable for Western audiences.

Colorful Identities

Partial matches show which members have already voted. Originally? Just text names.

Boring. Forgettable. Wasted opportunity.

Now: Colorful avatar circles with initials

Each member gets:

• A 2-letter initial (Hans Weebers → HW, Hans → HA)
• A deterministic color from a 10-color palette (same name = same color always)
• A circular avatar (20px) that's instantly recognizable

When 4+ members vote, we show the first 3 avatars plus "+2" overflow indicator.

Result? Partial match cards have personality. You can spot your friends at a glance. The UI feels alive.

The Devil in the Details

These features aren't flashy. No one's going to screenshot the URL structure and post it on Instagram.

But they matter:

• Clean URLs make sharing effortless
• Session previews reduce confusion
• Smart titles keep everything readable
• Colorful avatars add personality

This is what separates a prototype from a product. The little polish. The attention to detail. The care.

MovieQuest is starting to feel real.

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This is part of the MovieQuest development series. Previous: Phoenix Rising: Branding & Exclusions