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Every search bar looks like a URL bar to users

· 11 comments · 200 words · Viewed ~18,475 times.

Computers would be so much better if they never had to deal with users, amirite?!!?

I remember, years ago, working on a mobile web service which had a URl bar - so users could tap in bbc.co.uk on their T9 keypads - and a separate search bar. I thought that was pretty nifty. But it turns out, users tried searching for URls and they tried going to "http:// When is the Next Bus?". Bloody users!!

Users find input bars confusing. A good example of this is Amazon's search bar. It faithfully records what everyone is searching for and uses that big data to suggest to other users what they might be interested in. Which leads to some "interesting" results.

Here's what happens if you start searching for https://

Search results for https in Amazon's autocomplete. Includes links to ebay and other stores. Search results for https in Amazon's autocomplete. Includes links to ebay and other stores. Search results for https in Amazon's autocomplete. Includes links to ebay and other stores.

(And, yes, I used an incognito browser so it wouldn't be polluted with my own demented midnight searches for corrugated iron flavoured pogo sticks.)

There are a few lessons to take away from this.

  • Users don't really understand interfaces
  • Computers don't really understand users
  • Big Data assumes that users are behaving in semi-rational manner

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11 thoughts on “Every search bar looks like a URL bar to users”

    1. Cricket says:

      Or, users looking at product metadata, wanting to go to a mentioned URL (maybe they didn't properly tag it), and then pasting it into their Amazon search box.

      Interestingly, I also found this when looking for this specific query

      https://i.imgur.com/AlqZTmL.png

      (for those not in the know, that's a direct competitor to Amazon in the UK)

      Reply

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