"Create new" VS "Add to exisiting" what order

Question

We are introducing a new feature for our customers. By clicking on the bokmarking symbol the user is able to save an item to a list. The user starts out with a "default list", but may create as many lists as they wants. You may think of lists as folders (only one level deep) you bookmark items in. In the ADD TO LIST section the user has the option to search or sort the list to easier find it. (in the example below the user has created 10+ lists on his own already)

My question is should I position the Create option at the top or at the bottom (see images)? What is the user expecting intuitively? I know what I think, but I don't want to base the decision solely on that. Is there a best practice to follow here?

OR

Answer 1

In terms of intuition, users most likely have past experience with browser bookmarks. In my experience, a majority of browsers position the option to create a new list after the list of existing folders/categories. I presume this is due to frequency of use (i.e. users add items to existing lists more often than they add new lists). This order also encourages the user to browse available options before determining whether a new item is needed.

Answer 2

The common approach is to add it after the list, and there are good reasons for this. Think in terms of coding as an example:

get list(my-list):
    If list(my-list) = false
    Then create list(my-list)
    Else goto list(my-list)

or pseudo code aside: including the add/create or remove option after the existing list improves quick scanning of content, so user can perform the mentioned actions once they see the available items.

However, you mention a folder structure and this feature as a new implementation, which can easily be abused by users. The classic "i do it because I can". In order to prevent this, you could use different approaches, like limiting the number of lists so the add feature is easily seen or adding the set of actions first, like this: SEARCH - FILTER - ADD - REMOVE and then the list of existing items.

Keep in mind these are just ideas, and there are ven more ways to do this, bottom line is you should try a couple options and test them against each other, then develop based on research