97
votes
How many users use browser's text search within a page?
To answer the question you asked:
Keyboard shortcuts tend to be used by only a small subset of people ("power users"). This is a pretty set-in-stone shortcut—if an application responds to ...
- 19.6k
50
votes
Accepted
How many users use browser's text search within a page?
Found an article sourcing a study conducted by Google in 2011 in the US. Apparently, 90% of the participants didn't know about it.
"90 percent of the US Internet population does not know that. This ...
- 7,413
41
votes
Why don't browsers show a dialog when closing a tab?
Because the cons of disrupting the user's flow by always showing a dialog is too large. Tabs are not as precious, they are opened and closed as many times as needed during a session. Even if the user ...
- 5,618
40
votes
Accepted
After navigating from page A to page B, if a user goes back is it better to send them to the top of page A or scroll to where they were?
Based on my experience with a similar question where I did some user-research (questionnaires etc.), they always reported they expect to be put back to the position they have been last on the previous ...
- 541
24
votes
After navigating from page A to page B, if a user goes back is it better to send them to the top of page A or scroll to where they were?
Every browser I've ever used returns you to your previous in-page location on Go Back. I'd expect that's what users will expect other systems to do, and that different behavior will be disorientating. ...
- 341
20
votes
Accepted
Why do browsers allow users to open more tabs than it is possible to manage for a good user experience?
Arbitrary Limits are Bad
Arbitrary limits are rarely a good thing. I am sure there is a limit somewhere (maybe 256 tabs?) but as long as it is far out of normal usage, most users never know and will ...
19
votes
How many users use browser's text search within a page?
I think you asked the wrong question. It's not just the number of users that matter: you should consider the types of users you exclude too.
I literally used Ctrl+F to follow the link to this page. I'...
- 299
19
votes
Why don't browsers show a dialog when closing a tab?
Browsers strive to be as easy to use and smooth as possible.
Look at browsers just being environments for running web apps (I'd argue, these days we don't really deal with websites or portals - ...
- 2,618
11
votes
Accepted
Why Browsers load Websites gradually?
Technically this is caused by the fact that images and other assets are generally hosted separately, and the browser only knows to go fetch them when the document uses them.
It would be technically ...
- 15.6k
10
votes
Accepted
What is the best way to tell users to scroll down in browsers?
First of all, you should not end a page at blank spaces. You should end them at the top portion of the next page's first section.
Use scroll icons such as this:
to inform the user about the ...
- 2,774
10
votes
Accepted
Best practice for scroll bars in a browser on iPad
How about using a multi-step form? It looks like you're essentially already doing this, just with an accordion.
Source - Omkar Bailkeri
This would ensure the user always knew they could scroll (gotta ...
- 844
9
votes
Why don't browsers show a dialog when closing a tab?
Before getting into the why, let's establish that those modals that you mention are an error prevention measure. But are all errors equal? No. There are two types of errors: Slips and mistakes.
Slips ...
- 173
9
votes
Accepted
Why don't browsers show a dialog when closing a tab?
Pinned tabs
The major browser vendors have chosen to address the problem of unintended tab closure by offering the "pin tab" feature:
Firefox: Mozilla Support: Pinned Tabs - keep favorite ...
- 206
8
votes
Accepted
Should opening a modal box change the browser history?
YES INDEED
For most users, this will be just another page. And conceptually, they will be right, they have no idea about the technical part, they only know that by clicking or doing something they ...
- 38.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Why do some websites hijack "open in new tab"?
It's unlikely that there's intentional malice. There are times when "new tab" functionality is intentionally violated, usually because the website is written as a "single page application" (SPA). SPAs ...
- 1,147
8
votes
After navigating from page A to page B, if a user goes back is it better to send them to the top of page A or scroll to where they were?
The right behavior is what the user's user-agent does for them in the absence of any action by the site trying to interfere with that. Conventionally, that is returning to the exact position they were ...
8
votes
After navigating from page A to page B, if a user goes back is it better to send them to the top of page A or scroll to where they were?
Overall, the other answers are correct: in the absence of other reasoning, you should hew as closely as possible to native browser/HTML behavior, which is to go back to the exact position.
But as ...
- 659
7
votes
Why do browsers allow users to open more tabs than it is possible to manage for a good user experience?
Browsers tend to put the ball in the user's court, in regards to managing tabs. What might seem as too many tabs to one user, is perhaps the perfect amount to another - and the current behaviour ...
- 473
6
votes
Accepted
Should a 404 error be kept in the browser history?
I think the user needs to know where he is and what is not working.
So for two main reason I would push a state:
User awareness
User might want to come back to check if it was fixed
Having a dead ...
- 16.9k
6
votes
Why is audio not treated like other browser permissions?
TL;DR: It should be, and likely will be soon
Throughout the history of the internet and browsers, many well-intended features have fallen prey to abuse: popup windows, alerts before closing a page, ...
- 3,858
6
votes
Accepted
Are zoom in/out buttons necessary anymore?
I get your point of view: it feels like we are adding unnecessary complexity in the user interface. Plus, questioning why things are the way they are is generally a healthy and encouraged approach in ...
- 1,165
5
votes
Why do browsers allow users to open more tabs than it is possible to manage for a good user experience?
Browser is just a tool for browsing the Internet. Imagine that your task is to develop browser. Will you develop browser that embodies your own way of right web browsing? Suppose yes. What will you ...
- 2,205
5
votes
Best practice for scroll bars in a browser on iPad
Two options come to mind for me.
To enforce the visual effect of content being available behind this 'wall', you could work with borders and/or shadows. This is also a rather common way of showing ...
- 93
5
votes
Why don't browsers show a dialog when closing a tab?
Beyond international rules or statutes, I believe that the behavior is still exactly the same as that of any application, and a browser is an application.
When opening a document or creating a new one ...
- 19.8k
4
votes
Accepted
Is it bad practice to disable (replace) the context menu?
No, disabling the context menu does not constitute bad practice. This is a common behavior.
Real world references: Try right-clicking in Gmail or Google Docs. Obviously, these are highly successful ...
- 422
4
votes
Why Browsers load Websites gradually?
If I'm understanding correctly, I think the question should be "Why sites loads websites gradually?" .
See to answer your strict question, browsers do whatever you (where you is the developer, site ...
- 38.3k
4
votes
How to convince users to allow their browser notification in my website?
Notifications take up my time and intrude into my life and I already get dozens of them every day. My personal instinct is to automatically block all notifications until I understand them and see a ...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
Loading pages with AJAX. Should the browser address change when the user calls the content or once it arrives?
This answer is based on my experience designing single page applications rather than any research.
I would change the URL when the new page is called for the following reasons:
It is best to mimic ...
- 56
4
votes
Accepted
Should I spread my enterprise application across multiple browser tabs?
In enterprise environments, with cloud-based browser-based solutions like salesforce becoming the new standard, using browser tabs is fine. Also, somewhat enterprise-like websites like DropBox also ...
- 1,474
4
votes
Why incognito mode on web browsers dark theme?
I imagine that the reason behind having two separate themes for these browsing modes is to better reinforce communication to the user about which mode they are browsing in.
The difference in visual ...
- 7,413
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible