6 ms·

Google has shockingly bad UI/UX for a company of their size. For example, if you search something in google, click a link, and then go back to the search page,

Google has shockingly bad UI/UX for a company of their size. For example, if you search something in google, click a link, and then go back to the search page, after a very small delay, google will open a small box changing of "people also searched for" that changes the layout of the site and pushes other results down. This violates so many important norms of ux design. I hate it because it leads me to misclicking when I am trying to go through a bunch of links to find the right information.

varrock 6y ago
I just tested this myself. Something tells me pushing the other results down is entirely intentionally. It lands my mouse perfectly on the next link.
- bobbylarrybobby 6y ago
  If software can read your mind, but doesn’t know that you will act as if it can’t read your mind, then it can’t actually read your mind.
droopyEyelids 6y ago
Once a company dominates a particular market, focusing on the user experience is bad for business. A company develops market dominance to extract profit from more-or-less captive customers. The dominance allows the organization to abandon the UI/UX without giving the customer a similar change to abandon the company.
- tweetle_beetle 6y ago
  This is spot on. My personal reference example is Amazon. I'm consistenly amazed how the simple act of finding and buying a single product can become increasing unpleasant and difficult over time. Of course, I don't subscribe to Prime, have one-click purchasing activated, use their credit card, etc, etc. These completely artificial UX hurdles are just there to push further engagement with their ecosystem. It's reached the point that even a monstrosity like Aliexpress feels like a clear, organised, efficient shopping experience by comparison.
  - mitchdoogle 6y ago
    On the contrary, I think Amazon is so popular because its UX is amazing. Starting with the interface, it seems like everything I could want to do is 1 or 2 clicks away. Maybe I'm just familiar with everything, but considering the density of the navigation, I'm usually very pleased how easy it is to find functions I'm looking for, even if rarely used, like Order History, Wish Lists, etc. And I've been pleased with product discovery as well. Their search algorithm seems to provide me with the things I'm looking for, even if I struggle to find the right query. Just a few days ago, I wanted to buy something to keep squirrels out of my garden. I just entered "squirrel protection for plants", and it returned exactly the kind of products I was looking for, even if the product name did not contain the words "squirrel", "protection", or "plants". I compared this to a couple of gardening supply sites, where nothing came up. And there is absolutely nothing I've experienced that beats the user experience for returning an item from Amazon, which IMO is one of the most important things for any ecommerce site. I have no problem buying multiple items on Amazon with the intent of keeping just one because I know the return process will be extremely easy. Just click a button in the order history, then take the product to a UPS store and let them scan your phone - no printing, boxing, taping, or anything else to do. I would never do that with any other website. When I have had to return items elsewhere, I eventually received a refund, but only after having to email someone several times, take photos of the merchandise, provide extra information, box it up and tape it myself.
Thorentis 6y ago
Wow, finally somebody else who has experienced this. It frustrates me so much when I go back to the page, and then accidentally click one of those links, only for it to perform a new search, for then me to click back, and then rinse and repeat. Google has gone to shit.
hawski 6y ago
Oh, I've never experienced it, because I'm one of those new-tab spammers. That's baffling, but I shield myself from this already. I think I open even more stuff in a new tab, because for years now, one can't count on a correct behavior of the back button. I would like a browser to just restore fully the state of the page as it was, without firing any events whatsoever.
- webmaven 6y ago
  > Oh, I've never experienced it, because I'm one of those new-tab spammers. That's baffling, but I shield myself from this already. I think I open even more stuff in a new tab, because for years now, one can't count on a correct behavior of the back button. I would like a browser to just restore fully the state of the page as it was, without firing any events whatsoever. Hmm. I wonder if it is possible to create an extension that accomplished that with a brute force approach, by doing the following: + If a link is going to another domain, open it in a new tab, and hide the current tab without closing it. + Clicking the back button closes the new tab and unhides the original tab. That ought to sidestep the effort needed to preserve and restore the state of the original page (which I've found unreliable), by only manipulating it's visibility. Of course, hiding/revealing a single tab with an extension may not be possible, a cursory search doesn't give much encouragement (I suppose there are too many ways to abuse such an API). A workaround might be moving the tab to a hidden window (which is, now that I think of it, a common pattern for intrusive advertising) and back, instead.
mitchdoogle 6y ago
How fast are you clicking a new link after you go back to the search results page? I can barely even manage to move my mouse before the "People also search for" box slides in. Or maybe it is slower for you?
- soulofmischief 6y ago
  It's an almost certainty that Google intentionally modifies the delay in order to confuse the user and prevent adaptation.
soulofmischief 6y ago
The insane thing is that Google SET these standards in motion! What happened? Are we really so anti-consumer at this point that even the world's leading tech giants can employ spyware and malware, ad-funneling, and other techniques that not so long ago people were being prosecuted for?

varrock 6y ago

I just tested this myself. Something tells me pushing the other results down is entirely intentionally. It lands my mouse perfectly on the next link.

bobbylarrybobby 6y ago
If software can read your mind, but doesn’t know that you will act as if it can’t read your mind, then it can’t actually read your mind.

droopyEyelids 6y ago

Once a company dominates a particular market, focusing on the user experience is bad for business. A company develops market dominance to extract profit from more-or-less captive customers. The dominance allows the organization to abandon the UI/UX without giving the customer a similar change to abandon the company.

tweetle_beetle 6y ago
This is spot on. My personal reference example is Amazon. I'm consistenly amazed how the simple act of finding and buying a single product can become increasing unpleasant and difficult over time. Of course, I don't subscribe to Prime, have one-click purchasing activated, use their credit card, etc, etc. These completely artificial UX hurdles are just there to push further engagement with their ecosystem. It's reached the point that even a monstrosity like Aliexpress feels like a clear, organised, efficient shopping experience by comparison.
- mitchdoogle 6y ago
  On the contrary, I think Amazon is so popular because its UX is amazing. Starting with the interface, it seems like everything I could want to do is 1 or 2 clicks away. Maybe I'm just familiar with everything, but considering the density of the navigation, I'm usually very pleased how easy it is to find functions I'm looking for, even if rarely used, like Order History, Wish Lists, etc. And I've been pleased with product discovery as well. Their search algorithm seems to provide me with the things I'm looking for, even if I struggle to find the right query. Just a few days ago, I wanted to buy something to keep squirrels out of my garden. I just entered "squirrel protection for plants", and it returned exactly the kind of products I was looking for, even if the product name did not contain the words "squirrel", "protection", or "plants". I compared this to a couple of gardening supply sites, where nothing came up. And there is absolutely nothing I've experienced that beats the user experience for returning an item from Amazon, which IMO is one of the most important things for any ecommerce site. I have no problem buying multiple items on Amazon with the intent of keeping just one because I know the return process will be extremely easy. Just click a button in the order history, then take the product to a UPS store and let them scan your phone - no printing, boxing, taping, or anything else to do. I would never do that with any other website. When I have had to return items elsewhere, I eventually received a refund, but only after having to email someone several times, take photos of the merchandise, provide extra information, box it up and tape it myself.

Thorentis 6y ago

Wow, finally somebody else who has experienced this. It frustrates me so much when I go back to the page, and then accidentally click one of those links, only for it to perform a new search, for then me to click back, and then rinse and repeat. Google has gone to shit.

hawski 6y ago

Oh, I've never experienced it, because I'm one of those new-tab spammers. That's baffling, but I shield myself from this already. I think I open even more stuff in a new tab, because for years now, one can't count on a correct behavior of the back button. I would like a browser to just restore fully the state of the page as it was, without firing any events whatsoever.

webmaven 6y ago
> Oh, I've never experienced it, because I'm one of those new-tab spammers. That's baffling, but I shield myself from this already. I think I open even more stuff in a new tab, because for years now, one can't count on a correct behavior of the back button. I would like a browser to just restore fully the state of the page as it was, without firing any events whatsoever. Hmm. I wonder if it is possible to create an extension that accomplished that with a brute force approach, by doing the following: + If a link is going to another domain, open it in a new tab, and hide the current tab without closing it. + Clicking the back button closes the new tab and unhides the original tab. That ought to sidestep the effort needed to preserve and restore the state of the original page (which I've found unreliable), by only manipulating it's visibility. Of course, hiding/revealing a single tab with an extension may not be possible, a cursory search doesn't give much encouragement (I suppose there are too many ways to abuse such an API). A workaround might be moving the tab to a hidden window (which is, now that I think of it, a common pattern for intrusive advertising) and back, instead.

mitchdoogle 6y ago

How fast are you clicking a new link after you go back to the search results page? I can barely even manage to move my mouse before the "People also search for" box slides in. Or maybe it is slower for you?

soulofmischief 6y ago
It's an almost certainty that Google intentionally modifies the delay in order to confuse the user and prevent adaptation.

soulofmischief 6y ago

The insane thing is that Google SET these standards in motion! What happened? Are we really so anti-consumer at this point that even the world's leading tech giants can employ spyware and malware, ad-funneling, and other techniques that not so long ago people were being prosecuted for?