Which back button?
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 6:06PM There are two types of people in this camp, those that think web applications should be able to work in a browser-less environment (All toolbars, address bar, etc turned off) where the visitor has no access to the browser back button and therefore the application must compensate for this. Then there are those (like me) that feel the browser back button is already there and works fine and users know how to use it so let them use it. It seems to me that by building navigation so that the visitor can go back in the application is just re-inventing the wheel which is not really needed. Also research has shown that the browser back button is the most commonly used button on the web (around 30%).
Google provide users with a Previous button to allow users to navigate to search results on previous pages, I just wonder how many people actually use this Previous button. I must admit I would normally just hit the browser back button.
The main negative that springs to mind if you run an application in a browser-less environment then the application navigation needs to be absolutely perfect otherwise users will end up at a dead end with no way to get back.
Reader Comments (6)
I think David you really need to consider the audience for the app. The back button has become a staple for the web savvy, but for every web savvy person, there is at least one other who isn't.
If your apps are truly 'a place to be in' rather than just a page a user accesses, then doesn't it hold true that the app itself includes a way to get home or take a step back if I get lost?
And in that context, the ole back button is a little impersonal. Give me a little 'home' or 'step backwards' icon. Something that gives me a measure of safety that whatever I do on your space, I can simply click my heels to take a step or two back, or all the way home so I can go through the journey again (and get better at it).
Hey Eric, Mate thanks for chiming in.
Good point about web savvy versus no web savvy. Which just points out that the browsers back button would have to be the most ideal navigation element as it is always the same, always does the same thing and is always there regardless of which web site or application you are using, It’s even cross browser consistent. So for a visitor the browser back button has the least amount of learning time and once you know it you can use it anywhere. This is probably why it is the most used button/event on the web. Kind of like how copy and paste has become accepted and consistent not matter what application you are in.
Yeah, sensible comeback Dave.
Maybe there is opportunity to deliver the necessary 'training' to get people familar with the back button as their back-step option, but not at the cost of cluttering the site. Could be based on IP address andusage, so that if the user gets into strife, there is a dedicated 'Save-Me' icon, which actually only highlights or points to the back button when it is clicked.
After the user uses the back button a few times, without clicking the 'Save-Me' button first, the icon disappears.
I'd like to think about that one and get back to you; thanks for the challenge.
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