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Paths Short or Long

Is my suspicion correct, that QR codes will be a short-lived standard with little effect?Are long query strings in URLs bad for usability?8 short tutorial videos: all embedded in one page vs separate pages with title link?Displaying domain name or URL that is long or contains many wordsDo long domain names really affect user experience?Displaying information on minimalistic long panelsUser-friendly short URL aliases with words or emojisHow to layout / structure a page with a long sidebar but a short content section?URL paths: to change or not to changeDocumentation: one long page or several short pages

.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{ margin-bottom:0;
}

4

I am working through a problem with path names. The previous version of a site used short codes for url paths. Coming into this for a new project and the short code based paths, while deterministic, seem user-unfriendly to me.

Example current

as1/u2/m4/s7

Example longer

assume-1/unify-2/mobile-4/sturgeon-7

The words are changed so client info isn't released. The content is linear and so numbers have meaning in context.

My question is this. Have there been any UX studies done to show whether or not this makes any difference. SEO is no consideration as all this content is behind a paywall and is internally indexed/searchable.

information-architecture urls

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asked 9 hours ago

Frank Robert AndersonFrank Robert Anderson

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4

I am working through a problem with path names. The previous version of a site used short codes for url paths. Coming into this for a new project and the short code based paths, while deterministic, seem user-unfriendly to me.

Example current

as1/u2/m4/s7

Example longer

assume-1/unify-2/mobile-4/sturgeon-7

The words are changed so client info isn't released. The content is linear and so numbers have meaning in context.

My question is this. Have there been any UX studies done to show whether or not this makes any difference. SEO is no consideration as all this content is behind a paywall and is internally indexed/searchable.

information-architecture urls

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Frank Robert AndersonFrank Robert Anderson

2322 bronze badges

New contributor

Frank Robert Anderson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

add a comment
 | 

I am working through a problem with path names. The previous version of a site used short codes for url paths. Coming into this for a new project and the short code based paths, while deterministic, seem user-unfriendly to me.

Example current

as1/u2/m4/s7

Example longer

assume-1/unify-2/mobile-4/sturgeon-7

The words are changed so client info isn't released. The content is linear and so numbers have meaning in context.

My question is this. Have there been any UX studies done to show whether or not this makes any difference. SEO is no consideration as all this content is behind a paywall and is internally indexed/searchable.

information-architecture urls

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Frank Robert AndersonFrank Robert Anderson

2322 bronze badges

New contributor

Frank Robert Anderson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Frank Robert AndersonFrank Robert Anderson

2322 bronze badges

New contributor

Frank Robert Anderson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

asked 9 hours ago

Frank Robert AndersonFrank Robert Anderson

2322 bronze badges

New contributor

Frank Robert Anderson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 9 hours ago

Frank Robert AndersonFrank Robert Anderson

2322 bronze badges

New contributor

Frank Robert Anderson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 9 hours ago

Frank Robert AndersonFrank Robert Anderson

2322 bronze badges

2 Answers
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6

Jabob Nielsen in his article URL as UI from 1999 highlights the importance of human-friendly and hackable URLs. Updates from 2005 and 2007 mentioning eye-tracking studies suggesting that people pay attention to URL.

Another article by NNGroup, Navigation: You Are Here states that:

Well-chosen, human-readable web addresses are important to sharing, credibility, recognition, and recall. A page’s web address can be used to reveal some of the information architecture to help contextualize the content.

I'm not sure how often your users will see full URL instead of link text, but I do not think there are any benefits to making links less meaningful.

For me personally, readable links are important, I assert more trust to links with information scent. Besides, then I navigate any interlinked documentation or wiki, I often mouse over the link to view URL in the bottom left corner to see if I have already visited it or have it open. In this scenario, human readable URL in much proffered as well.

share|improve this answer

edited 7 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Jurijs KovzelsJurijs Kovzels

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0

As a contrast to @JurjisKovzels answer, I'll say that the web-browsing public is much more used to unreadable strings of nonsense as URLs now than they have been at any point in the history of the internet. Just have a look at any link from a CDN, such as facebook's ubiquitous fbcdn or at any Google search result URL. It's all long strings of just too much to handle from a user's perspective, but, in the context of webapps, we're kind of used to it. Go to your bank's website, even, a trust-critical application, and log in. You'll find the URL is a bunch of flags and ?= options that aren't particularly human-interpretable, even if some of then are dictionary words.

Basically, in general, on a general website, URL clarity is still important, especially if you expect people to share or bookmark your pages. But in the context of an app's internal pages, URLs aren't as important. As the NNG article linked in Jurjis' answer indicates, URLs can help with You-Are-Here, but on the other hand, do you really want people trying to URL-navigate themselves to the middle of some app workflow you didn't design to be started in the middle?

Probably not.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

sintaxsintax

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• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Please cite some sources. Users rarely do what we want them to do. If they do it regardless then we should design those pages. The content that I talking about is hierarchical and linear in nature. It isn't an email app or a search page.
  
  – Frank Robert Anderson
  6 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

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6

Jabob Nielsen in his article URL as UI from 1999 highlights the importance of human-friendly and hackable URLs. Updates from 2005 and 2007 mentioning eye-tracking studies suggesting that people pay attention to URL.

Another article by NNGroup, Navigation: You Are Here states that:

Well-chosen, human-readable web addresses are important to sharing, credibility, recognition, and recall. A page’s web address can be used to reveal some of the information architecture to help contextualize the content.

I'm not sure how often your users will see full URL instead of link text, but I do not think there are any benefits to making links less meaningful.

For me personally, readable links are important, I assert more trust to links with information scent. Besides, then I navigate any interlinked documentation or wiki, I often mouse over the link to view URL in the bottom left corner to see if I have already visited it or have it open. In this scenario, human readable URL in much proffered as well.

share|improve this answer

edited 7 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Jurijs KovzelsJurijs Kovzels

94811 gold badge66 silver badges1818 bronze badges

add a comment
 | 

6

Jabob Nielsen in his article URL as UI from 1999 highlights the importance of human-friendly and hackable URLs. Updates from 2005 and 2007 mentioning eye-tracking studies suggesting that people pay attention to URL.

Another article by NNGroup, Navigation: You Are Here states that:

Well-chosen, human-readable web addresses are important to sharing, credibility, recognition, and recall. A page’s web address can be used to reveal some of the information architecture to help contextualize the content.

I'm not sure how often your users will see full URL instead of link text, but I do not think there are any benefits to making links less meaningful.

For me personally, readable links are important, I assert more trust to links with information scent. Besides, then I navigate any interlinked documentation or wiki, I often mouse over the link to view URL in the bottom left corner to see if I have already visited it or have it open. In this scenario, human readable URL in much proffered as well.

share|improve this answer

edited 7 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Jurijs KovzelsJurijs Kovzels

94811 gold badge66 silver badges1818 bronze badges

add a comment
 | 

Jabob Nielsen in his article URL as UI from 1999 highlights the importance of human-friendly and hackable URLs. Updates from 2005 and 2007 mentioning eye-tracking studies suggesting that people pay attention to URL.

Another article by NNGroup, Navigation: You Are Here states that:

Well-chosen, human-readable web addresses are important to sharing, credibility, recognition, and recall. A page’s web address can be used to reveal some of the information architecture to help contextualize the content.

I'm not sure how often your users will see full URL instead of link text, but I do not think there are any benefits to making links less meaningful.

For me personally, readable links are important, I assert more trust to links with information scent. Besides, then I navigate any interlinked documentation or wiki, I often mouse over the link to view URL in the bottom left corner to see if I have already visited it or have it open. In this scenario, human readable URL in much proffered as well.

share|improve this answer

edited 7 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Jurijs KovzelsJurijs Kovzels

94811 gold badge66 silver badges1818 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

edited 7 hours ago

answered 7 hours ago

Jurijs KovzelsJurijs Kovzels

94811 gold badge66 silver badges1818 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Jurijs KovzelsJurijs Kovzels

94811 gold badge66 silver badges1818 bronze badges

answered 7 hours ago

Jurijs KovzelsJurijs Kovzels

94811 gold badge66 silver badges1818 bronze badges

0

As a contrast to @JurjisKovzels answer, I'll say that the web-browsing public is much more used to unreadable strings of nonsense as URLs now than they have been at any point in the history of the internet. Just have a look at any link from a CDN, such as facebook's ubiquitous fbcdn or at any Google search result URL. It's all long strings of just too much to handle from a user's perspective, but, in the context of webapps, we're kind of used to it. Go to your bank's website, even, a trust-critical application, and log in. You'll find the URL is a bunch of flags and ?= options that aren't particularly human-interpretable, even if some of then are dictionary words.

Basically, in general, on a general website, URL clarity is still important, especially if you expect people to share or bookmark your pages. But in the context of an app's internal pages, URLs aren't as important. As the NNG article linked in Jurjis' answer indicates, URLs can help with You-Are-Here, but on the other hand, do you really want people trying to URL-navigate themselves to the middle of some app workflow you didn't design to be started in the middle?

Probably not.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

sintaxsintax

1,12411 gold badge22 silver badges1313 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Please cite some sources. Users rarely do what we want them to do. If they do it regardless then we should design those pages. The content that I talking about is hierarchical and linear in nature. It isn't an email app or a search page.
  
  – Frank Robert Anderson
  6 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

0

As a contrast to @JurjisKovzels answer, I'll say that the web-browsing public is much more used to unreadable strings of nonsense as URLs now than they have been at any point in the history of the internet. Just have a look at any link from a CDN, such as facebook's ubiquitous fbcdn or at any Google search result URL. It's all long strings of just too much to handle from a user's perspective, but, in the context of webapps, we're kind of used to it. Go to your bank's website, even, a trust-critical application, and log in. You'll find the URL is a bunch of flags and ?= options that aren't particularly human-interpretable, even if some of then are dictionary words.

Basically, in general, on a general website, URL clarity is still important, especially if you expect people to share or bookmark your pages. But in the context of an app's internal pages, URLs aren't as important. As the NNG article linked in Jurjis' answer indicates, URLs can help with You-Are-Here, but on the other hand, do you really want people trying to URL-navigate themselves to the middle of some app workflow you didn't design to be started in the middle?

Probably not.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

sintaxsintax

1,12411 gold badge22 silver badges1313 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Please cite some sources. Users rarely do what we want them to do. If they do it regardless then we should design those pages. The content that I talking about is hierarchical and linear in nature. It isn't an email app or a search page.
  
  – Frank Robert Anderson
  6 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

As a contrast to @JurjisKovzels answer, I'll say that the web-browsing public is much more used to unreadable strings of nonsense as URLs now than they have been at any point in the history of the internet. Just have a look at any link from a CDN, such as facebook's ubiquitous fbcdn or at any Google search result URL. It's all long strings of just too much to handle from a user's perspective, but, in the context of webapps, we're kind of used to it. Go to your bank's website, even, a trust-critical application, and log in. You'll find the URL is a bunch of flags and ?= options that aren't particularly human-interpretable, even if some of then are dictionary words.

Basically, in general, on a general website, URL clarity is still important, especially if you expect people to share or bookmark your pages. But in the context of an app's internal pages, URLs aren't as important. As the NNG article linked in Jurjis' answer indicates, URLs can help with You-Are-Here, but on the other hand, do you really want people trying to URL-navigate themselves to the middle of some app workflow you didn't design to be started in the middle?

Probably not.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

sintaxsintax

1,12411 gold badge22 silver badges1313 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

sintaxsintax

1,12411 gold badge22 silver badges1313 bronze badges

answered 2 hours ago

sintaxsintax

1,12411 gold badge22 silver badges1313 bronze badges

answered 2 hours ago

sintaxsintax

1,12411 gold badge22 silver badges1313 bronze badges