Human-Browser Interaction: Investigating Whether the Current Browser Application's Design Actually Make Sense for Its Users?

As a society, we can get so engrossed in using the World Wide Web (WWW) also known as the web. We look for, read about and interact with different people, text, images, videos etc. that we often take for granted how we are doing this. We all use a web browser, we must, to get around the web. Yet, do we ever stop to give much thought to this gateway to the web? The web browser can be fittingly described as a transparent technology. This is in the sense that we don't really stop to think about the browser and its features, we just unconsciously absorb and use it. This paper reports on a study that explores just how effectively we understand and use our web browser applications. The study was focused on people's perceived awareness of desktop web browser functionality, what features they are using/aware of and most importantly what understanding they take from these? The findings show that the majority (69%) of the five hundred and twenty-eight participants studied do not fully understand what the padlock feature on their web browsers represents. In fact, the findings highlight that many of the participants feel that the padlock represents a safe website which it clearly does not. This paper succinctly draws attention to the fact that the current desktop web browser application design is not fit for purpose. In summary, the research pushes for more effective web browser application designs; it provides design recommendations aimed at achieving web browser consistency and creating designs that promote safety, trust, and confidence.