1201220 - Consider removing "Add to Home Screen" from context menu/dialog

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Firefox for Android Graveyard :: General, enhancement)

Description

[Anthony Lam (:antlam) Find me, @antlam on Slack!]

Not saying we should definitely remove it right now. But I'm not sure how often it gets used. And after looking at some Telemetry around this feature, comparing the Page Menu placement versus the context menu (dialog) placement, I feel like we might be able to remove it from one of the places.

Just wanted to filed this for consideration. Removing it would have UX wins in terms of less decisions to confuse our user.

Mfinkle also mentioned maybe promoting this a bit more before deciding.

Comment 1

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

From UI Telemetry, I see:

contextmenu > add_to_launcher = 0.11% (release)
menu > add_to_launcher = 0.09% (release)

Note: "contextmenu" means more than just the URLBar contextmenu. We also have "Add to Home Screen" on our Home Panel contextmenus.

And yes, I want to promote this feature more.

We have data from partners that says people tend to have higher engagement with websites when launched from homescreen icons.

Google is pushing this forward the idea of "installable web apps" in Chrome for Android:
https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2015/03/increasing-engagement-with-app-install-banners-in-chrome-for-android
https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2014/11/Support-for-installable-web-apps-with-webapp-manifest-in-chrome-38-for-Android


I think we should look into this too, especially the UI for adding to homescreen.

Comment 2

[Sylvain]

Good day.

The URLBar on Android is like 40 characters wide; adding to it a button I will never use, to every website I visit, in pure BLACK when all the other buttons are grey, is just plain annoying. How many icons do you expect people to add to their smartphone desktops? After a few uses, that button will never again be used; it does not belong in the bar, it belongs behind the 3 little dots. I have a far greater need of HOME, BACK/FORWARD and RELOAD buttons being available in the bar than I have for a "special bookmark on the desktop" button, and yet I live without those because there is no room.

I wonder what the telemetry said about Panorama/TabCandy, and yet it was removed. And bear in mind that some of those 0.1% are probably people trying it out just to see if it works.

Regards,

Comment 3

[BMO Automation]

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