Home› Welcome to the FamilySearch Community!› FamilySearch Help› Search

Recent Changes to FamilySearch Record Search are HORRIBLE! Change It Back Now!!!

Higley1985
Higley1985 ✭
September 29, 2021 edited January 29, 2022 in Search

I have been using your website for years and, I must say, that I absolutely hate the recent changes you've made to the layout and record search features and functionality. Unlike with the old site, I find it almost impossible to perform targeted searches.

The new site is horrible. Please go back to the old one. Why on earth do people find it necessary to try and improve something that works well. Nine times out of ten, you end up ruining what you had.

Tagged:
  • New
21

Answers

  • Jim Piechorowski-PGSA
    Jim Piechorowski-PGSA ✭
    September 29, 2021

    How can I search in the old fashion ... This NEW Search Routine can best be described as a deranged Techies NIGHTMARE ...... Please Go Back to the Original Format WHICH WORKED ... Thank You

    10
  • Jim Easom
    Jim Easom ✭
    September 29, 2021

    What in the H were you thinking? I also have used Family Search for years and this version is horrible. I can't find anybody easily and then have to find what I have to enter. Go back! If I knew of another site like this I would go to it.

    Jim Easom

    11
  • stevensykora
    stevensykora ✭
    September 29, 2021

    I agree! New search is terrible and I am thoroughly disappointed.

    9
  • CarolSwensen
    CarolSwensen ✭
    September 29, 2021

    I agree with those above. Why change. I can't find a way to filter the group by alpha. Not impressed at all.

    6
  • Fairhope Finder
    Fairhope Finder ✭
    September 29, 2021

    Agree, agree, agree. Bring back the old interface now.

    5
  • Carolyn cottrell
    Carolyn cottrell ✭
    September 29, 2021

    Oh I agree! I hate this new format! Please change back. This is not very user friendly. Can't find anything! 😐️Talked to two friends that said the same thing. Please do something!

    4
  • LDS Search Test
    LDS Search Test ✭✭✭
    September 29, 2021

    All the above, seconded.

    3
  • Vannnessa
    Vannnessa ✭
    October 12, 2021

    I have been using your website for several years and and dislike the recent changes made to the new format. It is very difficult to perform targeted searches on my maternal ancestors. My mother died at an early age and I knew very little about her family when I was growing up. I find this new format is not very user friendly making it difficult to find information in building my family tree for my grandchildren. I am grately disappointed and it is my hope that the website will reconsider going back to the old version.

    5
  • Judy Jeffrey
    Judy Jeffrey ✭
    October 12, 2021

    I totally agree with these comments.

    The new search is almost unusable. I hope the old version will be re-instated.

    6
  • P Jelf
    P Jelf ✭
    October 12, 2021

    I too HATE this new version of Family Search! I don't recall anyone complaining about the previous version being hard to use, please tell us WHY someone got the IDEAL it needed to be changed! You don't fix what's already helping us find our ancestors. I've also noticed that the 1900 census doesn't seem to appear on all family members why is that?

    4
  • jac2f8js
    jac2f8js ✭
    October 13, 2021

    1000% agree - the new search UI rots - presentation of results all presented as a single list with zero ability to break it up" into overarching categories - unless you force one and only one such over arching category to be listed. It was EXTREMELY USEFUL having the ability to group the search results into the overarching categories. Having the records merely presented as one big list is far less informative and only poses confusion in keeping things straight in one's mind. The functionality the old search UI offered was extremely easy to use and aided in reviewing the result obtained. Why the near version did not exploit what was extremely useful in the old version and present greater ability within its general use patterns is puzzling. Why do upgrades ignore the user base when it comes to usability? This new search UI needs a lot of upgrades on the usability front!!!

    4
  • Lois Kastner
    Lois Kastner ✭
    October 14, 2021

    Please get rid of this format! Totally useless and difficult to find anything, if you can find what you are looking for at all. There was NO NEED to change the format to what it is now. So very frustrating and annoying. Agree with everyone's comments 100-plus percent!

    Lois Kastner 10/13/21

    2
  • azlo1953
    azlo1953 ✭
    October 14, 2021

    This new format for searching is absolutely horrible. If you copy anything, it's not editable and takes at least three times the normal spacing. You can actually fit on one page what is now three pages. It's terrible.

    2
  • Bruce Feinauer
    Bruce Feinauer ✭
    October 14, 2021

    I agree that the new search engine is not as friendly, useful or effective as the old one. I don't see the value in the discover on the right side of the screen. It is very difficult to search for FindAGrave or family Trees now. Why was it changed and does it now supposedly have more help - I sure don't see it. Bruce Feinauer

    2
  • Bruce Feinauer
    Bruce Feinauer ✭
    October 14, 2021


    0
  • Donkey Hoty
    Donkey Hoty ✭
    October 16, 2021

    As a daily user of your site, which you graciously provide free of charge, the recent changes to the basic search for a single person or for a family tree, have rendered the search results more cumbersome to sort through. Perhaps I'm stuck in my ways and have not yet grasped the reason for nor potential of the changes. The work-around effort to accomplish tasks previously accomplished in fewer steps would seem to be adding an unnecessary load on your servers. Despite this complaint, the free service you provide remains appreciated.

    2
  • Sally Jaye
    Sally Jaye ✭
    October 18, 2021
    https://community.familysearch.org/en/discussion/103770/recent-changes-to-familysearch-record-search-are-horrible-change-it-back-now

    I absolutely agree with 'Higley 1985'. This new look site is HORRIBLE!! You can't search for anything targeted - there is no way to choose EXACT names/locations, etc. AND, what about Census and immigration records - they seem to have disappeared. If I am searching for a person by entering their name, place and date of birth - I get EVERYBODY with that name and EVERY location imaginable. It's all over the place. This is more frustrating and irritating than I can say. PLEASE, PLEASE, put it back.

    If it ain't broke - don't try to fix it!!!!

    2
  • CDRJohnRogers
    CDRJohnRogers ✭
    October 18, 2021

    I agree. HORRIBLE, absolutely horrible, that was my first impression and I am not changing my mind. 😥🙄😫😲😖🤢😡🤡👹👺☠️👎️👎️👎️👎️

    2
  • Vanessa Christie
    Vanessa Christie ✭
    October 18, 2021

    I agree, it is not user friendly and searching is now very difficult, especially if trying to drill down to something specific. It worked well before, why change it?

    2
  • Sandra O'Rorke
    Sandra O'Rorke ✭
    October 18, 2021

    For those of us who have been using FS for years, the new search function, as everyone has already said, is so NOT user-friendly. I always used to recommend FS over other genealogical sites for newbies because it was easy to dive in and find information. When those of us who are comfortable with searching can't find things, no way would I recommend your site now.

    1
  • Paul Gibson_3
    Paul Gibson_3 ✭
    October 25, 2021

    I tend to do my family research in fits and starts: I work at it intensively for several weeks and then take a break for a month or two before returning to my research.

    I found the 'old' Family Search really helpful and used it more than Ancestry. When I recently returned and encountered the 'new' Family Search I was taken aback. I am used to the idea of having to relearn how to do things before I can see benefits, but I have tried several times and have to say the changes have made Family Search useless for my research.

    For now I am abandoning Family Search and will go elsewhere. I will drop in from time to time to see if the powers that be have back-tracked, but I am not hopeful.

    1
  • SKStewart
    SKStewart ✭
    January 28, 2022

    I am the persistent type that will try new things and adopt new because I like new. However, in this case, I am now completely discouraged with the ability to do research on Family Search. I used to be able to find alot of sources but no more. I now have to use Ancestry.com for sources and then I try to do a targeted search on Family Search for the same source I can see on Ancestry.com because I know the computer can generate better record hints if the attached source come from Family Search. The most simplest of sources aka Find A Grave can be found on Ancestry.com but it is very hit or miss when doing a targeted collection search on Family Search. I used to love spending hours putting families together and helping others get excited about Family Search. These changes to "Searching Records" has taken the wind out of my sails and my enthusiasm to teach others is at a lowpoint. There are enough barriers to accomplishing the task at hand and the upgrades have just added more barriers.

    1
  • Joan Wood_4
    Joan Wood_4 ✭
    April 3, 2022

    I used to use Family Search years ago & it was amazing. Then they started "improving" it and it's just been a disaster. I can't make head or tails of how the site is designed now. I used to love getting the census data & other listings & now it's just USELESS. I believe the purpose of these unnecessary changes is to drive people to the paid Ancestry.com, which I think corporate America wants to be the major (if not sole) source of genealogical research on the Web. I've seen what seems to be a systemic "improvement" of various sites over the years that has improved none, but always seems to result in Ancestry becoming the sole or best source of data. It IS deliberate.

    0
  • WynnWCJr1
    WynnWCJr1 ✭
    April 3, 2022

    Well, another tech change obviously done by people who don't use the site.

    It would be funny if it wasn't so incredibly awful.

    Please change it back!

    0
Clear
No Groups Found

Categories

  • 28.3K All Categories
  • 22.7K FamilySearch Help
  • 111 Get Involved
  • 2.6K General Questions
  • 420 FamilySearch Center
  • 431 FamilySearch Account
  • 4.1K Family Tree
  • 3.2K Search
  • 4.5K Indexing
  • 589 Memories
  • 6.1K Temple
  • 304 Other Languages
  • 34 Community News
  • 6.4K Suggest an Idea
  • Groups