Every website today places their search field before their search button. Research shows that right search buttons slow users down because they create more and longer visual fixations. Left search buttons help users spot the search label quicker. This makes the search bar easier to find on your site.

In analyzing interfaces, we should always ask how the user knows that an action is possible, and we should always require that each visible feature provide a recognizable affordance. Icons are often considered the epitome of visible affordances, but they do not always serve this function.

If the user has to click an icon to discover its function, they will be knocked off course.