diff --git a/cypress/integration/home.spec.js b/cypress/integration/home.spec.js
--- a/cypress/integration/home.spec.js
+++ b/cypress/integration/home.spec.js
@@ -10,6 +10,17 @@
 const url = '/';
 
 describe('Home Page Tests', function() {
+
+  it('should have focus on search form after page load', function() {
+    cy.visit(url);
+
+    cy.get('#swh-origins-url-patterns')
+      .should('have.attr', 'autofocus');
+    // for some reason, autofocus is not honored when running cypress tests
+    // while it is in non controlled browsers
+    // .should('have.focus');
+  });
+
   it('should display positive stats for each category', function() {
 
     cy.server();
diff --git a/cypress/integration/origin-search.spec.js b/cypress/integration/origin-search.spec.js
--- a/cypress/integration/origin-search.spec.js
+++ b/cypress/integration/origin-search.spec.js
@@ -51,6 +51,14 @@
     cy.visit(url);
   });
 
+  it('should have focus on search form after page load', function() {
+    cy.get('#swh-origins-url-patterns')
+      .should('have.attr', 'autofocus');
+    // for some reason, autofocus is not honored when running cypress tests
+    // while it is in non controlled browsers
+    // .should('have.focus');
+  });
+
   it('should show in result when url is searched', function() {
     cy.get('#swh-origins-url-patterns')
       .type(origin.url);
diff --git a/swh/web/templates/includes/origin-search-form.html b/swh/web/templates/includes/origin-search-form.html
--- a/swh/web/templates/includes/origin-search-form.html
+++ b/swh/web/templates/includes/origin-search-form.html
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@
 
 <form class="form-horizontal" id="swh-search-origins">
   <div class="input-group">
-    <input class="form-control" placeholder="Enter a SWHID to resolve or string pattern(s) to search for in origin urls" type="text" id="swh-origins-url-patterns"/>
+    <input class="form-control"
+           placeholder="Enter a SWHID to resolve or string pattern(s) to search for in origin urls"
+           type="text" id="swh-origins-url-patterns" autofocus>
     <div class="input-group-append">
       <button class="btn btn-primary" type="submit"><i class="swh-search-icon mdi mdi-24px mdi-magnify" aria-hidden="true"></i></button>
     </div>