function parseQueryStringToDictionary(queryString=window.location.search) {
  var dictionary = {};

  // remove the '?' from the beginning of the
  // if it exists
  if (queryString.indexOf('?') === 0) {
    queryString = queryString.substr(1);
  }

  // Step 1: separate out each key/value pair
  var parts = queryString.split('&');

  for (var i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) {
    var p = parts[i];
    // Step 2: Split Key/Value pair
    var keyValuePair = p.split('=');

    // Step 3: Add Key/Value pair to Dictionary object
    var key = keyValuePair[0];
    var value = keyValuePair[1];

    // decode URI encoded string
    value = decodeURIComponent(value);
    value = value.replace(/\+/g, ' ');

    dictionary[key] = value;
  }

  // Step 4: Return Dictionary Object
  return dictionary;
}