Why does the encoding's of a URL and the query string part differ?

Question

I was researching why my query parameters have plus + signs in it instead of %20 and why they have strings like %C3%BC instead of a ü

Answer 1

They don't necessarily have to differ, a + is a valid path character and a ü is a valid search character (per RFC 3987). You're probably seeing browsers or some other preconceived encoding scheme making assumptions that are either outdated or overly cautious.