Web index page with too many results

Question

I'm developing a web app for schools, with a basic Person object. I'm assumnig it will have more than a thousand records.

First I thought to make a table with pagination for the index page of Person, but then I realized that the user won't navigate through all the records to find one, or at least it's not the best usability option.

I changed that index page to have a search form to get specific results.

Is there any reason to have a bloated table with results from the UX point of view?

Answer 1

To solve these table related problems try to do small things first and then proceed with the major problems.

1. Sorting - No matter how many columns you are putting, you have to provide sorting(ascending-descending) on the click of the column header wherever possible.
2. Filtering - Next thing you can go for is by providing the filters-section. In your case, it could be filtered by specific gender, age group, class, subjects or whatever so that the users can narrow down the list to the specific results they are hoping for.
3. Search - Along with filters and sorting option, you have to provide the search bar and allow freedom to users to search whatever they want. The searched query can belong to any column, any row but you have to show in a generic where it'll highlight the system status.

Answer 2

As pointed out - this calls for using a navigable data structure like a Data Grid View control supporting sorting, filtering, search, pagination OR virtual (endless) scrolling.