85
votes
To clear (or not to clear) the search box?
I have a personal hatred towards websites which clear content from the Search bar after I hit Search.
Here's why:
It is completely unnecessary to clear the content out. There are multiple chances ...
- 6,385
62
votes
Accepted
To clear (or not to clear) the search box?
If you clear the box, you're taking away control from the user. While you may seem like you're doing them a favor, you're robbing them of context for what they just typed in.
When you type things ...
- 2,654
59
votes
Which option better communicates the default state for a search box as "everything."
I would strongly suggest you go with the first option but with a change.
The second option introduces a programatic step (selecting from the dropdown) that the user should not have to make - There is ...
- 14.2k
33
votes
Is there a recommended size for search boxes?
From my experience, the answer is... It depends!
I work for a recipe site and we launched a new site last year which had a whole redesign. We used to have a smaller search box and users interacted ...
- 2,527
25
votes
Why would the search input field not get focus when the page is loaded?
You already answered your own question. Keyboard/screen-reader users will need to step out of the search field when it was focused automatically to make use of other ways to navigate. Also on mobile, ...
- 11.1k
20
votes
Accepted
Why would the search input field not get focus when the page is loaded?
Autofocus is a tool that is wildly helpful if done correctly and it is appropriate to the situation, but there are many, many things that can go wrong. If your implementation doesn't avoid all of ...
- 487
19
votes
Accepted
Should I use "Search" or "Find” on my buttons?
With regard to English in general, "Search for Flights" and "Find Flights" would work equally well. "Find Flights" is subtly optimistic that there are flights that match the user's criteria. That may ...
- 37.7k
13
votes
Searching with mandatory filters
If the filter is mandatory, choose the most frequent search as the default.
You can try a scoped search dropdown before the search input field. This way the search button is Active from the beginning.
...
- 24.5k
11
votes
Search Vs. Filter- what is the difference
From a technical point of view the two are basically the same (i.e. excluding elements from a list, based on some criterias)
From a user point of view, it's very different:
Search is done as a ...
11
votes
How do we represent that a search feature has "intelligent" capabilities?
Teach the user how to use your feature. Show them example queries to illustrate what is possible. This can be done in some sort of short onboarding experience for new users, or perhaps when the input ...
- 19.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Searching with mandatory filters
I remember GitHub had something like what Mike M suggested for their search. I just noticed that it's changed, and what they do now is make the selection a part of their autocomplete-like menu:
I ...
- 476
10
votes
Accepted
Should searching a table include hidden columns?
Avoiding the dilemma
There's a possible solution without falling into this dilemma:
Give users the choice, just by adding a checkbox below the search/filter input which specifies "Search in ...
- 10.5k
9
votes
Accepted
What's the maximum number of individuals registered to one UK postcode?
If you're referring to the UK postcode areas, then according to https://www.mjt.me.uk/posts/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-addresses/ Warwick University has a single postcode of CV4 7AL which ...
- 206
8
votes
Show Results Before Searching
For questions like this, especially around customer experience in e-commerce, I sometimes try to imagine the situation as it might occur in the brick-and-mortar world.
In an actual shop, would you ...
- 165
8
votes
Accepted
How to offer multiple filter options when technically constrained to one?
Use a tabbed container for the filters
A common and acceptable way to separate filter options, is to user tabs (or versions of tabs) This can often be seen on travel websites, where users can search ...
- 11.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Should you display partial search results if an exact match exists?
I'll give you a very passionate answer here: Yes, you must display partial search results even when exact matches exist.
My background here is 10 years as a search UX consultant. My takeaway from ...
- 400
8
votes
Should I use "Search" or "Find” on my buttons?
If you started with a list of records/objects, FIND would be more grammatically correct.
If you just started with a Search field (and nothing else), then SEARCH would be grammatically correct.
So in ...
- 8,904
8
votes
Accepted
How does the 27 character wide search box recommended length apply to Asian languages and Russian?
UPDATE:
You can use a dynamic sized (auto-growing) input field. The search box's size would increase in size as needed while user is typing. Please remember that the initial size should still be sized ...
- 1,655
8
votes
"Did you mean" search results
Separate the User Lookup Task from the Add Task
In other words: Remove the "Did You Mean?" section.
In the provided example, it's easy for a user to get distracted and wander off from the ...
- 12k
7
votes
Search Vs. Filter- what is the difference
To be crisp
Search
Begins from none and adds to the list of results based on the criteria that matched.
Data gathering process and no hierarchy is expected.
Target is unknown and results displayed as ...
- 486
7
votes
Substring search vs Starting letter search
I would stick to sub-string search, with these arguments in it's favor:
users are used to it... Search engines, and most software works this way.
If your user does not know exactly how you are ...
- 304
7
votes
Accepted
Should I provide a button in case users don't think to press enter?
Yes.
Paparazzi sampled four major sites for their behavior, which is a good methodology, but his/her observations were wrong. The correct is:
google.com: Enter and button:
bing.com: Enter ...
- 400
7
votes
Searching with mandatory filters
Since this is a mandatory tasks before interacting with search, consider search like the Call to action like save or submit. Before you can accomplish these actions you must fill out a form.
In this ...
- 589
7
votes
Amazon's Website Search Bar
When you hit the spacebar once again, Amazon treats it as an incorrect word and highlight it.
Same happens with Google - when you enter an incorrect word, it highlights it.
Entering an incorrect ...
- 71
7
votes
Do users use their arrow keys to cycle through auto complete search results?
Is there evidence that it's worth enabling keyboard functionality?
Yes. It's called Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.
WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria 2.1.1 states:
2.1.1 Keyboard: All ...
JonW♦
- 37.2k
6
votes
How important is the search box?
This research by "think with Google" titled "Principles of Mobile App Design: Engage Users and Drive Conversions" from March 2016, gives a series of principles for apps usability ...
- 16.8k
6
votes
What's the maximum number of individuals registered to one UK postcode?
The postal code in the USA with the largest number of people in it is the one for El Paso, which has a little over 114,000 residents in a single code. There may be more in some other countries as ...
- 68.2k
6
votes
Is there a recommended size for search boxes?
Primary factors
1. Average length of expected search terms
The visible character capacity of the input will influence behavior. In my tests, users will instinctively limit their entry to the ...
- 21.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Stakeholder argument: Too much white space
Whitespace is essential, be convincing and save ressource for proper UX issues
I agree that the most implacable way to tackle this issue is to use real data and prove them that an efficient usage of ...
- 1,155
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