This link has been bookmarked by 47 people . It was first bookmarked on 31 Aug 2006, by Trisha Gao.
-
11 Oct 12
-
- Search lets users control their own destiny and assert independence from websites' attempt to direct how they use the Web. Testing situations routinely validate this. A typical comment is: "I don't want to have to navigate this site the way they want me to. I just want to find the thing I'm looking for." This is why many users go straight to the home page search function.
- Search is also users' escape hatch when they are stuck in navigation. When they can't find a reasonable place to go next, they often turn to the site's search function. This is why you should make search available from every page on the site; you cannot predict where users will be when they decide they are lost.
Users love search for two reasons:
-
Given that search is becoming old hat on the Internet, you might think users would develop advanced search skills. Not so.
Typical users are very poor at query reformulation: If they don't get good results on the first try, later search attempts rarely succeed. In fact, they often give up. We recently studied a large group of people as they shopped on various e-commerce sites. Their search success rate was:
Search
SuccessFirst query: 51% Second query: 32% Third query: 18% In other words, if users don't find the result with their first query, they are progressively less and less likely to succeed with additional searches. Many users don't even bother: In our study, almost half the users whose first search failed gave up immediately.
There is no question that we need to develop methods to help users hone their searches. Probably the only long-term solution is for the school systems to teach kids strategies for query reformulation. In the short term, search interfaces could show users easy ways to extend queries.
-
-
10 Sep 12
-
- Search lets users control their own destiny and assert independence from websites' attempt to direct how they use the Web.
Users love search for two reasons:
-
Search is also users' escape hatch when they are stuck in navigation.
-
Most users cannot use advanced search or Boolean query syntax.
-
Do not offer advanced search from the home page.
-
First Results Page is Golden
Users almost never look beyond the second page of search results. It is thus essential that your search prioritize results in a useful way and that all the most important hits appear on the first page.
-
-
08 Jun 11
Mikel MadinaSearch is the user's lifeline for mastering complex websites. The best designs offer a simple search box on the home page and play down advanced search and scoping.
-
10 Jan 11
-
15 Nov 10
-
28 Oct 09
-
01 May 09
Don UlrichSearch is also users' escape hatch when they are stuck in navigation. When they can't find a reasonable place to go next, they often turn to the site's search function. This is why you should make search available from every page on the site; you cannot p
-
16 Apr 09
-
30 Mar 09
-
13 Mar 09
-
21 Jan 09
-
06 Jun 08
-
27 Mar 08
-
26 Mar 08
-
12 Feb 08
-
09 Oct 07
-
- On home pages, search should be a type-in field and not a link.
- The search input field should be wide enough to contain the typical query; if the box is too small, the query will scroll and diminish usability.
-
Do not offer advanced search from the home page. Advanced search leads users into trouble, as they invariably use it wrong. When it makes sense, offer advanced search as an option users can link to from the search results page: "Didn't find what you were looking for? Try advanced search."
-
-
31 Mar 07
-
- On home pages, search should be a type-in field and not a link.
- The search input field should be wide enough to contain the typical query; if the box is too small, the query will scroll and diminish usability.
-
-
03 Dec 06
Shannon HolmanSearch is the user's lifeline for mastering complex websites. The best designs offer a simple search box on the home page and play down advanced search and scoping.
-
14 Nov 06
-
18 Oct 06
-
11 Sep 06
-
31 Aug 06
-
Search: Visible and Simple
-
- Search lets users control their own destiny and assert independence from websites' attempt to direct how they use the Web. Testing situations routinely validate this. A typical comment is: "I don't want to have to navigate this site the way they want me to. I just want to find the thing I'm looking for." This is why many users go straight to the home page search function.
- Search is also users' escape hatch when they are stuck in navigation. When they can't find a reasonable place to go next, they often turn to the site's search function. This is why you should make search available from every page on the site; you cannot predict where users will be when they decide they are lost.
-
- On home pages, search should be a type-in field and not a link.
- The search input field should be wide enough to contain the typical query; if the box is too small, the query will scroll and diminish usability.
-
Search Should be a Box
-
Query Reformulation: Not
-
Advanced Search: Not
-
We recently studied a large group of people as they shopped on various e-commerce sites. Their search success rate was:
First query: 51% Second query: 32% Third query: 18% -
- Emphasize your search engine's ability to handle single-word queries and very short multi-word queries and still produce high-quality results.
- Do not offer advanced search from the home page. Advanced search leads users into trouble, as they invariably use it wrong. When it makes sense, offer advanced search as an option users can link to from the search results page: "Didn't find what you were looking for? Try advanced search."
-
- Set the default search scope to "all" (search the entire site).
- When the user chooses a narrow search scope, explicitly state the scope at the top of the results page.
- Offer one-click access to enlarge the scope. It is especially important to give users a highly visible way of searching the entire site if their scoped search fails to return any results.
- If a search returns too many results, give users suggestions for limiting the scope.
If you choose to use scoped search, I recommend following a few basic rules:
-
First Results Page is Golden
-
-
03 Jun 06
-
21 Apr 06
-
10 Nov 05
-
07 Jul 05
-
20 Apr 04
-
22 Oct 01
Page Comments
Would you like to comment?
Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.