On Designing Search Result Page, Part II: Quick Summary

After reading the sources from Part I, this is my conclusion, extracted and listed for reference later. Hopefully it’s useful for you guys as well.

Basic Necessities

First of all, I think this goes without saying that the most popular form for a search result page is a list. I just mentioned this because I wonder if there is another way to present the result more effectively. No, I haven’t put more thought into it, maybe you have?

Okay now, here’s the list.

1. Remind user what they are searching. A few common places:
   • <title> tag
   • subheader text (above search result)
   • highlight the search term inside the result (say, with different background color)
   • put the search term inside the searchbox. Also useful for refinement, discussed later.
2. Add short description and or more information available. This is good to help the searching process.
3. Categorize if necessary.
4. Consider the two extremities: no result and too many results. Let user know if there is no result (blank page is a no-no), use pagination for the latter.
5. Show the scope of the result (e.g.: 1-50 out of 1,000 result)
6. Using numbered list for the search results already show the relevancy of the result, but if necessary it can be further refined like using percentage in Wikipedia.
7. Refinement. Allow user to refine search query easily. Having the search term ready inside the input box is good. Advanced search option is another solution, although not always necessary and or viable.

Advanced Features

While might not be needed on most cases, but they can be useful depending on the situation.

1. Addressing near hits. Typo. Misspelling. Suggest word correction, like Google.
2. Advanced search. Scoping.
3. Show commonly searched terms.
4. If you’re dead sure that the first result matches with the query, redirect immediately without showing the search result page. Like in Wikipedia.

TOC

This is Part II of the On Designing Search Result Page article series.

1. On Designing Search Result Page, Part I
2. On Designing Search Result Page, Part II: Quick Summary