My first design challenge was to propose how search feature should work. Search for Totspot is a critical element of building a good working resale platform. Each piece on Totspot is unique and search facility should help users find what they want quickly and easily. The challenge is to help users find the item they are looking for. After conducting some user testing and a better understanding of user goals and behaviours, I have listed some key concepts to create low-fidelity wireframes.
• Save the search query. Users might want to search again using a slightly modified query.
• First results are the most important and must be very accurate, otherwise, they won’t trust the search tool.
• Autosuggest helps speed up the search process.
• Correct typos.
• Store all recent searches.
• Provide sort and filter options.
• Avoid creating dead-end pages in the app experience, even when the search produces no matching results.
As a great example of search experience, we tried to think of Pinterest, a site where there are huge amounts of information. The best practice for search so far is on the top of the page, but we decided to take a more experiental approach and make it a part of the main menu.