The filter categories your search provides must cover the most important aspects of whatever users will be filtering, based on relevance to users’ needs.
Filters provide a set of controls to reduce items in a collection based on attributes the user is interested in (filtering items by creation date). We often hear people on how much they appreciate these tools for narrowing down search results. When well-designed, they create a positive feeling of control and choice, even in the face of overwhelming numbers of options. I researched about the general studies on filters, and here’s what I’ve found. “That’s always helpful, the information on the side, the filters. I appreciate that when I shop, especially when I know what I’m looking for.”
Every day, people visit online stores and leave them without placing a purchase. They are simply unable to find what they need. And this usually relates to every e-commerce website. Yet, very often the main reason is the poor filtering design, driving visitors away instead of delivering profits. Too much information often causes problems in online services, whether on e-commerce sites, news sites, social media. One way to help users navigate through many options (products, locations, content, etc.) is to allow them to narrow down the list of items to a manageable number that satisfies their specified criteria. If a website contains a large number of products (and e-commerce websites almost always do), a filtering system is a must.
Filtering is useful for any online store, even without extensive lists of products. Filters are a great chance to present a variety of products, improve the UX, reach a wider audience and increase sales. Filters are useless if people don’t understand what they mean. Remember that many of your users know far less about the details of your products or content than you do. They can’t be expected to know every term or feature associated with them. Filters are useless if people don’t understand what they mean. Remember that many of your users know far less about the details of your products or content than you do. They can’t be expected to know every term or feature associated with them. However, using just those common filter categories across your site won’t be enough to help people make choices. You’ll obviously need different filter categories for appliances than you’ll need for adoptable pets or rental cars. But even then, you’ll want different filters for washing machines versus dishwashers. (Also, remember to provide appropriate currencies and international measurement units if you’re serving an international audience.)
It can be time-consuming to customize the presented filters for each content or product type, but the effort is worthwhile. Remember that these filters are the tools your users will rely on to help them navigate their options and make a decision. If your site is missing a critical filter, your users are likely to notice and complain. One participant in a qualitative usability test was shopping for shoes on Nordstrom’s site. While on a sale page, he was disappointed when he didn’t see a filter for Size. “Filters are pretty important,” he said. “They have them for color and price and brand, but not size. So that turns me off.” Selecting good categories that will truly be helpful for users in your targeted domain is one of how specialized websites can provide a superior user experience, relative to bigger and more generalized sites like Amazon.com. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to supporting niche user needs. A deep understanding of these needs comes from detailed user research, which is more likely to be done by companies serving a narrow domain than by companies with broad product offerings.
If your site contains complex products or content, anticipate what terms or concepts might be unfamiliar to users. Once you know which terms are likely to be problematic, you can then decide how to deal with them. In some cases, you won’t want to use them at all. In other situations, you’ll need to have them available, but try to keep it simple The filter categories your search provides must cover the most important aspects of whatever users will be filtering, based on relevance to users’ needs. Some filter categories will work for many items, for example: •Brand •Material •Color •Average Rating •Price •Size •Availability
There are two classic mechanisms for narrowing down options: facets and classical filters. Each of these involves defining a set of clear criteria (also called filters). Facets also known as facet filters, allow users to refine their searches by multiple dimensions at the same time. Faceted search is a more granular way to find products and results in a specific, targeted way that is not possible with broad, one-size-fits-all filters. Also we got 3 design types of filters based upon their performance? There are three main classifications of filters: (1) passive, (2) active, and (3) hybrid filters: 1. Passive filters are made up of reactive components like capacitors, inductors, and resistors. They are tuned to provide a low impedance path for specific currents with undesirable harmonic frequencies. I’d like to end this blog with what I’ve learned and it worked for me at this point for filters. Through my journey, I’ve learned the best way to present filters. As for the filters web UI, most e-commerce websites display filters in four main ways: •All filter options at once. •Adding the scroll feature into each filter category. •Showing only the filter headers with a selection option. •Truncated filters (displaying a subset of the filters and providing a View More or View All hyperlink to represent the rest of the filter options). If you want to know more about e-commerce development platforms or apps, read our blog posts for Shopify and Shopware. Our dedicated outsourcing team can be your collaborator in ecommerce.
Elmedinë Ramushi UI/UX Designer