E-commerce Search Filters are very useful. These are extensions of faceted search. It is also commonly known as a specific product attribute you can use to refine search results of a particular category listing. You can apply more than one filter.
Build The Best E-commerce Search Filters
When done right, e-commerce search filters allow site visitors to narrow down a website’s selection. Refined from tons of items to only a few products that match their specific needs and interests. This allows visitors to retrieve the most relevant search results based on the chosen criteria.
A lot of customers don’t always know what they really want. As they start to navigate around your site and do their research, search filters allow them to drill on certain products and items.
This may surface some options they did not even know they needed. And that’s what gives them a better experience.
The Baymard Institute reviewed filtering UX parameters in a recent product list benchmark. They found 34% of websites have a poor filtering experience. Building the right search filter for an e-commerce site has become critical. Yet, there are some ways that can help you stand out from the rest and increase your site’s performance. How?
You Can Provide Category-Specific Filters
Most users have the interest of filtering a product list across category-specific attributes. So make sure that each category has a unique set of filters specific to the type of product.
Promote Important Filters Above The Product List
Product filtering sidebars have the risks of overlooking traditional filters. It could become an option rather than making them a selection.
So to encourage their selection, promoting important filters on top of the product list is a good idea.
Allow Application Of Multiple Values At The Same Time
Forty-five percent of the test subjects combined multiple values within the same filtering type on the sites where it was possible. So, filtering values should not be exclusive only within the same filter type.
Have Thematic Filters
If thematic filtering options were not applied, viewing only the products of interest to users was often unreasonably time-consuming. To avoid this, you can manually tag products or groups of products to enable thematic filters.
Allow A Compatibility Filter
You need a compatibility filter for any product category that contains compatibility-dependent products. Such examples are spare parts, consumables, accessories, etc. It allows the user to specify their model name and number but could also be a filter for a more generic specification.
Truncate Long Lists Of Filtering Values
For users to notice truncations, display ten values before triggering the truncation rather than displaying all values or using inline scrollable areas. Display default values you think are most likely recognizable. Style the truncation link to set it apart from the filtering values.
It Varies Greatly By Industry
For example, an apparel website needs fewer filters. This is quite different compared to electronics websites due to the type of products it carries. Thus, it needs a less advanced design for its filters to achieve a higher score.