Add a search bar when people need to find a known item across a broad set of pages. Do not add one just to make up for a weak menu. A small site with clear paths may not need search at all.
The key question is not how many pages you have. It is what people need to find, and how they look for it.
Start with the task, not the icon
A person choosing a service needs a clear route. A person looking for a named policy needs a quick way to find that item. These are two different jobs.
Write down five real tasks your visitors need to do. Use questions from your team, help requests and user tests where you have them. Do not treat your own guesses as proof.
- Find out which service fits my needs.
- Find the date of the next event.
- Find a policy I have been told to read.
- Find a guide on a specific topic.
- Find the right person to contact.
Then try each task on a phone. Start at the home page, not a link sent by your team. Note where you stop, guess or go back.
Choose the right way to help people find things
Use a menu for clear routes. If people need to see your main services or understand who you help, start with plain labels and a short, useful menu.
Use filters to narrow a set. A resource hub may need topic and format filters. An events list may need dates. These let people browse without knowing an exact name.
Use search for specific needs. Search can help when the item could sit in several places, or when visitors know a name that is not in your menu.
These tools can work together. But each should earn its place. Our guide to making key pages easier to choose from helps with the first step: giving each page one clear job.
Do not use search to hide a content problem
If your menu says one thing and your pages say another, a search box will not fix the mismatch. Nor will it decide which of three old guides is still correct.
Before adding search, check page titles, repeated content and out-of-date files. Use the words your visitors use, not just your team's internal terms.
For example, a visitor might search for fees while your page is called investment. A useful search plan needs to test both terms. This is a sample test, not a claim about any one site.
A search box is only useful if the results help people choose what to open.
Test the results, not just the search box
Before sign-off, agree on a small list of search terms and the page each should lead to. Include common words, a long phrase, a typo and a term with no match.
- Check that the right page appears near the top.
- Check that each result has a clear title and enough detail to tell it apart.
- Check that old files and test pages do not crowd out current content.
- Check which content the tool can search, including any PDFs you rely on.
- Check that no-results pages offer a useful next step, not a dead end.
Ask your build team what is included in search and how soon changes appear. Do not assume every file, page or outside system is covered.
Make search easy to use
Give the field a clear label and make the search button easy to understand. A magnifying glass alone may not tell every visitor what to do.
The W3C guide to form labels explains how to give form controls names that people and assistive tools can use. Test the field and results with a keyboard, as well as on a phone.
Keep the query visible on the results page so people can change it. If there is no match, suggest a different term, a useful section or a contact path.
Give someone the job after launch
Search needs an owner. Ask them to review common terms, failed searches and key results. If your tool does not track these, start with regular checks of the tasks you tested before launch.
A busy search tool does not always mean a helpful one. People may search because they prefer it, or because they are lost. Watch the task as well as the count.
Our guide to website governance sets out how to make this kind of review part of normal site care.
Make the decision before you add the feature
For a small service site, fix labels and page paths first. For a broad library, test search and filters against real tasks. In both cases, budget for useful results, not just a box in the header.
If your team is unsure where people get stuck, talk to IGNITE about your site's key user journeys. We can help work out whether you need better page paths, better search, or both.