While most of the world is focusing on solar as a way to power the earth, there is a less well-known but widely utilized tool that powers websites to provide a better user experience. Apache Solr is a search feature that helps users find what they need quickly. Build trust quicker and shorten the time needed to make a sale, all by decreasing the time it takes to find information on your website.

Why is this Important?

Google and Amazon (among others) have trained internet users to navigate websites using search. While not every user prefers search, at least half of them do. People are learning that the quickest way to get to the information they want is to find the handy search bar and type away.

• If your site has lots of things to offer with information or products, you might consider adding this feature. Some users don't want to take time to figure out the navigation, depending on the use case. At times, users want to explore a site and will use navigation, while at other times they just want to reference an article they found earlier and move on.
• Even users that prefer navigation use search. If they can't find what they need in a relatively short amount of time, they look to the search bar to solve their problems. If you can't solve their problems, someone else can and will.

What Apache Offers

This handy search tool uses features that can drastically improve the user experience if implemented correctly.

• Predictive Searching helps the user by figuring out what they want as they type to get them to the information faster.
• Spell Checking as the user types helps them find the information even if they are unsure of how to spell certain words. It saves them frustration in looking at Google for correct spelling before returning (rarely) to your site with the proper word choice. Keep users on your site by helping them in every way, building authority and trust that grows your business.
• Faceted Searching builds upon a search as it lets the user perform additional searches upon the first results. Narrowing down the results decreases time in performing several high level searches. By performing a high level search and then successively lower level searches, users find what they need from a large database of information quickly.

What's in it for You?

When you add this tool into your website, search terms from each query are stored in a database for your enjoyment. Now you see what users are searching and where they go on your site. You can also see what products or services users might want or additional information they need.

Do it the Right Way

It may seem simple to add this search feature, but there are certain configuration choices to be made that can make or break the usefulness.

• Scoped-search might seem like a good way to quickly narrow down what your server has to work with, it can confuse users very easily. This type of search only applies the tool to a subset of your website. It can be applied to only search white papers or (if you are crazy enough) women's shoes instead of also men's shoes. Search is meant to let users find information easily and if you limit their access, you limit their power and control.
• Mobile search can also be a good way to go if you already have the tool on your website. Users usually don't want features on one site and not the other, so if you provide search on your desktop, you should build it into your mobile site as well. Choosing one platform over the other makes assumptions on what you think the user wants, and limiting their power can backfire.
• Advanced search options are a better way to segment user groups than scoped-search. Some users can perform more complicated searches, such as with Boolean phrases and other operations. They are comfortable with more options, so feel free to give them these options. Other users would be overwhelmed, so it's ok to provide a link to more complicated options on a different page and let the simpler search be featured first.

Summary

While search is not a must-have feature on websites, it can really improve the user experience if you have lots of information to offer. It even provides you with handy, user-relevant data and that can provide endless hours of entertainment. Provide more relevant content to serve users better to build that relationship of trust and authority.

Also, in case you didn't notice, I used this search article a couple times because it has amazing information, which you should check out and reference.

Photo by Oregon DOT