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All categories/Product and design

Interaction and UX · Level Advanced · Design Search UX

Search: when there are no results

An empty page when search returns nothing.

Prompt

Ask what the user is doing and what they fear, then decide what goes on screen. Visual tricks do not fix structural problems.

Task: An empty page when search returns nothing.

[Before you start, do three things]
1. Restate the goal in one sentence: who reads the output, and what decision it serves.
2. If I have not given you the following, ask me. Do not assume:
   - what is searched and why
   - no-result rate
   - filters available
   - synonym support
3. Say how you plan to do it (at most 5 steps) and wait for my go-ahead.

[Go through each of these]
- on no results, suggest near matches or alternatives
- log no-result queries and review
- keep the user's input
- typo and synonym tolerance

[Process]
1. State the single job of this screen
2. Answer the user's current worry first
3. Order by information priority and delete
4. Design empty, loading and error states
5. Give a minimal usability test

[Output]
One job, priority, three states, test plan.

[Do not]
- Never two primary actions on one screen
- Do not test with lorem ipsum
- Never ignore the empty state
- Never use colour as the only signal

What to state before it starts

Leave these unsaid and the model fills them with an assumption. Most 'wrong answers' start here.

  • what is searched and why
  • no-result rate
  • filters available
  • synonym support

Go through each of these

Where this kind of work most often goes wrong. Already in the prompt, so you do not have to remember it.

  • on no results, suggest near matches or alternatives
  • log no-result queries and review
  • keep the user's input
  • typo and synonym tolerance