The UX of Useful Faceted Search

The terms filters and faceted navigation are sometimes used interchangeably. While both tools help users narrow large sets of content, they have important differences. Faceted navigation (i.e., https://www.epicurious.com/) can be more flexible and powerful than traditional filters, but more difficult to create and maintain. Classic filters give users the ability to analyze content and exclude items that don’t meet certain criteria, but because the number of categories is typically more limited, they may not be able to provide users with the same flexibility to narrow their options to a relevant set. The key for both facets and filters is in defining the set of criteria as clearly as possible. A usable faceted search provides filter categories and filter values that are appropriate, predictable, free of jargon, and prioritized. Learn more from this informative NNg article.

Defining Helpful Filter Categories and Values for Better UX

For a useful faceted search, develop filter categories and filter values that are appropriate, predictable, free of jargon, and prioritized.

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