Six Reasons Why Your Website Needs a Search Function

By Brody Dorland — June 15th, 2009

Is finding content on your site like trying to find a needle in a haystack?As a website developer, I am regularly talking with B2B clients about the various bells and whistles available for their websites. One particular whistle, adding a search function, can be a very powerful tool for a website, but it often gets left on the cutting room floor when budgets are tight.

I do my best to explain the benefits of site search to clients, but in the heat of the moment, I inevitably forget to mention a few key selling points. Here’s a more thorough explanation with examples that should help you see that having a site search is really a no brainer.

The 6 Reasons Why Your Website Needs a Search Function

  1. Without a search function, some people might just leave – Countless usability studies have found that more than half of all website visitors are “search dominant”, so you run the risk of losing visitors right away if they can’t search.
  2. People are lazy – Search engines have taught us to search. If visitors see a search box on your site, most will go straight to it rather than having to use their brain and traverse your navigation bar. Read the rest of this entry »