Hardly anyone ever has time to check out all 2,563 models of women’s dresses on your website.
These days, consumers expect to find what they are looking for in just a minute or two. As soon as they open your website, they expect navigation to be predictable and deliver results instantly. This is where dynamic filters come to help.
What is it?
How dynamic filters work: the user enters a query into the search bar. Filters are then generated using the features of products relevant to this query, without reference to the catalog. In this case, products can be fetched even from different categories. You can sort products by:
- category;
- availability;
- price;
- brand;
- and other parameters.
The user marks the needed filtering parameters and selects the desired product from a better-fitting list.
Filters vs Dynamic filters
Filtering means narrowing the search down based on predefined categories. These categories often tend to be fairly broad. Filters are wider business — defined categories that remain unchanged between searches. E.g., an online clothing store would use “clothing type” as a filter, with four possible categories: shirts, trousers, footwear, and accessories. Once a website visitor clicks on “shirts” at the top of the navigation panel, a filter by clothing type is applied, and the visitor is shown the results page, featuring shirts only.
Dynamic filters help customers filter products after the search results are fetched, so they can locate the exact products they want to buy. Such filters are based on product attributes, such as price, size, color, etc. Dynamic filters help sellers offer customers the most relevant products, which is especially handy when a store has a rich product range.
When are dynamic filters needed?
This feature is especially useful for e-commerce websites offering numerous products. Since dynamic filters provide for more complex and detailed search refinement, they should be used when broader filtering fails to help users quickly locate the products they are after.
Dynamic filters are a must for large online stores. If your catalog has hundreds or thousands of pages, dynamic filters will be of great help to your search. Users want ways to simultaneously search by multiple parameters to help them find products and services. However, for instance, if your website offers only a few dozen different products, a handful of broad filters may be enough.
We at SearchBooster have come to consider dynamic filters a very important asset, as they make websites more user-friendly and provide a dynamic, intuitive UI customers are eager to return to.
Dynamic filters may result in extra costs incurred when developing a website, but they are well worth it. If you are looking for a comprehensive solution to kick your store up a level, you may want to consider out-of-the-box solutions. SearchBooster offers a ready-made dynamic filtering feature on top of an advanced website search engine at no added cost. Your customers will enjoy using SearchBooster’s smart tools to quickly filter search results and save time and effort.
When a search query is entered, SearchBooster automatically generates filters and displays them on the user’s screen. The customer can then filter products by the properties they need.
Features SearchBooster offers:
- Unlimited customizable filters
- Dynamic filtering by price, product type, collections, tags, seller, color, size, product rating, availability
- Multiple choice filters
- Quick view, Add to cart buttons
- Optimization for mobile devices
Dynamic filters can significantly improve the quality and usability of your search while boosting the conversion rate for your website. Want to learn more about smart search features?
Sign up and get a 14-day trial to test drive the new features for your store.
