However, this option might not be as suitable for cases where there are a lot of search parameters with no clear hierarchy, since it would become cumbersome to navigate through a lot of dropdowns.
Airbnb identified the few filters people use use the most and displayed them comfortably in the horizontal toolbar. Anything else is tucked under the ‘More’ dropdown, which expands to a full screen.
Filtering patterns for mobile devices
Thierry Meier has already done a great job discussing the merits and the use case of each type of mobile filtering, so I’ll be brief in enumerating them:
- Slideover onscreen filtering — A filter view that partially overlays the search results. It’s useful to see keep context of what is being filtered, but it isn’t recommended on longer sets of filters.
- Fullscreen onscreen filtering — Full screen filter views are convenient when displaying longer sets of filters, since they make for a more focused experience and allow for more screen estate.
- Search result filtering — The results depend on the user’s input. If the query is too broad, a set of categories is offered in order to narrow down the results. If, on the other hand, the query is more specific, deliver the search results right away.
While we were learning more about filters, Aiswarya Kolisetty and I also concurred that in some cases it might be appropriate to surface relevant results without resorting to “traditional” filtering.
However, research suggests that for the user, the outcome is roughly equivalent: both surface the most relevant content according to their criteria. During user sessions, Baymard even reports some people to use “sorting” and “filtering” interchangeably.
‘Filterless filters’
While we were learning more about filters, Aiswarya Kolisetty and I also concurred that in some cases it might be appropriate to surface relevant results without resorting to “traditional” filtering.
Airbnb identified the few filters people use use the most and displayed them comfortably in the horizontal toolbar. Anything else is tucked under the ‘More’ dropdown, which expands to a full screen.
Ekipa Žarovnij
