UX review of new Docs search
We're in the process of replacing the search engine on docs.gitlab.com (epic).
- We're moving from Algolia DocSearch to Google Programmable Search.
- Google Programmable Search enables us to fetch results from Google via their API and use our own UI components.
Once we have an MVC, it would be helpful to get a review from a product designer if possible.
We can use the review app on this MR for testing: !3589 (merged)
- Review app: https://gps-search-ux-improvements.docs.gitlab-review.app/
- Search page: https://gps-search-ux-improvements.docs.gitlab-review.app/search
User experience & design questions
- Is it clear how to use search?
- Is there anything we should do to improve the visual appearance?
-
The "Sections" filter options come from the top-level items in the global navigation for the site. Do they make sense in the context of search results?(Edit: we have since changed these labels a bit and are going to monitor how they get used in production.) -
Results currently include a page title and excerpt with the query bolded. Should we include any additional metadata (e.g, breadcrumbs; sub-page links; other ideas in #1370 (closed))?(Edit: We're holding off on this for our initial implementation.) -
We're considering different approaches for how to steer people to older versions of pages when needed. Any thoughts on this from a UX perspective? We have an MR for version handling up here: !3584 (closed)(Edit: We are not going to do version-specific searches and instead continue to solely use the per-page Versions menu. See closed MR for details.)
Edited by Sarah German