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We’ve been building websites since 1998
We are trusted advisors to Over 50 Active Clients within several industries including associations and nonprofits, healthcare, financial services, retail, B2B and more.
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After we deliver a quality website on time and within your budget, we will be there for when it really counts. We will be proactive, consultative and strategic after we launch your website.
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We’ve integrated with virtually every AMS system on the market as well as most LMS, publication, advocacy and career center applications. Our company was founded on custom development.
We build websites that are easy to edit, manage and design using the best content management system on the market, Sitefinity CMS.
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John Wurm
The team at Vanguard helped us think about our digital presence from the perspective and needs of our users, while holding true to the values our organization espouses.
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Technology articles about one topic from the perspective of Leadership, Marketing and IT professionals .
Features Your Website Needs: Faceted Search
When you are browsing through a website looking for something specific, it is likely that your first action will be to search for it using a key word in the search bar. But, when there are hundreds of pages of results based on that key word, how are you going to locate the content you are specifically searching for without skimming through all the result items? That is where faceted searches come in handy.
Here is a real-world example: You want to purchase new headphones, so you navigate to Amazon.com and search “headphones.” You are given over 2,000 results. Nobody has the time to look through all 2,000 of them, so you need to narrow down your search by using filters. Typically, you will find these filters, or facets, on the left-hand side of the search results page.
For our “headphones” example on Amazon, the faceted search allows you to narrow down by facet groups including Brand, Price, Color, Features, Type, Style, and more.
Screenshot from https://www.amazon.com/s?k=headphones&crid=1JL0O2359NJR9&sprefix=headp%2Caps%2C199&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_5
For our example, let’s filter down by selecting the following facets:
- Brand: Sony
- Price: $50-$100
- Color: Black
By selecting those specific facets, I went from 2,000 results to 48 results. This is why having a faceted search is so important for a streamlined user experience.
Vanguard builds custom faceted searches for many of our clients. Overall, we see great user satisfaction when a client’s website has a faceted search on its search results page.
There are many ways you can group different facets together. Many times, we will see clients want a facet group called “Content Types” with facets including Events, Pages, Documents, Blogs, etc. Other times, clients will want to have a “Topics” facet group. In this case, the user can sort by a wide range of predetermined topics. The website admin will often utilize taxonomy, which is the classification and organization of content through tags, categories, etc. to apply categories to content in order for it to display in the faceted search appropriately.
There are many other types of facets you can choose. It all depends on what your users are looking for. Vanguard recommends conducting Discovery work to determine what your users are going to be searching for, and the best facets to include.
If you are interested in implementing a faceted search on your website, reach out to your friendly project or client manager at Vanguard to get started!
Vanguard Tips & Tricks
We provide helpful hints you never knew you needed for our clients. Check out "Vanguard Tips & Tricks" to learn quick and simple hacks to make managing your website easier than ever.
Features Your Website Needs: Faceted Search
When you are browsing through a website looking for something specific, it is likely that your first action will be to search for it using a key word in the search bar. But, when there are hundreds of pages of results based on that key word, how are you going to locate the content you are specifically searching for without skimming through all the result items? That is where faceted searches come in handy.
Here is a real-world example: You want to purchase new headphones, so you navigate to Amazon.com and search “headphones.” You are given over 2,000 results. Nobody has the time to look through all 2,000 of them, so you need to narrow down your search by using filters. Typically, you will find these filters, or facets, on the left-hand side of the search results page.
For our “headphones” example on Amazon, the faceted search allows you to narrow down by facet groups including Brand, Price, Color, Features, Type, Style, and more.
Screenshot from https://www.amazon.com/s?k=headphones&crid=1JL0O2359NJR9&sprefix=headp%2Caps%2C199&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_5
For our example, let’s filter down by selecting the following facets:
- Brand: Sony
- Price: $50-$100
- Color: Black
By selecting those specific facets, I went from 2,000 results to 48 results. This is why having a faceted search is so important for a streamlined user experience.
Vanguard builds custom faceted searches for many of our clients. Overall, we see great user satisfaction when a client’s website has a faceted search on its search results page.
There are many ways you can group different facets together. Many times, we will see clients want a facet group called “Content Types” with facets including Events, Pages, Documents, Blogs, etc. Other times, clients will want to have a “Topics” facet group. In this case, the user can sort by a wide range of predetermined topics. The website admin will often utilize taxonomy, which is the classification and organization of content through tags, categories, etc. to apply categories to content in order for it to display in the faceted search appropriately.
There are many other types of facets you can choose. It all depends on what your users are looking for. Vanguard recommends conducting Discovery work to determine what your users are going to be searching for, and the best facets to include.
If you are interested in implementing a faceted search on your website, reach out to your friendly project or client manager at Vanguard to get started!
Case Studies
Vanguard conducts thorough preliminary investigative work to ensure your website is built to cater specifically to your target audience and meet your organization’s goals. Check out some of the case studies on some of our most recent client success stories.
What Can Vanguard Do For You?
As your organization grows and evolves, your website should as well. Whether you are looking to generate more traffic, implement custom functionality, mobile compatibility, integrate your systems, or give your site a complete redesign, Vanguard Technology is your go-to web partner. Reach out to us with your current concerns with your website, and our experts will happily provide a solution.
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