Search Bar

Users want instant access to website content, and a site that allows for easy navigation will keep customers coming back. Your website needs to make using the search available no matter where users are on the site. Thus, a clean, well-designed search bar that is positioned in the main navigational menu is key to keeping users happy. Since the navigation bar is on every page of the site, the search field will also be located on every page. By making it prominent, you give users an easy alternative to finding what they want.

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The search bar must be visible to searchers. Once people come to your site, and if the search box is on the main navigation bar, they immediately know where they have to go. If you put it in another place, people may miss it. The search bar provides a central place to help visitors find what they're looking for, giving them instant access to an important function. Correct placement on the right side of the navigation bar gives it a high visual priority.

Advanced Search Bar with Frequently Used Queries

Searching for the required information can be frustrating and time-consuming. To find a few pages on your website, a user shouldn't have to enter search phrases over and over again. With Menu Generator, you can create an advanced search bar that includes frequently used queries to make it easy to get the right results quickly.

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The search bar can include a dropdown menu with relevant links. A user can click on the link and be directed to the page without having to type a search query. This feature allows you to create a list of the most popular search queries and place them into the dropdown menu underneath the search bar. This way, a user doesn’t need to type a search query to visit a specific page. It efficiently saves user's clicks and improves usability.

Add the Search Bar to Navigation Menu

In short, the search bar is an HTML element with a small portion of HTML and CSS code. To add the "Popular Search Queries" list, you should add a list of sub-navigation links underneath the HTML element with the main search box. The list should display the site's search queries in order of popularity, sorted alphabetically. The list appears when the user moves the mouse pointer over the search field (or, on mobile devices, the user taps the search box).

This blog post describes in detail how to add the search bar to the navigation menu: How To Add Search Bar To Navigation Menu.

The search field can also be placed in the submenu, then it is enough to have only the search icon with an arrow indicator in the main navigation bar. The blog post (the link above) also shows a way how to make the drop-down search box.

“You have the best drop-down menu system I've seen. I have been a web designer for 20+ years and believe me I've seen them all.” - Mike Boyles.