Best Practices For Designing Search Boxes

[mandy]

On content-heavy websites, the search box is often the most frequently used design element. From a usability point of view, irritated users use the search function as a last option when looking for specific information on a website. If a website's content is not organized properly, an efficient search engine is not only helpful but crucial, even for basic website navigation. In fact, search is the user's lifeline to mastering complex websites. The best designs offer a simple search box on the home page and play down advanced search and scoping...

full article and examples: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/...practices/

[Howits]

Nice article, I enjoyed reading it and will help me better plan my search box position and design for the future.