Keyless entry remotes are a good type of product to use to explain some of the challenges of database searches. Car remotes have a lot of different variables that you might wind up storing, and simply organizing the remotes themselves can be a hassle. Between each different company with its own keyless entry remotes, and then different remotes for various years, makes, and models, and then all the aftermarket car remotes that are out there, and you have a recipe for a pretty huge database of fairly specific products that people are going to want to search.
A keyword search is...not your best bet, when looking for something like keyless entry remotes. Asking your user to type "Acura" or "Honda" or "Ford" into your search bar and then find their remote in the mass of results is little better than not letting them search at all. Ideally, you want your user to find exactly the car remote (or whatever) it's looking for, as quickly as possible. Most car remote sites do this by letting people search by year, make, and model.
When selling products other than keyless entry remotes, you want to use a similar concept. Organization is key to good database design. Whether it's the year, make, and model of a car remote, or the color, size, and sleeve length of a t-shirt, having some specific fields that contain useful information that people can search and sort with makes your website more efficient.
More options are always good. A car remote site might also allow searches by, for example, the FCCID number of their keyless entry remotes, or the manufacturer's part number. For people who know the specific numbers for their own car remotes (such as people looking to replace a damaged remote), this can get them quickly to the correct remote with much fewer parameters. That means fewer clicks, and a faster result for the user.
Designing a database and search system is always about organization. You want your backend organized so you can administer to your products, and your front end so your users can find what they're looking for quickly. Whether you're selling keyless entry remotes, t-shirts, or electronics, the more points you have to distinguish things and sort on, the more useful your database will be.
Author Resource:
Dustin Schwerman is the head web designer for Truly Unique Website Design. Truly Unique works on websites of all varieties, their clients offer services ranging from keyless entry remotes to remote keyless entry .
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