Sites That Don’t Need Search?

I was just looking at Smashing Magazine’s article(s) on web design trends in 2009 and it got me thinking about search. In particular which sites need search and which sites can get by without it. I never added a search box to any of my Justin’s Diecasts sites because I figured the “Car List” feature was enough. Besides, where would I put it?

While the drop down menu can be considered ancient I still think it has it’s place and the “Car List” uses it well. If a person comes to my site knowing what he or she is looking for they simply find the car maker in the list. If they just want to browse, it’s great for browsing. It works because I don’t have a site that contains must-have information. Instead, I provide a kind of entertainment. That might be a peculiar way to label it but that’s what it is. A site like CNN needs search. Blogs need search. But some sites do not.

As sites become leaner and are designed with more white space in might, I think the idea of “no search design” might take flight. I know I like going to a site and immediately knowing what to do and how to find the information I want. Searching is one way but so is navigation if its done properly.

Windows 7 Public Beta Countdown

Not long before the public beta of Windows 7 is released! I must say I’m seeing a massive response to Windows 7 in general. Every forum I visit has a post about it. Ninety nine percent of the people posting in those forums are loving Windows 7. People are installing it on their laptops, desktops and netbooks. They say it runs faster and is less of a resource hog and they would be right on the money based on my experience with the new OS. It flies.

I switched back to Vista last night so I’d have all my programs and settings in place for discussing CES and I already miss Windows 7. I miss the thumbnail previews the most. I love this extension of Vista’s already handy feature. The task bar has grown to be my new favorite feature. Everything I do is there. The start menu, search, my most used programs and the most viewed documents I open in them via jump lists.

Mark you’re digital calendars and download a copy to try for yourself tomorrow, January 9. This is the biggest Windows release ever. It isn’t even that Windows 7 is a mjor step forward because it isn’t. It is however not Vista which is all the average computer user had hoped for at the end of the day anyway. Let’s not tell them it’s a new version of Vista, OK?