The approach they are arguing against has a “single box” keyword search that returns results in a clean set of results. The only way to refine results is to cha

The approach they are arguing against has a “single box” keyword search that returns results in a clean set of results. The only way to refine results is to change the text in the keyword box. And then there is a little link to “advanced search” which is a separate page that offers filters in addition to the keyword box, before returning results. In both cases you have to re-run the search after making any changes to keywords or filters. Basically: the site has two separate search experiences: simple keyword, and keyword + filters, connected by a little dinky text link. What they are arguing for is a single search experience that starts with a single text box, but then exposes filter options as part of the results UI. You don’t have to hit the “search” button again, instead you “apply filters.” This is an example of “progressive disclosure,” where more powerful features of the software are revealed to the user as their try to do more complex tasks. Honestly, I think this article is at least 5 years too late, though. The value of filters in the results page is so obvious that even Google has adopted it. While I’m sure there are still some “advanced search” pages hanging around out there on the web, no one builds site search that way anymore. They all provide filters now.