The traditional website architecture paradigm in some applications is on the way out. It is less important for content to exist in a strict tree structure or to be found in only one category. Show off the breadth of work in your portfolio or products by giving users ways to browse, filter and search. Content can be loosely organized in multiple categories providing many logical click-through paths.

Netflix provides various ways to find movies in their more than 75,000 title collection. Their users, including me, love them for that. The website gives customers the ability to both search and filter with a great deal of control.

Customers can start with a genre and narrow their view to sub-genres at any time. The site has near instant feedback displaying new results quickly and keeping customers engaged. A few filters can narrow results and return relevant titles. For example: “Sci-Fi + Visually-Striking + Future Dystopias”. If a customer has an even more focused idea in mind, “Stanley Kubrick,” or “2001: A Space Odyssey,” relevant titles can be found instantly with a text search. Text searches are augmented with auto-suggestions that display underneath the text box that updates with each keystroke that. You will typically find what you are looking for before you click search to see the complete result list.

This level of interaction is possible with the use of AJAX technology. AJAX allows the browser to make connections to the server to return specific data rather than returning an entire page including graphics. This method can also filter large datasets already loaded into browser memory. The direct benefit is faster response from user interactions.

We’ve taken a similar approach with the recently launched Fuss and O’Neill re-design. Fuss and O’Neill has a large portfolio spanning a number of markets and locations while offering many different types of services. It gives visitors the ability to filter and browse areas that interest them while still showcasing their broad variety of services. Users can also search by text input if they have something more specific in mind.

Some great things come out of this system. Users are engaged because of near instant search/filter feedback. Though often overlooked in applications like this, the URL is updated with filter data without a page reload. Fuss and O’Neill has found it very handy to link to searches from within their content. Example: “See all of our completed Water and Wastewater Engineering projects in the Northeast.” This sends a visitor straight to a filtered portfolio instead of having to search for themselves. From here, customers can still see your other service offerings (just because they may not be looking for them right now, does not mean they won’t another time). Projects can span many different relevant filters and do not have to be locked into one category as it would in a traditional system. This categorization is looser and more flexible.

People use the web differently; some meander and browse, and some cut to the chase and search. Give users both options, but be sure to give them the results they want without the sacrifice of trimming your portfolio down to a handful of projects. Keep users engaged by offering them strategic control of their browsing, searching, and filtering experience.