When designing a UI/UX project, especially e-commerce websites that have a large number of products or services, sorting and filtering are important aspects that can significantly enhance the purchasing experience or the overall user experience.
Filters and sorting options help when users need to review large amounts of data in order to find the most similar one that is similar to their needs. So, that’s why every website must have these two key design elements in order to make sure that all visitors enjoy their experience in both mobile and desktop interfaces.
A Filter UI represents that design element that allows visitors to restrict their searches based on certain criteria. Usually seen in e-commerce websites, these UI filters are able to narrow the experience based on color, price, or size according to the user’s needs.
Even if they don’t seem such an important aspect of the website, the Filter UI option plays a crucial role, especially when your website has a high number of products or services to choose from. Based on different UI filters, visitors will notice that the overall experience is much smoother and faster, increasing the chances of becoming loyal to your brand. These filters can also transform into breadcrumbs UI - depending on your needs and wishes.
These two design elements play a vital role in user experience, because when designers implement them in the website design, the whole experience becomes easier and smoother, allowing visitors to find quickly the necessary information.
Filtering should be used especially in those cases where users need to narrow down a complex list of items based on certain criteria. Using UI filters in your website design, users will be able to see only those products or services that are relevant to their wishes and needs. Filter UI is implemented in e-commerce websites because their visitors need to have a smoother experience tailored according to their requirements. So, filtering will offer users the option to tailor based on brand, price, or category to quickly find a certain product.
Sorting UI is more suitable for arranging the items in a certain order, chronologically, based on numerical value, or alphabetically. The sorting UI process can be a significant help for visitors because they can locate various information quickly based on these sorting criteria.
How To Create The Most Practical UI Filters?
- Use simple words in the filter UI options: it’s important to use as simple and common words as possible in order to avoid any confusion. If you want to filter an e-commerce platform for domestic animals, the most common filters should be “cats”, dogs”, “birds” and other simple labels to make sure that visitors can filter easier their searches more.
- Create a search box directly in the filtering option: because many websites have a larger filter list, every website should have a search box that allows users to type in directly a certain filter. This way, they will be able to find faster a certain filter and will significantly streamline the entire navigation process.
- Combine the filter and sort UI options: if you integrate these two design elements into one interface, the website will become easier to navigate, because visitors will be able to refine their search results. This design approach works best for e-commerce websites or buying platforms where users need to see certain products or services based on their brand, price, and also on the recently added or most viewed articles.
- Prioritize the need for certain filters: because not all filters have the same importance, it’s important to understand what users might need and prioritize the filters according to their potential desires.
- Choose the right Filtering UI: choosing the right type is essential for usability. Checkboxes work best when users want to select multiple options such as categories, and brands, while dropdown UI filters help them to organize large filter choices. Sliders are used usually for range-based filtering like price or date selections, and chips and tags allow users quick multi-selections.
- Allow Easy Filter Removal: to improve the user experience, it’s important to make UI filter removal effortless by showing the active filters and removable tags. This will allow users to deselect more easily certain options, or you can implement a “Clear All” button that can provide a convenient way to reset all the filters with just a single click.
Regarding what filter type you will choose, it’s important to keep in mind that UI filter design is created to save users time, and significantly reduce the page's complexity. So, make sure that all filtering and sorting options have a clear purpose to help users not to confuse them even more while searching for certain articles.
We at uinkits understand the importance of great user experiences and creating amazing UI designs. That’s why we’ve developed a Figma UI Kit with design components that include these essential UI elements that enable you to design intuitive and user-friendly interfaces effortlessly.
“You press the button, we do the rest.” – Kodak.
Inspired by this iconic tagline from Kodak, we believe in simplifying the design process for you. Our Figma UI Kit, uinkits, is a complete design system with UI components that allows you, as a UI UX designer, to create your products as quickly as pressing a button.
Our design system includes UI components, icons, variables, cards, buttons and everything you need for your design process. All you have to do is take your UI design component needed, and you’re ready to use it in your designs!
