Search tools help users to find specific information on your site. Search tools are critical for sites with a large amount of content, and many users will use a search function rather than menu navigation.

Web developers can use a ‘best bets’ function to prioritise search results, to ensure that the first results from an internal website search are as relevant as possible. Often, the content developer will put together the best bets list for the web developer to implement. To develop a best bets list, put terms into the site search engine and see what comes up; if the first 2 or 3 results listed are not the most relevant, list the pages that should be used instead.

The terms should be based on:

• common search terms – these are generally collected as part of the research phase of a project, and may include Google search terms (what users have typed into Google or another search engine) or onsite search terms (what users have typed into the search function on the site itself)

• abbreviations – if you have used full names rather than abbreviations in your content, think about the abbreviations that users may type in (eg ANDS instead of Australian National Data Service)

• other ways to phrase things – users may use different terms or may not know the exact term for something, so you will need to think about what else they might type in (eg break vs holiday).

• misspellings – you do not need an exhaustive list of possible misspellings, but common ones can be put in to help users find what they need (eg accomodation for accommodation, attourney for attorney). The Wikipedia list of common misspellings is a useful resource for this. Also, take note of possible American spellings (eg behavior for behaviour)

• incorrect punctuation – dropping a hyphen or apostrophe can change search results (eg person centred care is not found, but person-centred care is). Some search functions will be able to find the correct result even if the punctuation is wrong (known as a ‘fuzzy search’), but some will not. Check with your web developer whether best bets are needed for incorrect punctuation.

As well as a search function, you can include an A–Z website index. This has hyperlinked entries that take the user to a webpage or a specific location on a page. This tool is similar to a back-of-book index in a print publication, with alphabetical (as opposed to hierarchical) organisation.

Indexes bridge the gap between searching and browsing, as all the references are already identified in the index, rather than requiring the user to type free-form text into a search box. Common misspellings are therefore not an issue with A–Z indexes because the correct spelling is provided by the index, rather than needing to be typed by the user. A–Z indexes can also accommodate synonyms and alternative search terms, and be based on ideas and concepts, rather than keywords.

However, A–Z indexes must be manually created and maintained, so the initial and ongoing labour should be considered when deciding whether to include such an index. Online material that is constantly changing or is very small in scope is unlikely to benefit from this type of index.