Search is where users go when navigation fails. If it returns nothing or the wrong thing, they leave. Test with data you know well, so you can tell if results are right.
The checklist
- Empty query. - Why: users tap search with nothing typed. - How to check: submit with an empty field. The app shows suggestions, recent searches or stays put, and does not crash or list everything by accident.
- Exact match. - Why: if a known item is not found, trust is gone. - How to check: search the exact title of three items you know exist. All appear near the top.
- Case and accents. - Why: users do not type capitals or accents consistently. - How to check: search "cafe", "Café" and "CAFÉ". Results are the same.
- Typos and partial words. - Why: phones produce typos constantly. - How to check: drop or swap a letter, or type half a word. Decide what you expect (match, suggestion, "did you mean") and check it happens.
- Spaces. - Why: stray spaces change results in naive implementations. - How to check: add leading, trailing and double spaces to a valid query. Results match the clean query.
- Special characters and long input.
- Why: quotes, percent signs, backslashes and emoji can break queries.
- How to check: search
',",%,\,<b>, an emoji and 500 characters. No crash, no error, no raw markup shown. - Number and non-Latin queries. - Why: IDs, prices and other scripts are real searches. - How to check: search a number, a decimal with comma and point, and a term in another script that exists in your data.
- Search while typing vs on submit. - Why: live search can flood requests and show out-of-order results. - How to check: type quickly and then delete. Results match the final text, not an earlier request.
- No results. - Why: the user needs a next step. - How to check: search nonsense. A clear message and a suggestion appear. See empty states.
- Filters work alone and together.
- Why: combinations are where bugs live.
- How to check: apply each filter, then pairs and all. Compare the count with a manual check against the data.
- Filter state is visible and resettable.
- Why: hidden active filters make results look wrong.
- How to check: apply filters, close the panel. A badge or chips show what is active, and one tap clears all.
- Sorting.
- Why: wrong order is a quiet bug.
- How to check: sort by each option, ascending and descending, with ties, empty values and mixed case. Order is stable and correct.
- Search plus filter plus sort.
- Why: state is often lost when one changes.
- How to check: combine all three, change one at a time. The others stay as set.
- State after navigation.
- Why: going back and losing the query is annoying.
- How to check: open a result, go back. Query, filters, sort and scroll position are kept.
- Pagination and slow results.
- Why: result 21 onward is rarely tested.
- How to check: use a query with many results, scroll to the end, and repeat on a slow network (see loading states).
- Result display.
- Why: matching text is easier to trust when you can see it.
- How to check: long titles, missing images and missing fields render without breaking the row.
- Search history and privacy.
- Why: recent searches may show sensitive terms.
- How to check: look at where history is stored and shown, and that it can be cleared.
Related
Back to all checklists · Settings screen checklist · Account deletion checklist
A fresh tester searches in ways you never thought of. Start free: private, structured feedback, 1 feedback = 1 credit.