Build out DigitalGov search features

[noahmanger]

DigitalGov search provides a number of useful features that we should be able to piece together to server our ends. This issue is for figuring out all the knobs and levers we want to use to make the search work for our content and data.

Thinks to include:

• Visual theming
• "Collections"
• No results messages
• "Best bets"

[onezerojeremy]

Read-out from a meeting with Digital Gov Search Team:

• It’s not completely clear that the out-of-the-box Digital gov search has the ability to provide search for free, as we had expected (increasing volumes of search, increasing costs per query from bing)
• One alternative might be for us to use their results api instead. This will be more work (as we’ll have to build:
  • A way to push our content to them
  • Results pages to show what comes back
• Another alternative might be to use Wagtails built-in search (which is elastic search), but it will take some work to get that up too
• If we use the digital gov search api, we’ll also get access to some of the enhancements that they’ve added, which are configurable using their admin
• Using the results API will ultimately likely yield a better user experience than using the search results pages: we can better segment and explain the difference in the two kinds of searches (data and content).

Next steps:

• digital gov search team will get back to us regarding whether out of the box search results can work for us
• jeremy to continue to explore best bets, facets, and routed queries, no results we might want to use
• jeremy to work on wires for results api driven search
• noah to investigate the API approach, estimate if it's feasible for launch or after launch

[onezerojeremy]

And here is a bit of wireframe exploration around the idea of an integrated search, if we're using the API to pull results:
https://gsa.invisionapp.com/share/6JB4MTZC7

The first screen shows a search that allows the user to select from one of two categories, the first being campaign finance data, the latter being everything else (not sure what it should actually be named). These two searches would operate differently on the backend, and would also probably have some significant differences in their functionality, most notably, the type-ahead. It also shows two sidebar modules, the first being a link to individual contributors look-up, the second being a way to get to the advanced data tables.

The second screen shows what it might look like to switch to the search for everything else, and the third shows that same screen, but employing further segmentation (facets on the backend) to provide users the ability to search sections. We might also employ the sidebars shown in screen 1 here: For instance, if the user is searching the legal resources section, we might provide sidebar modules for AO, Reg, and MUR search. All that feels down the road a bit.

Screen 4 shows a bit of a different take on the idea of integrated search, but I'm not sure I like it as well.

Screens 5, 6, 7 show different takes on the type-ahead.

All this feels a bit premature to talk about as the before-the-launch search, because if the out-of-the-box search is available, it will be much faster to set up, but have considerably less flexibility in terms of display and functionality.

More to come.

[noahmanger]

No longer relevant now that we're using the digitalgov API.