Several implementation options enable the use of Acquia Search powered by SearchStax APIs in your search experience.
The following table helps you to quickly understand the benefits and limitations of the various approaches:
| Feature | UI Kits | Custom UI | Drupal Views |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support for all Search UX features | Yes | Yes | No |
| Highly flexible | No | Yes | No |
| Maintainability | Low | High | Low |
| Setup development effort | Low | High | Low |
| The UI Kits approach is the recommended approach. | |||
The following are more detailed insights for each approach to assist in your decision-making:
The UI Kits approach is the recommended approach to deploy search pages in typical site search scenarios. They include essential features such as a search box, results lists, dynamic filters, typo tolerance, and accessibility, along with additional optional UX features. UI Kits are available in several front-end frameworks, such as JavaScript, Vue, React, and Angular. These kits enable you to deploy ready-to-use components that incorporate abstracted API integrations and elegant styling, reducing your development effort.
The following diagram illustrates common components within each UI Kit that deliver UX best practices for standard site search experiences:
The Search UI can include downloadable components listed on this page. Consider allocating time to style the components' CSS to align with your organization’s brand and design. The following are the links for styling tips for each framework:
For additional resources about how to build Drupal search blocks and Drupal search pages, and use libraries for front-end frameworks with Drupal, visit this page.
When you have unique requirements for how a website visitor interacts with APIs for search and discovery, building a Custom UI for search provides the flexibility to leverage APIs as needed.
The following are the links to each API reference and suggestions on typical UX components to use or position nearby for an optimal site search experience:
| API Link | UX Components Typically Integrated |
|---|---|
| Search API |
|
| Auto-Suggest |
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| Related Searches |
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| Popular Searches |
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| Analytics |
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If you want to continue to use pre-existing Drupal Views, you can use them. They continue to interact with the Search API the same way they interact when using the previous Acquia Search service. For such simplified migrations, utilize the migration submodule with instructions available on Migrating to Acquia Search powered by SearchStax.
Be aware of feature limitations because Drupal Views govern the display of data returned from the search engine. As a result, many features in the SearchStax Dashboard can be toggled or modified without the changes being reflected in the front-end search experience.
| SearchStax Feature | Limitation |
|---|---|
| Result’s Display Fields | Settings in the Dashboard are overridden by Drupal Views. |
| Faceting | Settings in the Dashboard are overridden by Drupal Views. |
| Sorting | Settings in the Dashboard are overridden by Drupal Views. |
| Pagination | Settings in the Dashboard are overridden by Drupal Views. |
| Spell Check | Spell Check results are returned as a second API response after a no-result set is initially returned by the Search API. Drupal Views do not capture or display this second, spell-checked result set. |
| Using Different Search Profiles | Drupal Views cannot pass the model argument and always invoke the Main Search Profile for a Search App, limiting the ability to personalize results with a single Search App without Drupal customizations. |
| Related Searches | Drupal Views do not call the Related Searches API. A component must be created to display the results. |
| Popular Searches | Drupal Views do not call the Related Searches API. A component must be created to display the results. |
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If this content did not answer your questions, try searching or contacting our support team for further assistance.
Mon May 12 2025 10:48:46 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)