{"id":1792,"slug":"rule-skip-faceted-search-below-200-items-stable-shallow","title":"R2 — Skip faceted search when the inventory is small (~under 200 items), stable, and shallow; a static list is fine","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","editorial-discipline","faceted-search"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** Recommend a static list / simple category page (NOT a faceted catalogue) when:\n\n1. **Inventory is small** (commonly cited as under ~200 items / a few dozen pages).\n2. **Inventory is stable** (rarely changes).\n3. **Inventory is shallow** (few attributes anyone would meaningfully filter by).\n\n**Why:** Three independent search-software vendors converge on this threshold *against their own commercial interest*: [[hawksearch-few-dozen-products-static-list-fine]], [[prefixbox-under-200-products-skip-faceted-cutoff]], [[luigis-box-few-hundred-products-skip-faceted-corroboration]]. NN/g warns that vocabulary/metadata maintenance \"consume significant financial and human resources\" ([[nngroup-faceted-overkill-tradeoff-interaction-cost]]) and that faceted UI itself adds interaction cost.\n\n**How to apply:**\n- The 200-item number is a rule of thumb, not a validated cutoff — use as a *prompt to consider skipping*, not a hard rule.\n- The skip recommendation is most defensible when ALL THREE conditions (small + stable + shallow) are true.\n- Pair with [[rule-build-catalogue-when-records-numerous-changing-multi-attribute]] for the *do-build* side.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"nngroup-faceted-overkill-tradeoff-interaction-cost","title":"Nielsen Norman Group — faceted navigation adds interaction cost and vocabulary/metadata maintenance \"consumes significant financial and human resources\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"hawksearch-few-dozen-products-static-list-fine","title":"HawkSearch (vendor — concedes against interest) — for catalogs of \"just a few dozen products,\" basic search and navigation are adequate","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"prefixbox-under-200-products-skip-faceted-cutoff","title":"Prefixbox (vendor — faceted-search software, concedes against interest) — skip faceted search if catalog <200 products; implementation cost outweighs UX value","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"luigis-box-few-hundred-products-skip-faceted-corroboration","title":"Luigi's Box (vendor) — independently corroborates the skip cutoff: \"smaller catalogs with only a few hundred products may not require this level of complexity\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-build-catalogue-when-records-numerous-changing-multi-attribute","title":"R1 — Build a searchable, structured catalogue when records are numerous, change often, or carry several independent queryable attributes","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-searchable-structured-catalogue-working-tool-june-2026","title":"Research brief: the searchable, structured catalogue as a working tool — when records-not-prose pays off (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-build-catalogue-when-records-numerous-changing-multi-attribute","title":"R1 — Build a searchable, structured catalogue when records are numerous, change often, or carry several independent queryable attributes","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"hawksearch-few-dozen-products-static-list-fine","title":"HawkSearch (vendor — concedes against interest) — for catalogs of \"just a few dozen products,\" basic search and navigation are adequate","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"prefixbox-under-200-products-skip-faceted-cutoff","title":"Prefixbox (vendor — faceted-search software, concedes against interest) — skip faceted search if catalog <200 products; implementation cost outweighs UX value","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"luigis-box-few-hundred-products-skip-faceted-corroboration","title":"Luigi's Box (vendor) — independently corroborates the skip cutoff: \"smaller catalogs with only a few hundred products may not require this level of complexity\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"nngroup-faceted-overkill-tradeoff-interaction-cost","title":"Nielsen Norman Group — faceted navigation adds interaction cost and vocabulary/metadata maintenance \"consumes significant financial and human resources\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:12.738Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:12.738Z"}