#14 – Testing out Search v2.0 on Staging

In this weeks Hardcover Live, Adam & Ste catch up on Adam’s trip to Boulder, Ste’s big life news, minimalism.

This weeks main focus: Search v2! We go through search on staging and discuss how to improve quality.

Summary

The conversation covers various topics including their recent trips, organizing and minimalism, and the progress of the Hardcover project. They discuss the implementation of the search functionality and potential improvements. They also explore the idea of an advanced search page with additional filtering options. The conversation concludes with a focus on the importance of snappiness in search results. In this conversation, Adam and Ste discuss various improvements and updates to the Hardcover platform. They focus on improving the speed of search results and finding readers with similar tastes. They also discuss the implementation and testing of these changes, as well as the upcoming release that includes upgrades to Next.js and performance improvements. Additionally, they touch on the importance of user-to-user discovery and location-based discovery. They conclude the conversation by highlighting the exciting updates in design and expressing their enthusiasm for the future of Hardcover.

Takeaways

Boulder, Colorado has limited real estate and high prices due to its proximity to the mountains.
Preparing for parenthood involves organizing and decluttering the home.
The Hardcover project is progressing well, with a record-fast search implementation.
Considerations for the search functionality include positioning, filtering options, and snappiness of the results. Improving search speed is a priority to provide users with fast and efficient results.
Finding readers with similar tastes is crucial for user-to-user discovery and inspiration.
Location-based discovery can help users connect with book clubs and readers in their area.
Reducing the JavaScript payload can significantly improve performance and memory usage.
Syncing design and development efforts can lead to a more cohesive and efficient workflow.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Catching Up
01:02 Discussing Boulder and Expensive Real Estate
03:04 Preparing for Parenthood
04:21 Reviewing the Hardcover Progress
07:04 Minimalism and Organizing
08:40 Styling Preferences and Collecting
11:15 Using Graph Paper for Room Layouts
13:28 Discussion on the Hardcover Search Functionality
16:24 Positioning and Tabs in the Search
18:13 Advanced Search and Faceting
20:27 Ranking and Sorting Search Results
23:56 Expanding the Standalone Search Page
25:38 Styling the Sidebar and Scrollbars
27:20 Filtering and Sorting Options
30:57 Navigating from Search to Book Page
36:12 Handling Book Button Context
39:34 Considerations for Book Button Interaction
41:02 Loading Book Status and Match Percentage
42:53 Prioritizing Snappiness in Search Results
43:11 Improving Search Speed
44:08 Balancing Speed and Quality
45:08 Implementing and Testing the Changes
46:05 Loading Book Information
46:49 Finding Readers with Similar Tastes
47:57 Ordering Readers by Similarity
49:48 User-to-User Discovery
50:56 Finding Book Friends
51:15 Location-Based Discovery
52:07 Adding Location Filters
53:13 Storing Location Information
55:00 Reducing JavaScript Payload
56:29 Overhauling the Design
57:39 Upcoming Release
59:34 Refactoring to Next.js App Directory
01:00:56 Improving Performance and Memory Usage
01:02:06 Syncing Design and Development
01:03:13 Exciting Updates in Design
01:03:27 Conclusion