Implementation Checklist
We provide here a short checklist to consult before going live.
You’ve defined your searchable attributes
Make sure every attribute in your list of searchable attributes is useful for search. Not every attribute in your index is on the list, and attributes with the best information should be at the top.
You’ve set most of your searchable attributes as unordered
Designate most of your attributes as unordered, as this ensures that the position of a word within the attribute does not affect the ranking.
You’ve set up your custom ranking with business metrics
Make sure you’ve added business metrics to your index, such as most-liked, most-watched, best-sold, and similar. These metrics will enable you to customize the order (ranking) of your results. Custom ranking is second only to searchable attributes in importance, as it gives you direct control over every set of results and is critical to ranking and relevance.
You haven’t changed the default ranking formula unless necessary
In most cases (99%), you should use the default ranking formula. It’s usually best to set it back to its default before going live.
You haven’t changed Algolia’s engine defaults unless necessary
Algolia’s search is designed to work out-of-the-box. We therefore strongly recommend against changing your account’s default settings unless you have no alternative. Here are some of the most important defaults that you should not change unless necessary.
- typoTolerance
- minWordSizefor1Typo
- minWordSizefor2Typos
- queryType
- ranking
- advancedSyntax
- minProximity
If you change any of the defaults - for testing purposes, or to solve a particular problem - make sure to set them back to their original values unless those changes are absolutely necessary.
You’ve added all necessary synonyms
You need to think about synonyms right away. Every index contains alternative words for the same meaning. For example, you may want to treat “film” and “movie” as equivalents. Synonyms also help you avoid queries with no results.
You’re using the common language(s) of your users
Set the language of your search solution to the most common language(s) of your users.
You’re treating singulars and plurals as the same
Make sure to treat plurals and singulars equivalently. For example, “film” and “films” should be considered equivalent for search purposes.
You’re removing common (stop) words
Tell the search engine to ignore stop words. Stop words are small common words like “of” and “the” in your queries.
You’ve tested the top 10 queries
Test your top 10 queries and other analytics metrics to see if you are satisfied with the results.
You’ve checked for insufficient results
Check to see if your search is returning any insufficient or unsatisfying results.
You’re using highlighting in your results
Make sure you’re highlighting matched text in your results.
You’ve implemented instant search results with facets
Make sure you’re displaying a full display of search results instantly, with every keystroke. No “Enter” key required. Set up useful facets on your front end.
You’ve hidden your admin key
Do not use your admin API key in your front-end code.
You’ve followed our security best practices
Make sure there isn’t some security measure that you failed to take into account - before or after getting started. Keep our security best practices in mind.
You haven’t hardcoded any API keys in your mobile app
Make sure your mobile applications are using API keys appropriately.
You’re using the most recent versions of our software
Make sure you are using the most recent versions of all software in Algolia’s ecosystem.
