https://harlanh.tech/tags/product-design/Recent content in Product-Design on Harlan D. HarrisHugo -- gohugo.ioenharlan@harris.name (Harlan Harris)harlan@harris.name (Harlan Harris)Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://harlanh.tech/2026/01/post-query-refinement-suggestions-in-search-ux/Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000harlan@harris.name (Harlan Harris)https://harlanh.tech/2026/01/post-query-refinement-suggestions-in-search-ux/ <h2 id="what-are-post-query-refinement-suggestions">What are Post-Query Refinement Suggestions?</h2> <p>One of my favorite search UX patterns is post-query refinement suggestions — buttons that appear between the search box and results, adjusting the query in various ways. See, for instance, these suggestions on Etsy, which recommend that I filter by shipping speed, seller type, cost range, style, etc.</p> <figure style="display:inline-block;"> <img src="etsy_filter_suggestions.png" width="600" /> <figcaption> <h4>Filter Suggestions on Etsy</h4> </figcaption> </figure> <p>PQRS is a mouthful of an abbreviation, but most of what I've seen as alternatives either describes the UI element (&quot;refinement pills&quot;) rather than the function, or is excessively vague (&quot;guided search&quot;). So PQRSs it is, sorry.</p>