Whenever I see a blog that is meant to share general ideas or have an unpredictable list of content with a search bar, I ask myself "What is the end user expected to search for?".
Take a tech blog that houses random thoughts of its writer and occasional tutorials, what is the reader meant to search? "What does writer X think about senior engineers? or React tutorials?".
I think most blogs end up with search bars for one of two reasons:
- It came with the template or CMS [→] they are using.
- The writer thinks it's something every blog should have.
Here is why you should put a bit more thought into having a search bar on your blog
If you think a search bar will help potential readers discover other things you have to offer, then you should rather spend time improving your discovery process.
For example, improve your navigation, tags, taxonomies, and reading suggestions to help readers discover everything else you have in stock.
Also, having an error page(404) that incorporates some level of searchability helps readers better navigate available or alternative titles you have.
Here is an example of what you get back when you try to access a non-existing URL on my blog: https://www.eddymens.com/static [↗].
Here is another article you might like 😊 What Is A Content Management System (CMS)?