The page search input, also named search box, search bar, quick search, quick find etc, is an integral part of any website or web app. Usually positioned at the top of the page (either left, center or right) the search bar is often the first interaction a user has with a website, as it provides a quick way to find information.
UX (best) practices
There are a lot of good write-ups such as this one by Dawson Beggs posted at UX Collective, regarding how a good search bar UX must be. Every website/web-app implements the global search input differently though. Let's take a quick look at how some of the popular ones are handling it.
Storybook
Storybook is a widely used, open source tool for building UI components in isolation.
- Magnifier icon on the left side
- Clear icon
x - Pressing the
escdoes notblurthe input, but clears the input's text - It includes a focus icon
\which disappears on inputfocus - The
\key movesfocusto the input also selecting the text inside it
GitHub
GitHub is used by over 73 million developers to host their Git repositories.
- No magnifier icon on the left or the right side
- No clear icon
x - The
esckeyblurs the input, but does not clear the input's text - It includes a focus icon
\which disappears on inputfocus - The
\key movesfocusto the input without selecting the text
Gmail
Gmail is probably the most popular free email service.
- Magnifier icon on the left side
- Clear icon
x - Search options icon on the right side of the input
- The
esckeyblurs the input but does not clear the input's text - There's no focus icon
\ - The
\key doesn't movefocusto the input
Your website, depending on the UX that you are trying to achieve, might require a different combination of these features.
Have no fear though, if you are using Vue.js 3 as your frontend framework (and you should 😉), vue-search-input has got you covered.
vue-search-input
vue-search-input is a Vue.js 3 search input component, inspired by the global search input of Storybook and GitHub. Although headless by default, it includes a sample stylesheet as well as all of the necessary features so that you can create the perfect search bar experience for your use-case.
Features at a glance
- Focus on the search input at any time by pressing the
/key on the keyboard. - Includes a default CSS styling but it's also easy to bring your own styles too.
- Displays an
xicon on the right side of the search input, used for clearing the text when there's a value typed inside. - The search text gets cleared by pressing the
esckey when the search input has focus (configurable). - Completely customizable behavior via
props. - Customizable icons via
slots.
Installation and Usage
Install with npm
npm i vue-search-input
Import it in your app
import SearchInput from 'vue-search-input'
Optionally import styles
import 'vue-search-input/dist/styles.css'
Use it inside the template with a bound reactive variable
<SearchInput v-model="searchVal" />
Customization with props and slots
Props
You can customize the behavior and turn features on/off using props.
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| type | string | search |
The type of the input field. Allowed types are search and text
|
| modelValue (v-model) | string | The input's value | '' |
| wrapperClass | string | The default CSS class of the wrapper div | search-input-wrapper |
| searchIcon | boolean | Displays the "search" icon | true |
| shortcutIcon | boolean | Displays the "shortcut" icon | true |
| clearIcon | boolean | Displays the "clear text" icon | true |
| hideShortcutIconOnBlur | boolean | Whether to hide the shortcut icon when the input loses focus | true |
| clearOnEsc | boolean | Whether to clear the input field when the esc key is pressed |
true |
| blurOnEsc | boolean | Whether to takes the focus out of the input field when the esc key is pressed |
true |
| selectOnFocus | boolean | Selects the input's text upon / keypress |
true |
| shortcutListenerEnabled | boolean | Enables the functionality for the / keypress |
true |
| shortcutKey | string | The key for the shortcut functionality |
/ |
Slots
vue-search-input includes some default icons but you can also customize them to suit your needs using the available slots.
| Name | Description | Default content |
|---|---|---|
| search-icon | Slot for the search icon | <i class="search-icon search"></i> |
| shortcut-icon | Slot for the shortcut icon | <i class="search-icon shortcut" title='Press "/" to search'></i> |
| clear-icon | Slot for the clear icon { clear: () => void } the function that clears the input |
<button class="search-icon clear" aria-label="Clear" @mousedown="clear" @keydown.space.enter="clear"></button> |
| append | Adds an item inside the input wrapper, before the search icon | - |
| append-inner | Adds an item inside the input wrapper, after the search icon | - |
| prepend | Adds an item inside the input wrapper directly after the input element | - |
| prepend-outer | Adds an item inside the input wrapper directly after the clear icon | - |
Demo with examples
Checkout an online demo of vue-search-input which includes examples that mimic the search bar functionality of Storybook, GitHub, Gmail and YouTube!
https://vue-search-input.vercel.app
If you liked vue-search-input it would be awesome if you visit its repo on GitHub and give it a star.
Thanks for reading!
Top comments (1)
yeahh, its a nice plugin. but i think it's too simple to be a plugin. i prefer to make my own components for this😢