Building a Typo-Friendly Search Component in React
A search component is an essential feature in many modern applications, allowing users to easily find and access data. However, creating a typo-friendly search component can be a challenging task, especially when it comes to implementing features such as autocomplete, autocorrect, and suggestion corrections. In this article, we will explore how to build a typo-friendly search component in React using a simple API, and compare two popular search engines, Algolia and Typesense.
What to Consider When Building a Typo-Friendly Search Component
When building a search component, there are several features to consider in order to provide a good user experience. These include:
- Autocomplete feature: automatically provides predictions to complete a word as the user types
- Autocorrect feature: provides suggestions to correct typos, incorrect spellings, and capitalization
- Suggest related results feature: provides users with a list of suggested words related to the term they are searching
Demo Application: Typosearch
To demonstrate how to build a typo-friendly search component, we will create a simple search application using React. The application consists of three major components: the SearchBar.js component, the Suggestion.js component, and the overall App.js component that wraps all other components.
Installation and Setup
To get started, clone the project from GitHub and install dependencies by running the following command:
bash
npm install
The folder structure should look like this:
typosearch/
components/
SearchBar.js
Suggestion.js
App.js
index.js
package.json
Run the following command to spin up a local server for previewing the application:
npm start
Building the Components
The SearchBar component is a simple search field where the user types in their search keyword. The Suggestion component contains three-word suggestions that are meant for correcting the typo entered into the SearchBar component. The App component is the home component that encapsulates all other components and performs computations and passes props to other components where necessary.
How it Works
When the user types into the input field, the application makes two API calls. The first call is for predicting the most common next word to the search keyword. The second call is for suggestion corrections for a mistyped word. The data returned from the API is stored in state variables and passed as props to the SearchBar and Suggestion components.
Algolia vs. Typesense
While we can build a search component using the method above, we can also leverage search engine services like Algolia and Typesense to quickly spin up a search component. Both Algolia and Typesense offer a range of features, including autocomplete, autocorrect, and typo-tolerance.
What is Algolia?
Algolia is a search engine offering that provides a set of building blocks for creating a fast, intuitive, and overall amazing search experience. It offers a developer-friendly API client, intuitive UX tools, and several integrations to help you quickly create a search component.
What is Typesense?
Typesense is a typo-tolerant search engine that is built using cutting-edge search algorithms, optimized with instant search-as-you-type experiences. It enhances the search experience with autocomplete, filters, query suggestions, and features.
Key Differences and Similarities
Both Algolia and Typesense offer a range of features, including autocomplete, autocorrect, and typo-tolerance. However, there are some key differences:
- Algolia offers personalization and server-based search analytics, while Typesense lets you create your search on the client-side and send search metrics to your preferred web analytics tool.
- Typesense is fully open-source, while Algolia is a proprietary closed-source option.
Conclusion
Building a typo-friendly search component in React can be a challenging task, but leveraging search engine services like Algolia and Typesense can make it easier. The best option for your React app depends on your use case. Algolia is a great choice if cost is not a problem, while Typesense offers an open-source version you can self-host for free.