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Design Examples
Browsing and filtering results
How Airbnb, Etsy, Swiggy, BookBeat and Rent.com handle filters, sorting and search suggestions, with examples of near-matches, one-tap fixes and dynamic titles.
Real world examples:
Updated: 21/08/2026, view all 1,446 examples
Examples on Built for Mars include
Airbnb shows listings that miss one filter
Zero results? Airbnb strips filters in a tap
Etsy's query add-ons teach better searches
When filtering results, Airbnb will occasionally show you popular listings that don't match one of your filters, showing you fantastic options that almost match.
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i.e., "similar dates" or "without a hot tub".
Go to UX BiteView#1320
When browsing co-hosts on Airbnb, they'll dynamically show host information about whichever filter you applied.
After making a search, Swiggy will automatically tabulate parent and child categories (and items).
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This is great, as it keeps the search visually clean as results appear, but if you pause for a few seconds, it visually organises them for you.
As you start a search on Etsy, they’ll show dynamic query add-ons.
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These work in a single click, and also help to demonstrate the types of search you can make. i.e., this is about discovery as much as it is an actual search query.
Go to UX BiteView#1258
If Airbnb has no results to show you, they'll suggest removing specific filters with a single tap.
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i.e., you don't need to click into the main "filters" tab, to then remove something.
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There are more than 1400 UX Bites like this
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FAQs
What's the best way to recover from a zero-results screen?
Naming the culprit beats sending people back into a filters panel. Airbnb lists the offending filters on the empty screen, e.g., "Remove 'Entire home'", so one tap both fixes the search and reveals which requirement was the most restrictive.
Why would you show results that break the filters?
A labelled mismatch makes the inventory feel bigger, rather than making the filter feel broken. Airbnb surfaces strong listings marked "available without a hot tub" or with similar dates, which gives a concrete reason to relax one requirement.
Should selecting two categories merge the results?
Keeping them apart is easier to scan. Picking Novels and Fantasy on BookBeat returns a "Trending Novels" panel and a separate "Trending Fantasy" panel, instead of one blended feed where neither interest is obvious.
How do you get people searching with more specific queries?
Most people don't know how narrow they're allowed to go. Etsy's dynamic query add-ons build a precise search in one click, and Swiggy quietly groups parent and child categories (e.g., "Cheese" and "Cheese Slices") a few seconds after results land.
Is there any point styling filter and sort controls?
They're a chance to reflect intent back at the user. Airbnb animates an illustration of each place type as you hover in its "Type of place" filter, and Rent.com rewrites the page title so sorting by price high-to-low becomes "Luxury Apartments".
Can a filter do more than cut the list down?
It can also change what's worth showing about each result. Airbnb's co-host browsing swaps the host details to match the filter applied, so a cleaning filter surfaces cleaning ratings rather than generic profile stats.