Doofinder Glossary

A

• Account: The panel in Doofinder’s Admin interface used to manage subscriptions, usage, invoices, API Keys, profile and Team Members.

• Admin: Abbreviation for Administration Panel; where settings, configurations, user permissions, and general functionalities are managed.

• Add to cart: Indicates the action of selecting a product to purchase.

• Advanced Indices configuration: Option to enable the creation of additional indices for your Search Engine.

• API Key: It is a unique identifier which allows you to perform Search API requests and grants privileges to perform management API requests.

• Attributes: Attributes in a product feed refer to the specific characteristics or properties of a product included in the data feed.

• Authorized domains: Only whitelisted domains can perform requests client-side to your Search Engines.

B

• Backend: Refers to the administrative interface of Doofinder as well as your eCommerce platform, including Shopify, Prestashop, Magento, WooCommerce, etc.

• Banner: Images displayed at the top of the Layer results when visitors perform specific searches or any search.

• Blocked IP's: Internet Protocol addresses that have been restricted or denied access, typically as a security measure to protect a system or network from potential threats or unauthorized activities.

• Boosting: Assigning higher importance to certain product search results over others in your Search Engine.

• Business Rules: A set of functionalities that define the behavior of the Search Engine based on their configuration.

C

• Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who take a desired action out of the total number of visitors or interactions on the Search Engine.

• CORS: Doofinder uses Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) to protect your Search Engines by ensuring that only approved domains can make client-side requests to them.

• CSS Selector: A pattern used to target and style specific HTML elements on a webpage. It is utilized to specify where on the website a Layer should be activated when a customer clicks, or where to place a widget.

• CTR: The click-through rate is the proportion between the number of clicks on the results and the number of searches performed.

• Customization: The process of modifying or adapting something to meet specific needs, preferences, or requirements.

• Custom Fields: Additional data fields in the product information that provide flexibility beyond standard attributes. They allow you to include specific details relevant to your products, enhancing the depth of information available in the Search Engine.

• Custom Results: This feature allows you to include or exclude specific items from search results based on particular criteria or terms.

• Custom Sorting: A criterion for sorting the results based on the parameters of the data feed. By default, Doofinder sets the score as the most relevant product parameter, but clients can add and arrange parameters to modify the criteria.

D

• Data feed: A dataset containing the products added by the client to feed a Search Engine. The product information is organized into various parameters.

• Data Source: The origin of items for indices. When a client processes a Search Engine, Doofinder Search retrieves items from these data sources and inserts them into the indices.

• Data Type (deprecated): An outdated term for Indices.

• Dfid: An internal identifier for an item, structured as hashid@index@hash, where “hash ID” is the Search Engine hash, “index” is the Index name, and “hash” is the hash of the original item ID. For example: 7f74a4ff3165fe9882f460d03a40c5d9@other_product@8613985ec49eb8f757ae6439e879bb2a.

• Dynamic re-ranking: A set of features that adjust the relevance of products in search results based on the Search Engine configuration or user behavior.

E

• Embedded Layer: A type of Layer that integrates seamlessly into your site design.

F

• Facet: In search, a facet refers to characteristics or attributes (e.g., size, color, category, price) used to describe or classify a result. Facets help apply filters to reduce the number of search results. For end users, the term filter is preferred.

• Field Name Mapping: Also known as field aliasing, is a process that standardizes field names across multiple data sources.

• Filter: The Filters functionality narrows down search results based on fields from your data feed, such as price, product category, brand, size, color, and other product-specific characteristics in your Layer. When filtering in the Recommendations carousel, Filters define general rules, conditional rules, or contextual rules for displaying products.

• Floating Layer: A Layer positioned relative to your site's search box that displays a search results screen.

• Fullscreen Layer: A Layer that covers the entire browser viewport.

G

• Guided Search: This feature helps users by applying filters to better segment and refine results when a search returns many outcomes.

H

• Hash ID: A 32-character hexadecimal string that uniquely identifies a Search Engine. It is auto-generated.

I

• Impressions: An interaction with the server registered when a Recommendations Carousel is loaded on your webpage.

• Indexing Language: Previously known as “language” is part of the Search Engine's configuration. It is a code identifying a generic language (e.g., English, not specifying US or UK variants) and determines how data will be indexed to optimize search for that language.

  The indexing language is closely tied to the Search Engine, with a limited set of selectable languages for optimization. For example, a store in Kazakhstan might use “en” as the indexing language, as Kazakh is unavailable. Whilst data and UI translations are in Kazakh, the Search Engine uses English indexing rules. The available languages depend on Elastic Search’s default capabilities or additional plugins installed on the indexing servers.

• Indexing Process: It is the process of organizing and cataloging data to create a searchable Index, enabling quick and accurate information retrieval in the context of Search Engines.

• Indice: A collection of items that also has a set of Data Sources, typically URLs, from which the items for indexing are retrieved. The old term for Indice is DataType.

• Initial Results: The first set of results displayed in your Layer when it is opened.

• Installation Script: A JavaScript code snippet inserted into a site to enable Doofinder. It includes code to load an external file from a CDN and options to initialize Layers and widgets when the external script is loaded.

• Item: An object stored in an Index. Items are the elements that clients search for when making a query to a Search Engine.

L

• Layer: An abstract entity that represents a search user interface (UI). The Layer is the interface through which users interact with the Search Engine. It merges all the data of an online store and displays the information quickly and accurately to the user.

• Live Layer: The most recent version of the Layer that consolidates Fullscreen, Floating, and Embedded variations.

• LocalStorage: Web storage that allows websites to store and access data in the user's browser. Learn more in this article.

• Logic: A function of Recommendations that allows you to select the criteria by which your carousel operates. For example, you can configure it to display the most popular products on your website.

M

• Metafields: Additional pieces of information that can be added to various entities in a system, providing customization and flexibility beyond standard attributes.

• Module: A self-contained unit of software that performs a specific set of functions. It can be part of a larger software program and is designed to operate independently.

• MPN: Manufacturer product number or manufacturer part number is a unique, alphanumeric identifier assigned by the manufacturer to distinguish a product from others made by the same manufacturer.

• Multi-currency: The ability to display financial information in multiple currencies.

• Multi-index: A feature that allows grouping multiple indices into a single location.

• Multi-language: The ability to display multiple languages, accommodating users with diverse language preferences.

N

• Native Search: The default search functionality integrated into a system, platform, or application without the need for external tools or plugins. To revert to your native search, disable Doofinder on your website.

• Non-stop service: A feature that, if activated, automatically purchases requests or impressions pack once your account reaches the limit of your subscribed plan.

O

• On Click: A step in the search sequence triggered when the user clicks on the search box.

• On Enter: A step in the search sequence triggered when the user presses “enter” inside the search box.

• On Type: A step in the search sequence triggered when the user begins typing in the search box.

P

• Page Type mapping: Essential configuration step to set up to choose the page where you want to display your Recommendations carousel, whether it is the home page, a product page, category pages, the shopping cart or custom pages.

• Pagination / Page size: A method of dividing the download of a product data feed into multiple requests, rather than a single one, to maintain performance.

• Parameter: Each field within a data feed.

• Platform: A comprehensive environment that facilitates the development, deployment, and operation of software or applications. Examples of platforms include Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Prestashop, and others.

• Playground: A feature within the Admin Panel that allows you to test your Search Engine, view results, and evaluate the configuration settings for your product feed.

• Plugin: A type of module designed to extend the capabilities of a host application by adding features, enhancing existing functionality, or integrating with external services.

• Popular Searches: A feature that enhances user experience by displaying the most frequently clicked and searched terms, making it easier for customers to navigate on a platform or website.

• Profile: The information associated with your user account. Notifications and password recovery links are sent to the email address linked to your profile.

Q

• Query: Queries are the precise requests or impressions made to the server from which Doofinder returns results.

• Query pack: A package of additional requests that supplements your current plan if you exceed the limit subscribed.

R

• Recommendations: A widget that suggests products in a carousel on your webpage, according to your configuration and subscribed plan.

• Recommended Products query: A search term used to choose the recommended products, applicable to the layer under general settings.

• Redirection: A feature used to direct specific search terms to results that are not necessarily products from the data feed. For example, if a user searches for “returns”, the result can be redirected to a relevant page on the site itself, such as “order status”.

• Request: Any interaction with the server. Your account's request usage includes API Requests, Search Requests, and Recommendation requests.

• Requests Pack: A package of additional requests that supplements your current plan if you exceed the subscribed requests limit during a particular peak consumption period.

• Results Screen: The Layer where your final results are displayed once the query is complete.

S

• Scheduled Indexing: Uses the CRON system utility to automatically run indexing programs at set intervals. You can schedule your feed to index once a day, at regular intervals, or up to six times a day, with customizable time gaps between indexing or with specific timings.

• Score : Doofinder employs a scoring system to rank search results based on their relevance to the search query performed. The scoring is an attribute of a numerical value determined by Doofinder's algorithm. The closer is the result of the search query, the higher is the scoring value.

• Search Bar: An interface element where users input keywords or queries to initiate a search for relevant information. Note that Doofinder does not include the search bar by default; you must add it to your store's theme or design and activate the Layer via a CSS selector.

• Search Engine: An entity that holds configuration and data, making it searchable; the Search Engine is the hub for managing your product data, with many Business Rules being relevant at this level. The configuration defines the data source, indexing, and search methods. It also comprises a collection of Indices.

• Search Field: Each parameter of the feed. The relevance of search results can be adjusted by configuring the weighting of each search field.

• Search Personalization: A feature that tailors search results to match your customers' preferences and align with your business goals, based on their search behavior during the current session.

• Search Query Retention: When enabled, the search term will remain in the Layer's search box during the web browsing process.

• Search Sequence: Allows you to tailor the order and layout of your Layer, providing a seamless guide for clients during their search session. This customization can be based on three events: on click, on type, and on enter.

• Search Session: A search session begins when a customer opens the Layer. Each session has a duration of 12 hours, counted down from the moment it starts. If the Layer is closed and reopened within those 12 hours, the countdown resets to 12 hours. However, if the Layer remains closed after 12 hours, the session ends.

  A session is identified by a unique random ID, which is generated to track interactions in the Layer for 12 hours. This ID is stored in LocalStorage to mantain session continuity. Learn more here.

• Serialize State To Browser's URL: Generates a dynamic URL that can be shared with others. When enabled, the Layer reloads with its most recent state upon refreshing the page in the browser.

• Single Script: A JavaScript code that clients add to their site to integrate any number of Doofinder apps. It enables the management of all products and facilitates quicker and easier implementation of new features, services, and updates.

• Stats: The Statistics tool shows data about all your Search Engine metrics over a specified period.

• Store: The Store created in the Doofinder Admin Panel is linked to your main web domain and hosts all the functionalities and features of your subscribed products.

• Store ID: The identifier code of your Store, also referred as “Installation ID”.

• Store Name: The name used to identify the Store in the Admin Panel.

• Store URL: The web address of your Store, as typed in the web browser.

• Suggestions: Provide highly relevant search results as users type, enhancing the customer experience by enabling quicker searches with less typing. This feature is especially beneficial on mobile devices.

• Synonyms: A set of words representing the same product, where at least one word in the set must appear in the data feed.

T

• Team Member: An individual who is part of a group or team working towards a common goal. Team members collaborate, share responsibilities, and contribute their skills and expertise to collectively achieve the team's mission. In your Account Panel, the Team Members function allows you to assign specific responsibilities and roles to individuals on your team.

• Template: A pre-written piece of code that serves as a starting point in software development, offering a reusable structure that developers can customize for specific needs. Doofinder uses a template for its Layer.

• Temporary Index: An index used to index items while the client continues to search the main index, ensuring zero downtime.

• Training: The process of learning by certain Logics of Recommendations to apply and display appropriately. Training can have different statuses, such as Learning, Ready, or Failed.

U

• Update On Save: A module feature that sends updates made in the catalog to Doofinder via API without requiring a reindex. The delay between the catalog change and its reflection in Doofinder varies by platform:
  • Shopify: updates in real time.
  • Prestashop: updates from every 15 minutes.
  • WooCommerce: updates from every 15 minutes.
  • Magento 2: updates from every 5 minutes.

• Usage: Refers to the consumption of requests within a specific period.

• User: An individual who interacts with a system, device, or application.

V

• Variable: In Doofinder Search, a variable is a measure that can have different values and change across a range. For example, group pricing may vary depending on whether clients are B2B or B2C.

• Variant or Combination: Different variations of the same product, such as sizes, colors, or types.

• Visual Search: A feature that allows users to search for content using images rather than text. Users can take a photo or upload an image to the Doofinder Search Engine to find related content.

• Voice Search: A feature that allows users to search for products on the Layer of your website using their voice, eliminating the need to type.