Design purpose-driven entities
Typically, every Sitecore Search implementation is applied to a unique set of indexed items. The implementation can be an e-commerce store of physical or downloadable products, or a searchable library or repository of industry-specific or general information.
When implementing Sitecore Search, use the following best practices to ensure your implementation aligns with your objectives.
Begin with preconfigured entities
Sitecore Search includes preconfigured entities named Content, Product, Category, and Store, which are designed to accommodate most common implementation requirements. The default attributes of these entities can't be deleted and are ignored if not used during indexing.
Using the preconfigured entities can help you deliver your implementation more quickly. They include many commonly used attributes, meaning you only have to create attributes specific to your exact business needs.
Match entity to experience
To create an engaging experience, you need to ensure the information presented to visitors is relevant to their needs. This information is based on the metadata and information stored in the index, so it's important to properly define the attributes of your search entities, because those attributes define what is indexed and in what format.
Make sure your entities have all the attributes required for searches and for displaying in experiences.
Keep your implementation simple
An experience in Search only displays results for one entity at a time. We recommend simplifying your implementation by only using the preconfigured entities.
If none of an entity's attributes are suitable for indexing the information you need, add new attributes with suitable settings. Attributes not populated during the indexing process are ignored. You can browse items by entity in the Content collection section, which also lets you compare indexed and configured attributes.
Here are some ways to restrict results:
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Configure a hard filter in the page.
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Filter by the sources used during indexing.
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Use widget variation rules.
Use an entity template
Use an entity template to create custom entities. Each template has attributes typically required to search for and represent a specific item type. You can also add custom attributes to a template to adapt it for your specific business requirements.