Is it redundant to display the search bar on Search Result or Error 404 page again when the website already has it on the sidebar/side navigation or on header?
I've always felt it's kind of redundant since user can easily scroll the page to use the search bar again, but I often see various websites keep employing this. I thought that the search bar is displayed again to prevent the hassle to scroll the page, but I'm still not sure if that's really the reason (especially when it's still on same screen).
Here are some few examples to illustrate:
Sorry for the long question title!
Answer
My rule of thumb: If redundancy makes things easier and doesn't confuse the user, it's fine. If it confuses the issue, then it's best to leave alone.
In this specific case, a search bar atop a search results page tends to be a web standard and can keep the user focused in the area of the page where the results are, even as they modify the search. Verdict: I think that redundancy is fine.
On 404 pages, I think prominently featuring a search bar is nice, but not necessary. Since it's so close (in the third png), I would personally leave it out, but if it were more separate (like in some of the other examples), I'd leave it in. A user may experience a 404 from an exterior link and the less they have to think about finding their content, the less likely they are to give up from frustration and find the content elsehwere.
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