I worked on a project with similar requirements, except that typically there would be just a handful of search results available to the public but hundreds available on the members-only site. The solution I proposed (which the client decided not to implement) was to group the public results together, then list out the first 10 or 20 results from the members-only site with a lock icon. The list would be preceded by copy explaining that these were results available on the members-only site, along with a link to learn more about becoming a member. There would also be an option to expand the password-protected results, but the results themselves would not be hyperlinked if the user was not logged into the site. It was a little clunky, but I think it would have been effective.
The reason I went with that approach rather than the more straightforward one shown in the WSJ screenshot was that membership wasn't a single product or a straightforward process, and you couldn't become a member online. Partly for that reason, the client opted not to show the results from the member site at all, which avoids any potential confusion but also misses an opportunity to sell the benefits of membership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=47242 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
