Architecture Case Study
Transition Approach
An incremental path from legacy search scripts to the target search-service architecture.
Transition principle
The search architecture can be introduced incrementally rather than replacing the existing Deals experience in one release.
Stage 1 — Build the search projection
Create and validate the indexed information model independently of the public Webflow page.
This establishes:
- source-to-index mapping;
- filterable fields;
- sortable fields;
- result attributes;
- refresh behaviour.
Stage 2 — Integrate native Webflow components
Connect the existing/new Webflow card and filter components to the search service using stable selectors and a defined response mapping.
The page remains visually owned by Webflow.
Stage 3 — Remove duplicate search responsibilities
As the new path becomes authoritative, retire legacy retrieval/filtering scripts that duplicate the search capability.
This reduces the chance of two competing sources of truth for filter behaviour.
Stage 4 — Operationalise the service
Establish:
- production ownership;
- monitoring;
- refresh/rebuild procedures;
- credential rotation;
- backup/recovery expectations;
- release and rollback procedures.
Rollback principle
The customer-facing page should not be structurally rewritten just to introduce search.
Keeping presentation and search separate provides a cleaner rollback boundary if the search service needs to be disabled or replaced.