I’m building a fashion e-commerce platform MVP where users need to search for products (think Etsy type search)
Following what I thought were best practices, I’ve implemented a search system that just keeps failing when I go to preview (I can’t deploy to test yet because I have a page I am still working on that has a ton of errors) and I’m genuinely confused about what approach actually works in Bubble in 2025. I have used Claude & Chat and just good old fashioned research and I am getting such conflicting advice and results. I know I and the LLMs must be overcomplicating or missing something.
What I’ve tried
Attempt 1: The “Add Constraint” Approach (FAILED)
Following some documentation that said to:
When search button clicked:
- Add constraint to product repeating group
- Product’s name contains Search input’s value
- OR Product’s Brand’s name contains Search input’s value
Didn’t work with no products being displayed in the repeating group nor in the search input
Attempt 2: Complex Workflow with Custom States (FAILED)
Built a 6-step workflow with:
- Custom states: searchTerm, searchResults, isSearching, hasResults
- Debouncing (300ms delay)
- Multiple search operations merged together
- Loading states and empty states
Result: Products won’t display. Repeating group shows empty even when searchResults custom state contains data.
Attempt 3: Direct Binding (FAILED)
Went back to basics:
- Set repeating group data source to:
Search for Products where Name contains Input Search Products's value - No workflows, no custom states
Result: Nothing displays at all. Not even default products.
Attempt 4: Merged Searches for OR Logic (PARTIALLY WORKS BUT BUGGY)
Created three separate searches:
- Search A: Products where Name contains searchTerm
- Search B: Products where Brand’s name contains searchTerm
- Search C: Products where Description contains searchTerm
- Final: searchResultsA merged with searchResultsB merged with searchResultsC
Result:Sometimes works, but incredibly slow and sometimes shows duplicates even though “merged with” should remove them.
CURRENT SETUP DETAILS
Data Structure:
- Products (Type): Name (text), Price (number), isActive (yes/no), Brand (Brand type)
- Brand (Type): brandName (text), description (text)
- Users need to search by Product name OR Brand name
UI Elements:
- Search Input: “Input Search Products”
- Repeating Group: “product-results-group” (Type: Product)
- Search Button: “search-button”
What Users Need:
- Type in search box
- Find products by product name, description OR brand name
- Eventually add filters (price, style categories, etc.)
- Real-time search preferred but button search acceptable
Specific Questions
-
What actually works in 2025? Direct binding vs workflows vs something else entirely?
-
OR Logic in Search: How do you properly implement “search field A OR field B” in Bubble? Every approach I’ve tried either doesn’t work or is unreliable.
-
Performance: Is there a standard pattern for e-commerce search within a platform that doesn’t kill performance with merged searches?
-
Custom States vs Direct Binding:When should you use each? I’m reading conflicting advice everywhere.
-
Real-time vs Button Search:Does real-time search actually work reliably for OR logic searches?
I’ve read a few things on the forum or in other places
- Some say “always use workflows with custom states”
- Others say “direct binding is simpler and more reliable”
- Some mention “search & autocorrect” plugin but that seems overkill
- Lots of 2021-2022 advice that doesn’t seem to work in current Bubble
UPDATE: I just found a Japanese tutorial that uses a much simpler approach - just “Display List” action on input change with basic search constraints. Is this the best approach given it’s from Feb 2025?
I must be massively overcomplicating this (especially since I’m very much a novice and have relied on the very unreliable AI assistants – which I always push.
I’m not looking for complex solutions. I just need basic product search that works reliably. This feels like it should be a solved problem but I’m clearly missing something fundamental.
What would be of massive help is:
- A working example of OR logic search (Product name OR Brand name)
- Clear guidance on workflow vs direct binding for search
- Any gotchas or common mistakes I might be making
- Performance considerations for real-time search
I’m happy to share my app in preview mode (or screenshots of workflows and current setups) if someone wants to take a look.At this point I’m willing to completely start over with search if there’s a proven approach that actually works.
Any help would be incredibly appreciated!
#search #workflows #inputsearch #needhelp
