# Do content products structure home feed-first or search-first?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Sample size: n=11753
Tags: ux-patterns, web, design, retention
HTML: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/feed-first-or-search-first-how-content-products-structure-home
Markdown: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/feed-first-or-search-first-how-content-products-structure-home.md

**Answer.** Content and consumer verticals are feed-first, not search-first. In News (224 screens/7 companies), feed dominates with 71 screens; in Music (113/6), feed leads with 50.[1] Search-led home is the exception — Travel is the clearest browse/search-first vertical (browse_search 42, ahead of landing 35).[1] Default to a feed for consumer content unless discovery is the core job.

> In News, feed is the dominant home surface — 71 of 224 labeled screens — vs a search-first pattern only in Travel — Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The finding: feed dominates content verticals

The screen-type mix by content vertical shows feed as the lead surface in most.[1]

| Vertical | Screens / cos | Lead surface(s) |
|---|---|---|
| News | 224 / 7 | feed 71 |
| Photo & Video | 248 / 8 | editor 91, feed 67 |
| Music | 113 / 6 | feed 50 |
| Social Networking | 187 / 6 | inbox 88 |
| Entertainment | 117 / 5 | feed 29, browse_search 25 |
| Travel | 181 / 7 | browse_search 42, landing 35 |

Feed leads News, Music, and Entertainment. Photo & Video is editor-first (creation tool). Social Networking is inbox-first (messaging). Travel is the one clearly search-first vertical.

## How to apply it

Match the home surface to the core job: consumption verticals (news, music, entertainment) open a feed; creation tools (photo/video) open an editor; communication products (social) open an inbox; and discovery-driven products (travel) open browse/search.[1] If you're building a content product and debating feed vs search as the landing surface, the census says feed is the safe default — search-first is reserved for products where the user arrives with intent to find a specific thing (a trip, a listing).

## Caveats

These verticals are small (5-8 companies each), so counts are absolute, not percentages — one large company can shift a vertical's mix.[1][2] The vertical join covers 562 of 671 companies; 109 don't join to a category.[2] Companies.category is noisy and required lower() normalization to merge casing duplicates. Single June 2026 capture wave.

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| News feed 71 (of 224/7 cos); Photo & Video editor 91 + feed 67 (248/8); Music feed 50 (113/6); Social Networking inbox 88 (187/6); Entertainment feed 29 + browse_search 25 (117/5); Travel browse_search 42 + landing 35 (181/7) | vertical_screen_mix_content |
| 562 of 671 web companies join to a category | universe note: 562 of 671 join to companies.category |

## Methodology

Universe: 11,753 labeled desktop product screens across 671 web companies (sites_screen_labels), 562 joined to a vertical, captured June 2026. Method: screen-type counts per content vertical, retaining cells with COUNT>=8; published as absolute counts. Caveat: 5-8 companies per vertical; single capture wave.

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 11,753 labeled desktop product screens (671 web companies), July 2026. Screen-type mix by content vertical, cells with COUNT>=8; absolute counts (small n).
- [2] Lazyweb Research analysis of 11,753 labeled desktop product screens (671 web companies), July 2026. Category join coverage: 562 of 671 companies; category field noisy, lower()-normalized.

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