Search Box
A customer knows the type of information they require but not where this information is on rackspace.com.
When to Use
You will find a search bar on almost ever website today. All but the smallest sites, with the narrowest focus have need to embed a search box to assist in delivering the content a customer desires. When looking at the breadth of the rackspace properties a search box is required in almost every instance.
How to use
Place the search box in a highly visible portion of your website. Close to the top of the page in the header is generally a best practice. Refrain from placing excess content above the search bar that will draw the customers attention and confuse those looking for a search box.
Design Rationale
A site visitor browses rackspace.com with a specific goal in mind. Often times customers know what information they require to accomplish this goal but not where the information lives on our site. Time could be spent learning the I.A. of rackspace.com or they could use a search box to quickly ascertain the relevent information. These customers are busy and cannot afford to spend time learning the I.A. of the site.