Used Case Scenario:

When designing custom searches for Weblink there isn’t an option to require at least one template field be populated before a text search can be executed.  Allowing the public to navigate to the search pane and select their own search options is expecting too much of the public so Search Forms need to be used.  Because the user is not required to populate a template field their search is conducted across the entire system which we know is not a best practice and can bring the system to its knees.  How would you recommend we avoid such issues and keep Weblink operating optimally?

We are looking for some recommendations on this issue that we are coming across for a client. They have mid-sized public portal using Web Link. Please let us know if there are some recommendations or best practices that you have for optimizing these searches without crashing the system and pushing users to use Fields as a part of their searches.