Which design type is this question?

It is a product architecture question. You design Yelp and explain your choices the way you would in an interview.

Is this question asked at entry level?

It is marked Easy, so it suits engineers who are new to product architecture interviews. It is also a good warm-up before harder questions.

What should I cover first?

Start with the requirements: what the system must do, how well it must do it and which numbers change the design. Agree on scope with the interviewer before you design anything.

Can I practise it for free?

It is a premium question. Sign up and unlock it once for 10 credits; it then stays unlocked. When you finish, Lala, your personalized AI mentor, can review your design for 30 credits.

Design Yelp

PremiumProduct architectureEasy

Proximity search
Geohash
Geospatial index

Quick answer

This product architecture interview question asks you to design Yelp. Aim for a design that meets its requirements at the stated scale, then explain its main components, data flow and trade-offs. Interviewers want to see how you scope the problem, size it and defend each choice.

The problem

Design Yelp, a local business review app where people search for nearby places, read reviews and ratings, and write their own reviews. The hard parts are fast near-me search over 10 million businesses and keeping each average rating correct as reviews are added and edited.

What must the system do?

Nearby search: Search by keyword or category around the user or a map area, filter by open now, price and rating, sort by distance or rating, 20 results per page.
Business page: Name, address, hours, photos, average rating, review count, and the most helpful reviews first.

3 more requirementsUnlock to see all

How well must it do it?

Fast search: Nearby search returns in under 200 ms at p99.
Correct ratings: The average rating and review count reflect a new or edited review within a few seconds.

2 more requirementsUnlock to see all

What scale should you design for?

Use these numbers in your estimates.

The scale numbers unlock with this questionUnlock

Key concepts

Proximity search
Geohash
Geospatial index
Reviews and ratings
Read heavy caching
CDN

How you’ll practise

6 short steps · save and come back any time

Requirements
Core entities
API design
Client and server flow
Scale and edge cases
Wrap-up

Lala, personalized to you, gives a hint when you ask and reviews your design when you are ready.

What do interviewers look for?

In any product architecture design round.

Clarifies the requirements before drawing anything
Uses a few numbers that actually change the design
Draws a clear path from the client to storage
Picks storage and caching with reasons, not by habit
Explains what breaks first under load and how to fix it
States trade-offs openly instead of claiming a perfect design

Questions people ask about this interview question

Which design type is this question?: It is a product architecture question. You design Yelp and explain your choices the way you would in an interview.
Is this question asked at entry level?: It is marked Easy, so it suits engineers who are new to product architecture interviews. It is also a good warm-up before harder questions.
What should I cover first?: Start with the requirements: what the system must do, how well it must do it and which numbers change the design. Agree on scope with the interviewer before you design anything.
Can I practise it for free?: It is a premium question. Sign up and unlock it once for 10 credits; it then stays unlocked. When you finish, Lala, your personalized AI mentor, can review your design for 30 credits.

The problem

What must the system do?

How well must it do it?

What scale should you design for?

Key concepts

How you’ll practise

What do interviewers look for?

Questions people ask about this interview question

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