Searching the Internet is an intuitive and easy process when using the likes of Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. You simply enter a few keywords and results are retrieved and delivered instantly. This is something that all people scouring the web have come to know and expect.
So why should it be any different on your WordPress website?
It is unreasonable to expect that every site visitor that clicks on your website knows exactly how to navigate and retrieve content they are seeking. That’s why enabling a search functionality is helpful. Search boxes make for an improved user experience, increase the time spent on your website, and provides site visitors with the informative and entertaining content you want them to view.
However, anyone that is familiar with the WordPress default search function knows that it is less than ideal. For instance, custom post types and taxonomies will not turn up in a basic search. That means your readers are not always presented with the most relevant search results which may turn them away without ever knowing you really do have content that they are looking for.
Given that this is true, and the fact that having a search box on your homepage plays a large role in the success of your website, we are going to look at some of the top free and premium WordPress search plugins for ramping up the search function on your website.
Custom Google Search
Using the power of Google to search your very own website, Custom Google Search guarantees accurate results. With lots of styles and themes to choose from, you can customize your search box to match the look and feel of your website. This plugin works well for Multisite and can be activated to search just your own site or multiple sites all at once.
Using the power of Google to search your very own website, Custom Google Search guarantees accurate results. With lots of styles and themes to choose from, you can customize your search box to match the look and feel of your website. This plugin works well for Multisite and can be activated to search just your own site or multiple sites all at once.
Other features include the ability to display your search results on a search page, as a pop-up, or in your website’s sidebar. With the built-in widget for adding a search box in your sidebar you can easily replace the standard WordPress search with Custom Google Search and let your readers benefit from the powerful search results.
Search Everything
This free search plugin found on WordPress.org is a powerful option for replacing the default search function on your website. You can configure it to search pages, excerpts, attachments, drafts, comments, tags, posts, pages, and even custom fields. It also lends the option to exclude specific content from appearing in search results.
This plugin is easily installed and configured and even offers an exclusive feature called Research Everything. With Research Everything you can search your own website’s posts and link to them while writing new content. You can also implement another neat feature called Power Search which allows you to research posts from the web as a whole.
Relevanssi
Another powerful and customizable search plugin, that happens to be free as well, is Relevanssi. Offering users plenty of features, and displaying results in an organized yet fashionable way, Relevanssi is one of the top free search plugins on the market today.
With this plugin site visitors can search based on partial results. That means that results will begin to display after only a portion of a search word is entered if there are no complete words that match. Furthermore, search results can be displayed based on relevance rather than date pinpointing better content for your readers.
Other key features include the ability to search using quotes, highlighted search terms in content discovered using the search function, and even ‘OR query’ and ‘AND query’ result matches. If you are looking for more advanced features such as weight adjustments, multisite support, and excluded search term capability, check out the premium version of Relevanssi here.
Swiftype Search
The Swiftype Search plugin, found in the WordPress Repository for free, displays nothing but relevant results for your site visitors so they find exactly what they are looking for. As an advanced VIP-approved plugin, Swiftype Search comes with great features such as easy set up and configuration, a query autocomplete drop down menu for users conducting a search on your website, and a drag & drop interface on the back end for reordering search results your visitors will see.
With this plugin, you will also enjoy real-time indexing that captures content additions and changes and actionable analytics helping you to see what your site visitors are looking for. Take note that Swiftype Search is a freemium plugin with limitations on the free version. If you are running a very large website you may have to use their premium version in order to offer your site visitors the right kind of search results.
Better Search
This completely free search plugin offers website owners a ton of great features. Displaying search results not only related to posts, but to pages and custom post types, you can rest assured your entire site is being considered. Customize the plugin to display results based on relevancy or date, adjust the weights of post titles and content, and even restrict certain terms using the profanity filter.
Better Search is translation ready, has a search heatmap for showing you popular search terms (both daily and overall), and even supports popular WordPress caching plugins such as WP Super Cache and W3 Total Cache without a hitch. This option is perfect for those looking to increase search functionality on their website by replacing the default search box.
SearchWP
If you are looking to instantly improve the default WordPress search functionality, SearchWP may be the solution for you. As one of the most popular premium search plugins on the market today, SearchWP starts by scanning every piece of indexed content on your site before displaying search results. This means eCommerce products, custom fields, shortcode generated content, related post data, PDF documents, and taxonomy terms are all included in search results.
Easy to setup and working straight out of the box, there is no configuration necessary. However, SearchWP does have plenty of setting options if you do decide to make changes. Adjust keyword weights to different content types, control post Meta, place restrictions on search results, and link with a multisite environment if you want to. There are even several extensions available for those with an active license for expanding your search result functionality.
Custom Search
Brought to you by BestWebSoft as a free and simple plugin without any customization to worry about, Custom Search easily extends the functionality of your standard search capabilities. Besides adding custom post types to search results, this plugin is easy to install and is up and running immediately.
Custom Search supports 4 languages (Czech, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian) in addition to English. You can also have your own language added by the team over at BestWebSoft. They also seem very helpful when it comes to support by encouraging users to contact them with any issues which is a nice touch, especially for a free plugin.
Ajax Search Pro for WordPress
Running on Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) this ‘live search’ plugin starts returning search results as soon as a site visitor begins typing in a query, without refreshing the page. This boosts user experience and helps them to find what they are looking for, possibly without them even knowing what they are looking for.
Search results are presented with featured images, a feature that many search plugins do not provide. This plugin is highly customizable with beautiful layouts to choose from, over 60 color themes to complement each layout adding visual appeal, and provides multi-language support.
Lastly, Ajax Search for WordPress includes widgets for displaying the latest searches, most popular searches, and the search box itself in your site’s sidebar. All in all, despite being a premium plugin, with all the features included the cost is not that far-fetched.
Dave’s WordPress Live Search
Adding live search functionality to your WordPress website has never been easier, or more cost efficient. Unlike Ajax Search Pro for WordPress, this plugin is free to download and use. As your site visitors begin typing their search queries into the search box, Dave’s WordPress Live Search automatically presents matching search results. This unique feature improves user experience and provides instant results for your users saving them time from having to finish their query or selecting the ‘Submit’ button.
Dave’s WordPress Live Search requires JavaScript to function as a live search plugin, but will work as a normal search box if JavaScript is unavailable. It is also compatible with translation plugins such as WPML for those visitors who require your content to be displayed in alternative languages than the one you have written it in.
Final Thoughts
Deciding which search plugin will suit your WordPress website will depend on the features you require, the size of your website, and the size of your budget. However, no matter which plugin you choose to go with, the important thing is that you provide your site visitors a powerful search box that retrieves the content they are looking for.
It is not always easy for people to find the content on your website they are interested in. Relying on the standard WordPress search function may overlook content that is important to your visitors and your bottom line. This is not something you should risk, especially since there are so many convenient and cost efficient options to choose from.
Have you used any of the above-mentioned search plugins for your WordPress website? Is there any that I have left off of the list that you feel do a better job? I would love to hear all about it in the comments below!
Author Bio
Devesh Sharma is a WordPress fantastic and founder of WPKube, where you will find useful tutorials, in-depth guides, and exclusive deals.
