Global Header
0
call
6 Mins Read

5 Top WordPress Search Plugins for better site Navigation

Home Blog Blogging 5 Top WordPress Search Plugins for better site Navigation
wordpress search plugins
What is the one thing that people do the most of when they go online? Any guesses? You are absolutely correct in every way. It looks for something. It is common knowledge that using search engines as a jumping off point for activities on the internet is extremely beneficial.  However, the act of searching is not limited to just using search engines. In this day and age, having an in-site search is absolutely necessary due to the fact that websites can have thousands of pages in its direction. But how exactly does one go about incorporating an internal site search into a WordPress website? The answer is straightforward: search plugins for WordPress.  It is absolutely necessary to have an effective website navigation system in order to increase user engagement and provide a superior experience for users. Making use of search plugins is an efficient method for improving navigation on a website, and WordPress gives you a number of different options to enhance the search functionality of your site.  This article details the top WordPress search plugins, highlighting their most important features as well as the benefits they provide. This post will provide helpful information that will allow you to improve the navigation on your website, regardless of whether you are new to WordPress or an experienced user. 
Ivory Search is a freemium search plugin that lets you customise and create unlimited search forms. Each form lets you search and exclude content. After setting up the search form, the plugin gives you a shortcode to use on your site. The plugin still customises search forms using WordPress Customizer. The plugin adds Customizer navigation to block-based WordPress themes to customise search forms.  Ivory Search uses Google Analytics. Google Analytics can track search actions as category, action, and label events if you enable the option. You can show a set number of posts in ascending or descending order. Ivory Search works with WooCommerce, bbPress, and others.  

Pros: 

  • Search forms are unlimited 
  • WooCommerce lets you customise product search forms 
  • Google Analytics can track website visitors’ searches 

Cons:  

  • The WordPress Customizer still customises search forms. 
AJAX Search Lite improves your experience with a live search bar. This plugin lets you AJAX-ify the theme’s search form. WordPress searchform.php-based themes support this. Show search forms anywhere on your site with the shortcode. It can be customised and has several capabilities, such as searching posts and pages, eight built-in themes, custom filter boxes, and post exclusion.  Change the empty search field text too. Change everything about the plugin’s appearance in its options panel.  Users can enable Google Search autocomplete on the plugin options page. Google offers “search keyword recommendations” when no results match. Pictures make search results more dynamic. The featured picture, post content, and post excerpt images in search results can be sized and sourced.  The free version searches WooCommerce products, events, portfolio items, and other custom post kinds. 

Pros:  

  • Toggle button to replace default WordPress search form 
  • Google Analytics integration 
  • Supports Google Search autocomplete and suggested search keywords 
  • Uses JavaScript minification and optimised script loading to keep your website running smoothly 

Cons: 

  • The plugin’s admin interface is complicated 
  • No further search forms are possible 

  1. Relevanssi

Relevanssi improves WordPress search by giving you complete control over your website search results. The plugin needs minimal setup. Since it replaces the WordPress search widget, no short code or WordPress block is needed to embed it. Relevanssi improves the default WordPress search widget.  First, index your site. Settings -> Relevanssi -> Indexing. Build the site index by clicking Build. The plugin’s settings panel lets you change the default relevance sort to post date. Search terms and “Did you mean?” suggestions help visitors find content on the website. All WordPress post types—comments, tags, categories, and custom fields—can be searched. You can only display category results.Relevanssi searches images by title and description. For photography, portfolio, and other image-heavy sites. Relevanssi also offers a comprehensive knowledge base. 

Pros: 

  • Relevance-based search 
  • Image search 
  • Relevanssi can be used in the WordPress admin interface with admin search 
  • Fantastic knowledge base 

Cons: 

  • Requires an additional plugin to enable the AJAX search 
Another WooCommerce AJAX search plugin is Advanced Woo Search. The free version is simple and customizable. The search form is added to WordPress using a shortcode and widget. Advanced Woo Search can also seamlessly replace WordPress site search functionality. Before launching it on the production site, test this feature in some themes- Add stop words to the settings page to exclude search terms. Add synonyms to expand search results.  The search form has three pre-made themes. AJAX search, a clear button, and mobile full screen are other search form customizations. Search results filters and an add-to-cart button are available in the premium version. 

Pros: 

  • Search results add-to-cart button Intuitive plugin admin panel 
  • Stopwords and synonyms refine search results 

Cons: 

  • Not all WordPress themes support seamless integration 

  1. WOOF Products Filter

Using WOOF Products Filter will improve the functionality of your WooCommerce store and make it simpler to search for products. This plugin provides precise search results and enables site users to filter products according to the categories, colours, or tags they have assigned to them.  Because the page used to configure the plugin is integrated within WooCommerce, you can configure it by navigating to WooCommerce > Settings and selecting the Products Filter tab from there. You have the ability to modify the plugin’s layout and structure, as well as its custom CSS and JavaScript, from within this panel.  You can still utilise the old widget that WOOF Products Filter provides in order to integrate the product filter into your website. It is accessible through the WordPress widget editor and can be utilised with WordPress themes that do not have a block-based layout.  Because the plugin is now more focused on shortcodes, it is more compatible with block-based WordPress themes and provides those themes with additional customization choices.  Yet, working with shortcodes can be challenging for those who are just starting out. In spite of the fact that the documentation for shortcodes is of great use, the admin area for the plugin does not include a tutorial.  By utilising the AJAX product search function, customers do not need to reload the WooCommerce product page in order to filter the results of their search. This feature is fantastic for improving the user experience since it enables users to easily find the products they want by searching for them and refining the results of their search.  You should test this feature in a staging environment to ensure that it works, despite the fact that it is compatible with the majority of WordPress themes. 

Pros:  

  • AJAX Search makes it possible to filter products more quickly without having to reload the page 
  • Utilizing shortcodes, there are numerous possibilities for personalization and embedding 
  • When Turbo mode is enabled, the search and product filter are both sped up because large MySQL queries are not generated when filtering products 

 Cons:  

  • To view the shortcode list, you will need to open the page that contains the documentation 

Conclusion 

It is important to keep in mind that the majority of these plugins can be found in the WordPress plugin directory, where they can be tested out by users before a final decision is made. Make use of the available demo sites for premium plugins in order to get an idea of how well they function.  Here is hoping that you have understood this article and are now aware of the top WordPress Plugins for better site navigation. In case of any doubts, please feel free to drop your comments in the feedback section below.  
Learn more about Bluehost Editorial Guidelines

More articles about WordPress

View All

Write A Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Longest running WordPress.org recommended host.

Get Up to 61% off on hosting for WordPress Websites and Stores.