Good Search Functionality is an Integral requirement of any WordPress Website.
As a matter of fact, with good search functionality, you actually aid in facilitating a high user engagement.
Moreover, enhanced search functionality on your website makes your website more users friendly and highly usable too.
When people easily get what they are looking for, they usually spend more time on your site.
This means you get large traffic for your website, which is coupled with an increase in the number of conversions.
So any webmaster or blogger should not forget to incorporate the search functionality on their websites.
The ongoing post showcases a stunning and useful collection of 10 Best WordPress Search Plugins.
Although the WordPress Platform provides the default search functionality; however, it falls short of meeting user’s expectations. Users want quick search results. They want the results to be ordered by relevancy and should not merely be based on date.
The search functionality should be empowered to adjust the weighing for titles, tags, and comments. You should be able to choose which post types, custom fields, and taxonomies are utilized during searching. So you see that it is essential to replace the standard WordPress search with an enhanced and more relevant search engine.
The following post showcases before you lots of options of advanced and powerful WordPress Search Plugins. So have a look at the 10 Best WordPress Search Plugins, and I seriously hope that you will surely get the right search plugin for your WordPress site.
The 10 Best WordPress Plugins
1. Relevanssi – A Better Search
Relevanssi is a widely popular WordPress Site Search Plugin. Relevanssi comes with lots of features and configurable options so that you get a powerful search functionality embedded in your website. It’s a regularly updated Search Plugin so that you get to have the most advanced and powerful search functionality for your website. Relevanssi does not use cloud based search service. You have to build the index so that it can work properly. The standard WordPress search is replaced with a better search engine. The users will get better results together with better presentation of results. There’s a free version of Relevanssi as well as a premium version.
Some Key Features:
Search Results presented in order of relevance
Search tags, Categories, Comments, and Custom Fields
Fuzzy Matching
Search for Phrases with Quotes
Find documents matching either just one search term or require all words to appear (Use of OR Query, AND Query)
2. Better Search
The default WordPress search functionality is limited as it only present results based on date. However, in most cases this is not adequate as users look for results relevant to the title and content of the post. Using Better Search WordPress Plugin you can replace the default WordPress search engine with a more powerful search engine which furnishes search results sorted by relevance. Better Search can search through posts, custom post types, as well as pages. So with Better Search your visitors can easily find what they are looking for. The plugin provides you options so that you can customize the output. It can even display a “search heatmap” of the most popular searches.
Some Key Features:
Automatic: Better Search automatically replaces default WordPress search with more relevant search results.
Relevance: The search results get sorted by relevance automatically.
Control the Results: As you change the weight of the post title and post content, you get to fine tune the results.
Customization: Support for a template file for perfect integration into your blog template.
Popular Searches: You can get popular search terms on your blog.
3. SearchWP
SearchWP WordPress Plugin drastically enhances the search results for your WordPress site. With SearchWP, the search results are fined tuned based on the content.
Some Key Features of SearchWP:
Extensive Search: Pick and choose which post types, taxonomies, and custom fields are utilized when searching.
Instant Setup and Integration: Once it is installed and activated, SearchWP automatically replaces WordPress native search. It uses your existing search results template, allowing for endless customization.
Multiple Search Engines: Easily create supplemental section-specific searches for your website without inhibiting your global site search.
Fine-tuned search settings: Specify exactly what weights keywords receive based on where they appear.
Index PDF content: With SearchWP you can automatically make PDF files searchable.
And Much More…
4. Swifttype Search
With Swifttype Search Plugin, you get to have fast, intelligent and fully customizable search for your WordPress website. The Swifttype Search Plugin provides an enhanced and powerful search engine. Once installed it replaces the standard WordPress search engine. You also get to have detailed insight about the searches made by your users. Swifttype Search Plugin is already very popular and is being used in a huge amount of sites. The search plugin is complemented by the dashboard, powerful analytics, and full featured developer API. It brings in advanced customization features such as you can change auto-complete behavior with JavaScript.
5. Yolink Search for WordPress
Yolink Search for WordPress is one of the most powerful search plugin for WordPress. You can use the search plugin to optimize your site search and hence can increase users’ time on your site. Yolink has been empowered with the powerful indexing technology which aids in providing relevance-based search results. And that’s not all as it has been loaded with a wealth of extra features such as multisite search, keyword highlighting, sharing integrations, as well as related articles. It allows visitors to search through posts, pages, portfolios, and more. The plugin can be used to display related articles at the bottom of each post thereby increasing content visibility, as well as engagement. All-in-all, Yolink provides better search results which are based on relevancy rather on date.
6. Search Everything
The Search Everything Plugin helps to enhance the default WordPress search functionality without modifying any of the template pages. It can be configured to search pages, attachments, drafts, comments, excerpts, tags, and custom fields. You can also specify your own search highlight style, as well. With Search Everything Plugin, you can deliver better search results to your website visitors in three easy steps. You have to Activate, Configure Options, and Search. It also allows you to exclude specific pages and posts.
7. Dave’s WordPress Live Search
With Dave’s WordPress Live Search, you are able to add “live search” functionality for your WordPress website. So, as visitors type words in a WordPress site’s search box, the plugin queries WordPress so as to find search results matching what the user had typed so far. So searching becomes fast and accurate with Dave’s WordPress Live Search. The live search technique ensures that the users get to find the results they are looking even before they have finished typing their query. This also means that users don’t have to click a submit button to get their search results. So users get search results as they type in. The plugin is easy to set up and use.
8. Ajax Search Pro for WordPress
Ajax Search Pro for WordPress is another very powerful WordPress Search Plugin. The Plugin features brand new frontend and backend layout. The search results are based on relevancy rather than on a date. Plus you can also include the feature of adjustable weight in your search results. The plugin is easy to set up. Moreover, it is fast and flexible, as well.
Key Features:
Includes more than 150+ options on Admin Panel
Provides 45 pre-defined fully customizable themes
Supports Intelligent Image Parsing
Mobile Support
Responsive Width
jQuery powered
Multisite support
Possible to search in Posts, Pages and Products
And Much More…
9. WordPress AJAX Search & AutoSuggest Plugin
With the WordPress AJAX Search & AutoSuggest Plugin you can add real time search feature to your WordPress Custom post types. As a user types in the WordPress search box, the plugin starts querying the website to show you the results in the drop down list form instantly. You can limit the search to custom post type or can even exclude post type from search. The plugin comes in ready to be plugged in and play. So no configuration is required. Moreover, the WordPress AJAX Search & AutoSuggest Plugin can be easily integrated with most themes. The plugin supports WooCommerce, WP e-Commerce, and as well as Jigoshop Products. It is compatible across various browsers such as IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera.
10. Google Custom Search for WordPress Plugin
Google Custom Search for WordPress Plugin is an advanced and powerful WordPress Search Plugin. This search plugin provides On-Demand-Index and On-Demand-Removal Functionality. You can enhance your Website’s search capability with this powerful and feature-rich plugin. You can successfully deliver top quality search results powered by Google.
Some Key Features:
Extended Layout Settings
Automatic Updates
Easy Theme Integration
Detailed Logs
Custom CSS and HTML
And Much More …