A well-functioning search form is crucial for enhancing user experience on any WordPress site, whether you're managing an online store, a blog, or an events page. With an efficient search form, visitors can quickly find the products they're interested in, discover relevant blog posts, or locate upcoming events, making their browsing experience smoother and more enjoyable.
In this blog, we'll walk you through the process of adding a search form in WordPress site tailored to different types of content. From integrating a search form for products in your eCommerce store, ensuring it seamlessly filters through your inventory, to adding a search function for your blog posts that helps readers find specific articles or topics, and even incorporating search features for event listings that allow users to quickly locate and sign up for upcoming events.
We'll cover everything you need to know, including selecting the right plugins, customizing search functionalities, and implementing best practices to ensure your search form is both effective and user-friendly. So, let’s get started.
Why Search Forms Are Essential for Different Content Types
Search forms are one of the most valuable tools for any website, particularly when managing multiple types of content like products, blogs, and events. By enabling users to quickly find specific information, search forms significantly improve user experience, boost engagement, and enhance the overall efficiency of a site. Let’s explore why search forms are crucial for each content type in detail.
1. For Products
On eCommerce websites, product search forms are indispensable for guiding potential customers toward the items they are looking for. Without an intuitive search function, users may become frustrated by having to browse through numerous categories or pages to find specific products, which can lead to higher bounce rates and lost sales. You can also add advanced product search in Woocommerce, for more details on how to to add advance product search for Woocommerce you can visit our blog. We have prepared a detailed guide for new users so that a user can add advance product search for Woocommerce efficiently on your website.
A good product search form allows users to:
- Quickly locate specific products by entering keywords, product names, or item numbers.
- Filter results by attributes, such as price, size, color, or brand, giving users a more personalized shopping experience.
- Improve product discovery by suggesting related products through advanced search algorithms.
For large stores with extensive inventories, offering an efficient search form is essential for maintaining a smooth shopping experience, reducing the chances of cart abandonment, and increasing conversions.
2. For Blogs
For content-heavy sites like blogs, where dozens or even hundreds of articles might be published, a search form is critical for user engagement. Most users won’t spend time scrolling through multiple pages to find an article that meets their needs. Instead, they prefer an easy way to search for topics or posts of interest.
Key benefits of search forms for blogs include:
- Enhanced content discovery: Users can find relevant posts quickly, whether they are searching for a specific article, a topic, or even the author.
- Increased session duration: If users can easily locate related content, they are more likely to stay longer on your site, reading multiple articles.
- Improved SEO: By analyzing search queries, you can understand what users are looking for and tailor your content to better meet their needs.
Additionally, advanced search functionalities like sorting posts by date, relevance, or category further improve user satisfaction.
3. For Events
Search forms are particularly important for websites that manage and promote events, such as concert venues, conference organizers, or local community sites. Events are time-sensitive and typically come with numerous variables like location, date, or event type, making an efficient search function crucial for both users and site owners.
Event search forms offer:
- Faster event discovery: Users can instantly find relevant events by entering keywords or filtering by criteria such as event type, location, or date.
- Improved user engagement: With an easy-to-use event search form, visitors are more likely to browse and sign up for multiple events instead of just one.
- Higher registration rates: Simplifying the search process increases the likelihood that users will find events they want to attend, resulting in higher registration and participation rates.
Incorporating features like date filters, location-specific search, or event categories in the form can further refine results and cater to user preferences, making the search experience seamless. Our Event planner WordPress Theme comes with the Event search forms that gives accurately search results making it easy for the ones trying to build a Event planner website.
Whether you're running an eCommerce store, a blog, or an event management platform, having an effective search form is essential for improving user satisfaction. It allows visitors to find relevant content quickly and easily, encourages engagement, and can even drive conversions. By optimizing your search forms for each content type, you ensure a more organized, user-friendly website that meets the specific needs of your audience.
Steps to Add Search Form in WordPress for Products, Blogs, & Events
Adding a search form in WordPress tailored for products, blogs, and events is essential for improving navigation and user experience. While individual plugins can be used for different search types like WooCommerce for products, WordPress’s default search widget for blog posts, and event calendar plugins for event searches an all-in-one solution like Ajax Search Lite simplifies the process by offering a single search tool for multiple content types. This live Woocommerce product search plugins provides advanced search functionalities, enabling you to search posts, pages, WooCommerce products, events, and custom post types in real time.
The Ajax Search Lite plugin integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce, WordPress blogs, and event calendar plugins, making it a versatile tool for all content types. It allows users to search by titles, descriptions, excerpts, categories, tags, and even custom fields. With built-in templates, filters, image display, and AJAX-powered performance, it provides a robust solution for enhancing search capabilities across your WordPress site.
Let’s walk through the steps to configure Ajax Search Lite and add a search form in WordPress that covers products, blogs, and events on your WordPress site.
Step 1: Install WooCommerce or Event Calendar Plugins
The first step to add a search form in WordPress for products, blogs, or events is installing the necessary plugins to manage these content types. If you intend to offer product search functionality, you need to begin by installing and activating WooCommerce, the most popular eCommerce plugin for WordPress. WooCommerce allows you to create and manage products, organize them into categories, add descriptions, images, prices, and stock information. Once your products are set up, they become searchable by various methods, including the Ajax Search Lite plugin, which enhances the search experience with advanced filtering and real-time results.
For event-based websites, installing a plugin like WP Event Manager or The Events Calendar is essential. These plugins enable you to create events, add details such as date, time, location, and event types, and even set up recurring events. By organizing your events through these plugins, you make them easily searchable for your users. The Ajax Search Lite plugin later integrates with these event calendar plugins, allowing visitors to quickly search for specific events using keywords, event categories, or dates.
Installing these plugins lays the foundation for content management, ensuring that your products or events are well-structured and ready to be accessed via the search form. Without these plugins, the content won’t be available for users to search, which makes this step crucial to the process.
Step 2: Create Posts, Products, or Events
After activating the necessary plugins for your WordPress website, such as WooCommerce for products or an event calendar plugin like WP Event Manager for events, the next critical step is to create your content. Whether you're adding posts, products, or events, this phase is essential because it generates the data that will later be searchable using the Ajax Search Lite plugin.
For blog content, create posts that are well-structured, with appropriate titles, categories, and tags. Organizing your posts into specific categories (such as "Tutorials," "News," or "Woocommerce Product Reviews") will ensure that users can easily search and filter results based on these groupings. Adding relevant tags (e.g., "WordPress tips," "eCommerce strategies") enhances search precision, allowing users to find posts based on specific topics.
For products, within WooCommerce, create product listings with clear titles, detailed descriptions, and high-quality images. Be sure to assign each product to the appropriate categories (e.g., "Electronics," "Clothing") and use tags like "Discounted," "New Arrival," or "Popular." This organization ensures users can quickly locate specific items during product searches.
Similarly, if you’re creating events, include essential details like event title, description, date, time, venue, and category. Assign relevant tags and categories (e.g., "Conferences," "Workshops") to facilitate easy event discovery.
By properly categorizing and tagging your posts, products, or events, you optimize search performance and ensure a seamless user experience when you add a search form in WordPress using the Ajax Search Lite plugin.
Step 3: Install and Activate Ajax Search Lite Plugin
To add a search form in WordPress for products, blogs, and events, the next crucial step is to install and activate the Ajax Search Lite plugin. This powerful plugin is available directly from the WordPress plugin repository, making installation simple and straightforward. Once installed, it integrates seamlessly with your WordPress site, offering an enhanced search experience for multiple content types.
Ajax Search Lite provides comprehensive features, allowing users to search through blog posts, WooCommerce products, and event listings with ease. The plugin supports live search functionality, meaning that as users type, results are displayed dynamically in real-time, improving user experiences. Additionally, it supports advanced filtering options, such as searching within post titles, content, excerpts, custom fields, and taxonomies like categories and tags.
This step is crucial for creating a unified search system across your site, enabling users to easily locate specific content whether it’s products, blog articles, or events through a single, highly responsive search interface.
Step 4: Configure the Ajax Search Lite Plugin Settings
Once you’ve installed and activated the Ajax Search Lite plugin, the next step to add a search form in WordPress for products, blogs, and events is configuring the plugin settings. These settings offer a wide array of options that help tailor the search functionality to suit your website’s needs. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the settings.
1. General Settings - Sources & Basics
In the General Settings, you begin by enabling two essential options to replace the default search behavior:
- "Replace theme search with Ajax Search Lite form": This option will swap out the standard WordPress search form with the Ajax-powered form, offering a much smoother search experience.
- "Replace WooCommerce search with Ajax Search Lite form": For eCommerce websites, this feature integrates the WooCommerce product search into the Ajax Search Lite form, making it easier for users to find specific products.
You can then select the custom post types you want to include in your search. This might include blog posts, products, events, or custom post types generated by plugins like WooCommerce or event calendars. You can even drag and drop other search fields like categories, event venues, and more. Additionally, you can choose whether to allow searches within post titles, content, excerpts, permalinks, or custom fields. Even password-protected posts can be included in the search results if needed, giving you total control over what gets indexed.
2. Image Options
Under Image Options, you can choose to enable the "Show images in results" feature. This allows your search results to display featured images alongside the post titles, making them more visually appealing. You can set both primary and alternate image sources for each post type, ensuring that the search results always feature a relevant image.
3. Frontend Filter Settings
The Frontend Filter Settings let users customize their search directly from the form. By enabling the "Show search settings on the frontend" option, users can adjust the search criteria themselves. You can also drag and drop filters like custom post types in WordPress (e.g., products or events), categories, and other fields, allowing users to refine their searches with ease.
4. Layout Settings
The Layout Settings offer robust customization options. You can modify the overall appearance of the search form in WordPress, choosing from eight built-in templates. Adjusting the WordPress Elementor themes, input colors, and layout of the search results is simple, enabling you to align the form with your website’s design.
5. Advanced Settings
In the Advanced Settings, you can further fine-tune the search functionality. Here, you can exclude certain results, define keyword exceptions, and add accessibility features. This section is crucial for websites looking to provide a more tailored search experience.
Once you’ve configured these settings, the plugin generates a shortcode. You can copy this shortcode and paste it into any page or widget to display your search form in WordPress site.
Step 6: Add Shortcode to a Page
Once you’ve configured the Ajax Search Lite plugin and generated the shortcode, the next step is to integrate the search form in WordPress site. To add a search form in WordPress for products, blogs, and events, you need to place the shortcode on the page where you want the search form to appear. This can be done easily using the Elementor page builder, which provides a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
- Navigate to the Desired Page: Begin by navigating to the page where you want to display the search form. You can place it on a homepage for a global search function, or create a dedicated search page that’s specifically designed for users to find products, blog posts, or events. Other suitable locations might include sidebars or footer sections, depending on your site’s design and navigation flow.
- Edit with Elementor: Once you’ve chosen the page, click on Edit with Elementor. Elementor is a powerful page builder that allows you to easily modify and customize your page layouts. Using Elementor gives you full control over the design and placement of the search form. After clicking "Edit with Elementor," the page will open in the visual editor, where you can drag and drop different elements to build your page.
- Add the Shortcode Widget: To add the search form, locate the Shortcode widget from the Elementor panel on the left-hand side. Simply drag and drop this widget into the section of your page where you want the search form to appear. The Shortcode widget is designed to handle any shortcode, making it perfect for embedding dynamic content like the Ajax Search Lite form. To get a tutorial in detail to add short code you can visit our tutorial on shortcodes in WordPress.
- Paste the Shortcode: Now, paste the shortcode generated by the Ajax Search Lite plugin into the Shortcode widget’s input field. This shortcode is a unique identifier that will dynamically generate the search form when the page is published. The plugin will automatically render the search form with the layout and functionality settings you configured in the previous step.
Step 7: Publish and Test the Functionality
After successfully adding the shortcode for the search form, the next critical step is to publish the page and thoroughly test its functionality. This step ensures that the search form is live and working seamlessly across all content types, including products, blogs, and events.
Once the shortcode is added to the desired page, such as the homepage or a dedicated search page, you need to click the "Publish" button. This action makes the search form visible and interactive for visitors. After publishing, it’s important to test the form by performing searches related to each content type (e.g., specific products, blog posts, or upcoming events). This process helps ensure that the search form behaves as expected, delivering relevant results based on the custom post types and filters you configured earlier with the Ajax Search Lite plugin.
Testing the functionality involves searching for various terms that relate to your website’s content. For example, you can search for specific products by name, category, or keyword to see if the search returns accurate results. Similarly, try searching for blog posts using post titles, categories, or tags to verify that the form effectively navigates your blog content. Finally, test event searches by looking for specific events using keywords related to event titles, venues, or dates to ensure that the search form is working smoothly across all custom post types.
During this testing phase, pay close attention to factors like search speed, the accuracy of results, and whether the search filters (such as product categories, event dates, or blog tags) function as intended. Make sure that images are displayed correctly if you’ve enabled image results, and verify that the form is responsive across different devices and screen sizes.
By following these steps, you ensure that the search form in WordPress is not only functional but optimized to enhance user experience. The Ajax Search Lite plugin simplifies the search process by offering a single, versatile solution for navigating multiple content types, improving site engagement, and allowing users to quickly find the content they need across products, blogs, and events.
Conclusion
In conclusion, incorporating a search form in WordPress for products, blogs, and events is crucial for enhancing user experience, increasing engagement, and improving navigation across your website. We’ve explored the importance of search forms for different content types and walked through the step-by-step process of adding a search form using plugins like WooCommerce for products, event calendar plugins for events, and WordPress's default search widget for blogs.
However, a more streamlined approach is to use Ajax Search Lite, which combines search functionality across all content types in a single, easy-to-use solution. With its customizable settings, powerful filtering options, and real-time AJAX-powered search, you can provide a seamless search experience that caters to your users’ needs.
By following the steps outlined, you can easily add and configure a versatile search form in WordPress site, allowing visitors to find the content they’re looking for quickly and efficiently.
