An appropriate functioning search system is one of the significant parts of every website. Specifically, when we talk about magazine blogs, online stores, news websites, forums, and directory websites, a WordPress search plugin is vital for providing an effective user experience. For example, if you have an online store for your retail business.
Further, you want your customers to quickly find the products they are searching for. Then you can make things much easier for them by providing them with auto-suggestions and product previews in the search.
It is quite unfortunate that WordPress does not provide us with vital tools that would help to create a user-friendly search system. Usually, we all end up using the default search function that comes integrated with your WordPress theme.
The pre-added search function only helps us to a certain extent if you wish to create a useful and responsive search system. Then you would require to install a third-party WordPress search plugin.
Here we will look at some of the best WordPress search plugins trusted by a top CMS development company if you want to build a strong site search system for your WordPress site.
Here we will look at some of the best WordPress search plugins that would be suited best for your website.
Why Should We Use a WordPress Advanced Search Plugin?
WordPress comes with a built-in search feature, which is fairly limited and considered an unfavorable option in finding the relevant content. Suppose you are developing your WordPress blog or website.
Further, you may not require a better site search plugin for WordPress right away. Further, as you keep on adding content, you want your users to easily reach your articles or products.
Several experts rely on SEO best practices hoping that their users will effortlessly find their content through search engines.
Integrating a WordPress custom search plugin will help your users who are active on your website. For example, there might be a situation when looking for an older article that they forgot to bookmark.
So with the help of the search plugin WordPress, they can easily find a particular article on your website. WordPress search plugin helps users stay active on your website and invests to boost engagement and ultimately lead to higher sales and conversion.
Fortunately, various WordPress search plugins would help you to operate that. Some of these best WordPress plugins are developed for a specific purpose, like WooCommerce product search.
Further, some of these also help to improve the search experience across your website. Having that said, now let’s have a look at some of the best WordPress advanced search plugins that you can examine.
List of Best WordPress Search Plugin
1. SearchWP
SearchWP is one of the well-known and trusted WordPress advanced search plugins. As a disadvantage, it only comes in a paid version. The other way around, users get several functionalities that would help in improving all aspects of your site search.
✍ Main Features
- It works well with native WordPress search functionality.
- Users can search everything involving custom fields and the output from shortcodes.
- It comes with keyword stemming that enhances search results and user experience.
- Ajax live search helps to show results promptly without page reloading. The live search feature is indeed free at WordPress.org, and you would require SearchWP to utilize it.
- It also has a feature to highlight the search query. Much similar to how Google performs.
- It can easily customize the weighing of your search algorithm.
- You can integrate other well-known plugins like WooCommerce, bbPress, easy digital downloads, WP Job Manager and lots more.
- You can create a divided search engine, each having its unique setting.
- Index the content from .docs, PDFs and other documents in your media library.
- Make use of SearchWP to power-related content suggestions.
- Spontaneously you can redirect certain search phrases to a particular page.
- There are search analytics so that you can see what people are looking for. Like Google, analytics helps track search queries without the need for a plugin. Thus it shouldn’t be a huge selling point.
✍ Pricing
SearchWP only comes with a premium version. Thus the cheapest plan begins from $99 for use on a single site.
If you wish to access every premium feature, you need to buy the $199 pro plan. The Pro plan will allow you to use it on up to 5 sites. The pricing range of SearchWP is from $99 to $399.
2. Relevanssi
Relevanssi is a well-known WordPress custom search plugin. It comes in both a limited free version and a full-featured premium version.
This site search plugin for WordPress also offers you comprehensive and relevant search results. It also comes with great features such as Google style, like search suggestions.
✍ Main Features
- It works well with a native WordPress search functionality.
- It is capable of building its search index.
- You can search for more types of content that include tags, comments, custom fields and many more.
- You can also adjust your weighing of tags, titles and comments to change what content is considered relevant as per your requirement.
- It can also highlight the search query in search results, same as how Google does it.
- It has better content indexing that includes an option to index the content of shortcodes and attachments. Like in a word document, attachment indexing is a premium feature.
- It can search across various sites in WordPress Multisite, which is also known as premium.
- Let the searchers make use of And and OR types queries.
- It can automatically redirect certain keyword searches to a particular page.
✍ Pricing
Relevanssi has a free version at WordPress.org. Further, it also has a premium version that starts with a one-year license and provides a lifetime license.
The price range for annual and lifetime licenses ranges from INR ₹8,828.84 to ₹31,123.89, respectively. Both of the Relevanssi licenses can be used on unlimited sites.
Read more on the top 10 free keyword research tools to use.
3. Ajax Search Pro
As the name already suggests, the main value of Ajax Search Pro is the capability to add Ajax live search to WordPress.
It means as soon as the visitor initiates typing their search terms, a list pops up of the search results, with no page reloads or waiting around.
You also get access to some amazing templates for showing search results. This is an option to include the feature image from every piece of content from the result list.
So, in general, this is the main reason to choose this plugin. Further, you should even know why its lite version is active on over 50,000 sites under WordPress.org.
Despite this, it can also integrate some other helpful options like filters and search in custom post types.
✍ Main Features
- It can add Ajax live search to WordPress.
- It has unique search results templates.
- There are lots of customization options.
- It has indexes and search media attachments that include CSV, DOC, PDF, and many more.
- Users can search any post type that also includes WooCommerce products and bbPress forums.
- It allows search suggestions and autocompletes.
- Integrate search filters in addition to keyword search.
- You can search custom field information, which includes choosing exactly which custom fields to index.
- It provides an option to build your search index.
- WordPress plugin WordPress allows integration with page builders such as Divi, Elementor, Visual Composer, WP bakery, and many more.
✍ Pricing
The WordPress advanced search plugin only offers a limited free version of this plugin at WordPress.org, also known as Ajax Search Lite.
Further, the pro version is provided for $36 at CodeCanyon with standard Envato licensing. It means this is lifetime update for one site, i.e., 6 months of support.
4. Ivory Search
Ivory search is one of the well-known freemium WordPress search plugins. It is one of the best WordPress plugins for improving the native WordPress search.
It is one of the best free site search plugins for WordPress. Also, it has a premium version and is quite affordable in comparison to its competitors.
The above-stated reasons explain why it has a 4.9-star rating with various reviews at WordPress.org. Despite all this, it does not have a long list of features such as something; like SearchWP, Relevanssi and others.
✍ Main Features
- It works well with the native WordPress search functionality.
- You can create unlimited search forms with their unique settings.
- With the free version, you can search WooCommerce products or bb press forums.
- There are lots of options that could help you to search for specific content.
- You can also expand the search with options to search for WooCommerce product variations, file attachments, excerpts, and many more.
- You have access to eliminate certain content from showing up in the search results. Like you can exclude out-of-stock WooCommerce products.
- These WordPress search plugins can highlight search terms in the search results.
- It has unclear matching and keyword stemming.
✍ Pricing
Ivory search offers a free version at WordPress.org. Further, the premium versions are also provided at affordable rates. Single-site plans start at $19.99 for one year of support or updates.
The full-featured plan starts at $49.99 for a single site or $189.99 for a lifetime license. The charges can be added if you wish to use the Ivory search on multiple sites.
For instance, you can pay $49.99 to use the basic pro version. Thus the pricing plan of Ivory search ranges between free to $49.99 annually.
Read more on top WordPress SEO tips to get a better ranking in a search engine.
5. FacetWP
FacetWP aids you in integrating faceted search functionality to your WordPress site. Suppose you are unknown of faceted search.
It is more like filters and something one would commonly see at directories and eCommerce stores. For instance, you are searching for keywords and looking for filter by fuel region and type.
FacetWP is a WordPress search plugin that does not have to be a standalone plugin, weather. You can also integrate it with the SearchWP plugin above to get the crux of both elements.
✍ Main Features
- You can add faceted search functionality to WordPress.
- It is an Ajax-based WordPress plugin. It means there are no page reloads as users make their search choices by themselves.
- You can also create your search index for better performance.
- It offers 13 different filter types that include number/date ranges, search, maps, proximity and many more.
- It also offers filter post types or users, as the latter helps you create a detailed user listing search.
- You can integrate it with page builders to design the result page, as it works with Beaver Builder and Elementor Pro.
- Companies can create facets based on taxonomies, custom fields and regular post data.
- It also works well with WooCommerce to help you develop detailed faceted WooCommerce menus.
✍ Pricing
FacetWP is only available in the premium version. The premium plan starts at $99 per year for use up to 3 sizes and the option to filter post types.
Further, there is a plan of $249 per year that allows you to use it on up to 20 sites and filter both users and post types. Thus the premium plans of FacetWP range between $99 to $249 per year.
Conclusion
Hence this was our list of the best WordPress search plugins that can help you enhance your search site. Some of these site search plugins for WordPress are available for free and premium themes.
These have been incorporated so that you can choose from the best WordPress plugins as per your requirements.
There are various best WordPress plugins for WordPress, and each of them has its distinct strengths. Along with other WordPress website development services, carefully choose and integrate your WordPress search plugin.
We hope this article helped you to enhance your site search. If you want to know more about effectively implementing a search system into your website, a WordPress development company can be your great help.
So what are you waiting for? Pick from this list of best WordPress search plugins and integrate them to enhance your site search.
