How to Add WordPress Ajax Search Without Plugin?

Search functionality is an essential component of any website that allows visitors to quickly find the information they are looking for. While WordPress provides a built-in search feature, it may not always meet the needs of all users. Adding Ajax search to your WordPress site can significantly enhance the user experience by providing real-time search results without the need for page refresh.

While many plugins are available to add WordPress Ajax search functionality, they can often slow down your site and may not provide the level of customization you require. In this article, we will walk you through the guide on how to add WordPress Ajax search without a plugin. At the end of the article, we also present you with another easy way to add live search to WordPress. By following our step-by-step process, you will be able to customize the search functionality to suit your needs and provide a better user experience for your visitors.

What is WordPress Ajax Search?

Ajax search is a type of search functionality that uses Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technology to provide real-time search results without needing page refreshes. Ajax allows search queries to be sent to the server in the background while the user continues interacting with the page. The search results are then dynamically loaded into the page, allowing for a more seamless and faster user experience.

In the context of WordPress, Ajax search can be used to improve the built-in search functionality or replace it entirely with a more robust and customizable search feature. With Ajax search, users can get instant results as they type in their query, making finding the content they are looking for easier and faster. This can be especially useful for websites with a large amount of content or products, where traditional search functions may take longer to load or return irrelevant results.

Why Should You Add Live Ajax Search to Your WordPress Site?

Below are some major reasons why you should add live Ajax search to your WordPress site.

• Improves user experience: Ajax search provides real-time search results without the need for page refreshes, making it faster and more efficient for users to find the information they need.
• Reduces bounce rate: If users can’t find what they’re looking for quickly, they may leave your site. Ajax search can help prevent this by providing relevant results instantly, reducing the likelihood of users bouncing from your site.
• Customizable: With Ajax search, you can customize the search functionality to meet your specific requirements, including adding filters or adjusting search result rankings.
• More accurate search results: Ajax search can be set up to provide more accurate search results by including additional search criteria or using fuzzy search algorithms.
• Enhances site search functionality: While WordPress provides a built-in search function, it may not always meet the needs of all users. Adding Ajax search can improve your site’s search functionality and provide a better user experience.

How to Add WordPress Ajax Search Without a Plugin?

Advantages & Disadvantages of using code

Take a closer look at the pros and cons below if you consider using code to add a live Ajax search to your WordPress site.

Advantages:

• Customization: When you use code to add a live Ajax search to your WordPress site, you have complete control over the functionality and design of the search feature. You can customize it to suit your specific needs and preferences.
• Speed: Code-based Ajax search can be faster than using a plugin, as there is no additional overhead from the plugin code.
• No dependencies: By not relying on a plugin, you eliminate potential conflicts with other plugins or compatibility issues with future WordPress updates.
• Learning opportunity: Writing code to implement Ajax search on your WordPress site is a great opportunity to learn more about web development and how Ajax works.

Disadvantages:

• Technical knowledge required: Implementing Ajax search using code requires certain technical knowledge in web development and WordPress.
• Time-consuming: Writing code to add Ajax search can be time-consuming, especially if you’re not familiar with the process or need to debug any errors.
• Risk of errors: If the code is not written correctly or tested, it can cause errors or security vulnerabilities to your site.
• Limited support: When using code, you must maintain and update the search feature, which may require additional time and resources.

In summary, using code to add a live Ajax search to your WordPress site offers excellent customization and control. Still, it requires technical knowledge and time to implement and maintain. It can be a good option for those who want to learn more about web development and are willing to invest the necessary time and resources.

Notes:

Here are some things to keep in mind when adding live Ajax search to your WordPress site without a plugin:

• Backup your site: Before making any changes to your site, it’s important to create a backup of your site in case something goes wrong.
• Code customization: Adding Ajax search functionality requires some coding knowledge, so be sure to have a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP.
• Test thoroughly: Be sure to thoroughly test the search functionality after implementing the code to ensure it’s working correctly and providing the expected results.
• Future updates: Keep in mind that any updates to your theme or WordPress core files may affect the functionality of your custom Ajax search. Be sure to regularly check and update the code to ensure compatibility with any updates.
• Theme compatibility: The code for adding Ajax search may vary depending on your theme. Be sure to test the code on a staging site first to ensure it works with your specific theme. Hence, before starting to add WordPress Ajax search without plugin, you need to create a child theme of the current theme you are using on your site and activate it on your site.

Manually add a live Ajax search to your WordPress site using code

Follow the detailed process below to add a live Ajax search to your WordPress site.

Step 1: Access the Theme File Editor

From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Theme Files Editor

Step 2: Copy the main code that displays Ajax search in WordPress

Copy the code below. On the post query, you can customize your HTML as you want. This code will interact with HTML to help you create WP Ajax search without a plugin.

}
// the ajax functionadd_action('wp_ajax_data_fetch' , 'data_fetch');
add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_data_fetch','data_fetch');
functiondata_fetch(){
$the_query = newWP_Query( array( 'posts_per_page' => -1, 's' => esc_attr( $_POST['keyword'] ), 'post_type' => array('page','post') ) );
if( $the_query->have_posts() ) :
echo'<ul>';
while( $the_query->have_posts() ): $the_query->the_post(); ?>            <li><a href="<?php echo esc_url( post_permalink() ); ?>"><?phpthe_title();?></a></li>
<?phpendwhile;
echo'</ul>';
wp_reset_postdata();  
endif;
die();
}

Step 3: Add the Ajax search code to the functions.php theme file.

On the code editing page, navigate to the functions.php from the right menu. And paste the code you have copied into the code editor area.

Step 4: Save your changes

Don’t forget to click the Update File button on the bottom page.

That’s it. You’ve introduced live Ajax search to WordPress without a plugin.

It will provide your visitors with instant search results and improve the number of pageviews.

If you find it complicated and wish to try another approach, let’s download and install the Woostify theme and do it with Woostify’s Ajax Product Search addon.

How to Add a live Ajax search to your site using Woostify Ajax Search

That is the way to add WordPress Ajax search without a plugin. If you find it too difficult to add custom code to your WordPress site and also do not want to install a third-party plugin to avoid slowing down your site, you can use the Woostify theme.

As you know, to run an online store, you need a WooCommerce theme. Instead of using a simple WordPress WooCommerce theme without boosting-sale features, you should go for Woostify. Woostify WooCommerce premium theme offers you multiple useful functions to run and develop your eCommerce site. Woostify theme also provides you with the Ajax Product Search addon that makes the process of adding WordPress Ajax search more easily without installing an outside plugin.

Install Woostify Pro Now

Advantages & Disadvantages

Ajax Search addon of Woostify is a plugin that adds Ajax-powered search functionality to WooCommerce stores using the Woostify theme. The plugin uses Ajax technology to provide real-time search results without needing page refreshes, making it faster and more efficient for users to find the products they are looking for.

This Ajax Search addon is designed to work seamlessly with the Woostify theme and the WooCommerce plugin, providing advanced search features such as product image display, auto-suggestions, and the ability to search by product SKU, category, or tag. The addon also includes options to customize the search bar layout, colors, and fonts to match your site’s design.

Using the Ajax Search addon can enhance the search functionality of your WooCommerce store, improving the user experience and potentially increasing sales by making it easier for customers to find and purchase products. The addon is available as part of the Woostify Pro package, which includes additional premium features and support.

The only drawback of this approach is that you need to purchase Woostify theme pro with the cost starting at $49 per year for 1 site. Of course, if you use the Woostify theme, you do not need any other theme on your WordPress site. And this theme is most suitable for physical online stores.

How to use Woostify Ajax Search

This is the simplest method to add live Ajax search to your WordPress site, especially for WooCommerce sites.

To implement WordPress Ajax search on WooCommerce sites using Woostify’s Ajax Search addon, you should follow the steps below.

Step 1: Enable Woostify’s Ajax Search addon

Suppose that you have installed Woostify theme pro on your WooCommerce site. So the very first step is to enable the Ajax Product Search addon of Woostify. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Woostify.

Then, navigate to the Add-ons tab from the top menu. After that, you will see a table of Woostify premium add-ons there.

Move your mouse to find the Ajax Product Search addon and turn on the Enable Button to green light as below.

Step 2: Set up Ajax search on your WooCommerce site

To access the setting page of the Ajax Product Search addon, you should hit the Setting icon in the corner of the box as below:

Now that you reach the setting page for you to set up the Ajax Product Search addon.

As you can see, in this section, you can make settings with the following elements.

• Filter: check this option if you want to display a category filter.
• Search Category: check this option if you wish to show search in categories.
• Search Tag: check this box if you’re going to show search in tags.
• Search Attributes: Tick this box if you wish to show a search in product attributes.
• Search in custom fields: In this section, you can choose the custom fields you want to add to the search scope.
• Out-of-stock products: Check this option if you want to remove the out-of-stock products in the search results.
• Limit result: Enter “-1” to show all search results
• Search by: in this section, you can select to search by Product titles/ product SKU/ Product Description/ or Product short description. However, we suggest you should choose all of them to make sure that your customers can find out the products in your store easily with anything they have in mind.
• Highlight Color: you can customize the color of the text in the search results.
• Index Data: Check this box to keep the Ajax Search Addon to index all data in your WooCommerce site.
• Last Update: This shows the latest updates of the settings.
• Total Product Index: This shows the total number of products indexed.

You can explore more about Woostify Ajax Search in this article.

Step 3: Save and preview

In the last step, remember to hit the Save button and visit your store in front to check whether your ajax search works properly or not.

Final Words,

Adding live Ajax search to your WordPress site without a plugin can be a great way to enhance user experience and make it easier for visitors to find the content they’re looking for without any cost. While it does require some coding knowledge, the benefits of a custom Ajax search can be significant. Just remember to back up your site, test thoroughly, and keep your code updated with any future updates to your theme or WordPress core files.

Alternatively, if you’re uncomfortable with coding, you can choose the Woostify premium theme to design your site, especially the eCommerce site. With Woostify’s Ajax Product Search addon, you make the process of adding live Ajax search much simpler but achieve better results with less effort.

If you have any questions or recommendations on how to add WordPress Ajax search without plugin, please let us know by leaving a comment below.