WordPress Autocomplete Search: A Complete Guide

WordPress Autocomplete Search is a powerful tool that can greatly enhance the user experience on your website. With autocomplete search, users can quickly find the content they’re looking for without having to type out the entire search query. This not only saves time but also reduces the chances of typos and spelling errors.

In this guide, we’ll take a deep dive into WordPress autocomplete search, exploring its benefits, multiple ways to set it up, and best practices for optimizing its performance. Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced WordPress user, this guide will provide you with everything you need to know before implementing live autocomplete search on your WordPress eCommerce site.

What Is Live Autocomplete Search?

Live autocomplete search in WordPress is a feature that provides users with instant search suggestions as they type in the search bar on a WordPress website. This feature is available on many WordPress themes like Woostify and WordPress plugins such as SearchWP, Ajax Search Lite, or Better Search.

The WordPress autocomplete search feature is powered by an algorithm that analyzes the search terms entered by users and suggests relevant keywords or phrases based on that analysis. The algorithm considers various factors, including search history, popularity of search terms, and relevance to the website’s content.

When a user begins typing a query in the search bar on a WordPress website, the live autocomplete search feature displays a list of suggested search terms based on the letters or words entered so far. The list of suggested terms updates in real-time as the user continues to type, providing a faster and more convenient way to search for content on the website.

Why Does Autocomplete Search Matter?

Autocomplete search matters because it greatly enhances the user experience on a website, making it easier and faster for users to find the content they are looking for. There are several reasons why autocomplete search is important:

• Saves time: Autocomplete search reduces the time it takes for users to find content on a website. By providing instant search suggestions as users type, autocomplete search eliminates the need to type out full search queries, resulting in a faster and more efficient search experience.
• Reduces errors: Autocomplete search helps reduce spelling errors and typos in search queries, resulting in more accurate search results. This is because the algorithm behind autocomplete search analyzes the search terms entered by users and suggests relevant keywords or phrases based on that analysis.
• Improves user engagement: Autocomplete search can improve user engagement on a website by making it easier for users to find the content they are looking for. This can help you increase pageviews, longer time on site, and higher conversion rates.
• Enhances usability: Autocomplete search enhances the usability of a website by providing a convenient and intuitive search experience. This can improve the overall user experience and make it more likely that users will return to the website in the future.
• Increases customer satisfaction: Autocomplete search provides a more personalized and efficient search experience for users. This can increase customer satisfaction, which is essential for building long-term relationships with customers.

In summary, autocomplete search matters because it improves the user experience on a website, saves time, reduces errors, improves user engagement, enhances usability, and increases customer satisfaction.

How to Add WordPress Autocomplete Search with Woostify Theme?

The simplest but most effective way to add WordPress autocomplete search is by using the Woostify theme. Woostify premium theme offers a variety of advanced features to create a robust online store. Among them, the Ajax Product Search addon allows you to add autocomplete search on your WooCommerce site.

Download & Install Woostify Theme

Once installing the Woostify premium theme, you can easily include WordPress autocomplete search in your WooCommerce site by following the detailed guide below:

Step 1: Enable Ajax Product Search addon

• From your WordPress dashboard, go to Woostify > Add-ons tab.
• Then, you can see the list of premium add-ons of Woostify. Take a quick look to find the Ajax Product Search addon, and turn on the Enable icon as in the picture below.

Step 2: Set up autocomplete search on your WooCommerce site.

To set up autocomplete search on WooCommerce, you need to make some settings for the Ajax Product Search addon. Click on the Setting icon in the box corner to reach the setting page:

Now, it’s time for you to set up the Ajax Product Search addon.

There are a lot of setting options for you to adjust on this page, including:

• Filter: enable this option to display the category filter.
• Search Category: enable this option to show the search in category.
• Search Tag: check this option to show the search in tag.
• Search Attributes: Check this box to show the search in product attributes.
• Search in custom fields: This allows you to select custom fields to add to the search scope.
• Out stock products: Enable this option to remove the out-of-stock products in the search results.
• Limit result: Enter “-1” to show all search results
• Search by: There are 3 options for you to search by, Product titles/ product SKU/ Product Description/ or Product short description. However, you should check all options to ensure that your customers can find out the products in your store more easily.
• Highlight Color: This section lets you adjust the color of the text in the search results.
• Index Data: Keep the Ajax Search Addon to index all data on your WooCommerce site.
• Last Update: This shows the latest updates of the settings.
• Total Product Index: This section shows the total number of indexed products.

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 autocomplete search works properly or not.

Here is an example of WordPress autocomplete search created by Woostify.

How to Add WordPress Autocomplete Search with a Plugin?

There are various WordPress plugins allowing you to add autocomplete search to WordPress site. For example Ajax Search Lite, Search Manager, Ajax Search Pro, Reactive Search Pro,etc. In this guide, I will use Ajax Search Lite to add WordPress autocomplete search. This plugin allows you to provide live search suggestions and integrates Google’s autocomplete feature into your search bar.

To begin, you need to install and activate the plugin on your site by going to Plugins > Add New > find the plugin > Install > Activate.

After activating the plugin, proceed with the steps below to enable your new WordPress autocomplete search functionality.

Step 1: Choose the content you want to include in live search

The first step is configuring what information you want to include in your search suggestions.

For instance, you might want your suggestions to just include blog articles and exclude pages. You can also decide whether to include content from custom post types (such as WooCommerce products or an event plugin) in your search results or not.

To do that, from your left side menu, navigate to Ajax Search Lite > General Options > Post Type Search

• Under the Sources & Basics section, you can have some setups:

1. Turn on the option “Try to replace the theme search with Ajax Search Lite form?” to have the plugin override your theme’s search functionality.
2. Turn on the option “Try to replace the WooCommerce search with Ajax Search Lite form?” to have the plugin override your default search functionality of WooCommerce.

• In the setting page, you will see the Search in custom post types containing 2 columns. You can pick the eligible content by dragging and dropping the content you wish to include in the autocomplete search from the right column to the left one. Or you can also move any option from the left to the right column to remove it.

• Scroll down the page, you can also select the parts of your content will be searched in the search box. With this plugin, you can enable your customers to search by Title, Content, Excerpt, Permalinks, IDs, or Custom fields.

Step 2: Manage the way to display suggestion results

• Ajax Search Lite plugin will display a lot of information in the suggested results, such as Title, Excerpt, and Featured image. However, you can fully control what will be shown on suggestions by locating the Image Options tab and disabling the “Show images in results?” option to hide images from the results. Besides, you can customize other options, such as Image size, Image source

• To control how the text shown in the results, you can go to Layout options > Results layout, then do some settings as your desires.

Step 3: Configure the search box’s appearance

This autocomplete search plugin will replace your theme’s search box with its own design, so it is necessary to ensure that the plugin’s search box layout fits your theme’s design.

To do that, head to Layout Options > Search Box layout & Theme tab and customize how your search box design looks with some options like color, search box width, and search box margin.

You need to click the Save options button at the right bottom of the page to update your settings.

Step 4: Add the Autocomplete Search Box to Your WordPress Site

Once you finish adjusting all the settings as expected, you now can add your Ajax autocomplete search to your WordPress site.

• First, you need to copy the “Search shortcode” lying above the plugin’s custom options.

• After that, you should navigate to the place ( product page/post) you want to include your autocomplete search. On the page/ post you have reached, find the shortcode block by using the (+) or Add block button.

• Then, paste the code you have copied into this shortcode area.

Step 5: Save and preview

Finally, remember to Publish/Update your page/post you have inserted the search shortcode.

Now, let’s visit your site frontend and see if your WordPress autocomplete search works properly. If there is anything that does not meet your requirements, you can fix them again on the settings page.

WordPress Autocomplete Search: Best Practices

To ensure that your WordPress autocomplete search is effective and provides a positive experience for your users, here are some best practices you can follow:

• Keep the search bar visible and accessible on all pages of your website: The search bar should be prominently displayed on your website and easily accessible from all pages. This will make it easy for users to find and use the search functionality whenever they need it.
• Use clear and concise labels for the search bar: Make sure the search bar is labeled clearly so that users understand its purpose. Use simple and concise language to describe what the search function does.
• Use predictive suggestions: Autocomplete search works by providing instant feedback to users as they type in their search queries. This helps users find what they are looking for more quickly and easily. Consider using predictive suggestions in your autocomplete results to provide feedback to users and help guide them toward the most relevant content on your website.
• Limit the number of autocomplete suggestions: Too many autocomplete suggestions can overwhelm the user and clutter the search bar. Limit the number of autocomplete suggestions to ensure the search bar remains clean and easy to use.
• Use relevant keywords or phrases in your autocomplete suggestions: Ensure that the autocomplete suggestions match the user’s intent and provide relevant results. Use relevant keywords or phrases in your suggestions to help guide users toward the most relevant content on your website.
• Consider including image or video suggestions: Images and videos can be more engaging and visually appealing than plain text. Consider including image or video suggestions in your autocomplete results to make your search functionality more engaging and visually appealing.
• Customize your autocomplete search results: Customize your autocomplete search results to prioritize your website’s most relevant and popular content. This will help users find what they are looking for more quickly and easily.
• Test and monitor your autocomplete search functionality regularly: Regularly test and monitor your autocomplete search functionality to ensure it functions properly and provides a positive user experience. This will help you identify and fix any issues that may arise and ensure that your search functionality is always optimized for your users.

By following these best practices, you can optimize your WordPress Autocomplete Search functionality and provide a better user experience for your website visitors.

WordPress Autocomplete Search: FAQs

How do I use autocomplete in WordPress?

To use autocomplete in WordPress, you can use a WordPress theme like Woostify, or WP plugin like SearchWP, Ajax Search Lite, or Better Search. Once you have installed and activated the theme/ plugin, you can enable live autocomplete search functionality on your WordPress search bar.

How do I create an advanced search in WordPress?

To create an advanced search in WordPress, you can use a plugin like WP Advanced Search or SearchWP. These plugins provide options to customize the search form, including adding search filters and fields to search specific post types or taxonomies.

How do I search content in WordPress?

To search content in WordPress, you can use the built-in WordPress search function. Simply type your query into the search bar on your WordPress website and press enter. WordPress will display relevant posts and pages based on your search query.

How do I add autocomplete to address fields in WordPress?

To add autocomplete to address fields in WordPress, you can use a plugin like Address Autocomplete for WooCommerce or Google Places Autocomplete for WPForms. These plugins provide the functionality to autocomplete addresses based on user input using the Google Places API.

Conclusion

In conclusion, WordPress Autocomplete Search is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance the user experience on a website. By providing instant feedback and guiding users toward the most relevant content on your website, autocomplete search can help users find what they are looking for more quickly and easily.

To ensure that your WordPress Autocomplete Search is effective and provides a positive experience for your users, you should follow the best practices such as keeping the search bar visible and accessible, using clear and concise labels, limiting the number of autocomplete suggestions, using relevant keywords or phrases, and customizing your search results.

By implementing these best practices and regularly testing and monitoring your autocomplete search functionality, you can optimize your search functionality and provide a better user experience for your website visitors.

Please comment in the section below if you have any questions or recommendations about WordPress autocomplete search.