WordPress allows a free website creation platform to any user. However, its in-built search option is limited. Some viewers may be interested in browsing through your WordPress website to look for a product, a particular content, or a blog, and not find the desired results as the default feature fails to find relevant data for the search queries. Customers may not be interested in going through the web pages to find their preferences. But you don’t need to worry, to improve the search function of your website, there’s a wide range of options open for you.
WordPress plugins can help with the internal search of your website. There are more than 7500 WordPress plugins designed to perform various functions, and some are dedicated to improving the website’s internal search feature. You can use any of the search plugins to develop the default search of your website so that your customers can get what they are looking for in less time, and it can help you to improve the overall user experience of your website.
First, you need to understand what the important features you may look for in a WordPress search plugin are. Site search is extremely important for any website. Users tend to leave any website or platform that doesn’t have a good quality search feature. So you’ll lose users that would otherwise interact with your site, reduce the traffic, and ultimately affect your rank in Google search. The factors you should consider while picking a new plugin for your website are :
1. Accuracy:
Before anything else, your search engine should be able to come up with relevant results of customers’ search queries. You need to look for a plugin that can index your content as much as you need.
2. Speed:
It is a very important factor that is necessary for any search plugin to function properly. Websites are expected to give results to search queries in seconds, so if it takes more time, it tends to make the users impatient. If your website is expected to have huge traffic then it is necessary to look for a plugin that will give quick results.
3. Filtering and Sorting Options:
Filtering and sorting help the user find out what they are looking for very quickly. It is a must-have option for large websites so if you have a huge e-commerce business you need to look for a search plugin that has filtering options.
4. Pricing:
Since plugins can be both free and paid, you can consider the plugin you think is the best for your website, and plan out the budget. Most plugins are designed with subscription plans.
Now that we have looked into the factors important for any WordPress internal search plugin. Let’s take a look into the top 5 WordPress plugins for internal search on a website.
1. Expertrec:
It is one of the best WordPress site search plugin that help users look for and find relevant results to their search queries on your Shopify store faster, and in a user-friendly way. Expertrec can work with more than three languages, and it offers a wide range of features such as unlimited search, and spell auto-correction that is extremely important for any website because in case there is a typing error or spelling error, the customer may be left with no relevant results. It also has an advanced auto-complete option which reduces time, offers customized search, and personalization as well. It can help to increase the rate of conversion through the variety of services that it provides. The search plugin also helps to improve site navigation and product discoverability as it also provides customized search filters.
2. SearchWP:
It is another leading search plugin. This is a premium plugin option that works on developing the search engine by focusing on accuracy and speed, and it mainly works efficiently on small and medium websites. Its indexing process makes it one of the top search plugins. Visitors will be able to locate everything starting from content to any custom data and product tags through the site search. It has three subscription tiers from which you can choose the best fit for you.
3. Ivory Search:
It helps to increase the functionality of the in-built search of WordPress by creating customized search forms. You can create custom forms without any limitations. It can support the search for content, images, etc. Ivory Search also supports more than two languages. It has a base plan which is free of cost and there is another premium plan available that is chargeable.
4. Relevanssi:
This search plugin works effectively by replacing the default WordPress search with a powerful system. It comes with many features, one of which is- Relevanssi sorts the results of a search query based on relevancy. This isn’t a suitable plugin for small websites because it requires a lot of additional storage capacity to run without any issues on the WordPress site. It is compatible with many websites and can give results with the partial matching of words. It also has both free and premium versions.
5. Ajax Search:
You may have noticed on any website that while you’re typing something on the search bar, the website is already showing results that are relevant, and there is no need to load another page to get the results. This is done with Ajax. So Ajax Search allows a live search experience. This plugin takes the place of the default search, and blends with your website. If you want to provide this live search experience to your users, Ajax Search is the plugin you may opt for. There is a free version of this search plugin. After a trial, if you like it, you can opt for the pro (paid) version.
Summing Up
It is very important to understand your customers and how your website functions very closely to improve the platform. Search is the heart of any website because it helps users to find what they are looking for. The above-mentioned WordPress plugins are equally equipped to perform various functions that would improve the internal site search of your website. However, each site is different, and has some personal preferences and requirements. So, you need to have an understanding and proper planning to secure an amount that would be invested in a plugin. With that being said, the most important thing is customer satisfaction, and all decisions of the online store should be based upon it for further improvements that will not only increase sales but conversion rates as well.