Advanced Search – Search Plugin for WordPress

Advanced Search is a search plugin for WordPress that puts a clean, responsive search form anywhere on your site with one shortcode. You write your own placeholder text, and you can let visitors choose between all content, posts or pages. The results appear right under the form.

Visitors who search know what they want, and they are often your most valuable visitors. Many themes hide the search box in a tiny icon or a sidebar that disappears on phones. This plugin lets you place it where the question comes up. It is made for blogs, help sites, service sites and small shops that want a clear search box without a complex setup.

Why search placement matters

A good search plugin for WordPress does one thing first: it makes the box easy to find. A buyer looking for a product, a reader looking for a recipe and a client looking for a service all do the same thing: they look for a box. If they cannot find it, many give up and leave.

• A search form at the top of a page is seen at once.
• A form on a help page answers questions before anyone writes to you.
• A form at the end of a long article keeps readers on your site.

Who can use this search plugin for WordPress

The plugin works with any WordPress theme and needs no shop system. It suits:

• Blogs and news sites with many articles.
• Recipe, tutorial and help sites.
• Business sites with many service pages.
• Small shops whose theme hides the search box and whose products are shown as posts or pages.
• Any site where visitors arrive looking for something specific.

It needs WordPress 6.2 or newer and PHP 7.4 or newer, and it has been tested up to WordPress 7.1.

Front end: the search form

Add the shortcode [themeve_advanced_search] to any page, post or widget area that accepts shortcodes, and the form appears. Nothing else is needed.

What the form contains

• A search field with your own placeholder text.
• An optional drop-down to choose the type of content: All content, Posts or Pages.
• A Search button.
• A hidden label for screen readers, so the field is clear to assistive tools.

Responsive layout

The form fits phones, tablets and computers. It takes the fonts and colours of your theme, so it looks like part of your site.

Where visitors see results

When someone searches, the page reloads with the same form and a Search results block below it. Each result shows a linked title and a short excerpt of about 28 words. Up to ten results are shown. If nothing matches, the block says No results found.

• Only published content is searched.
• Private and draft content is never shown.
• The search term stays in the box, so visitors can refine it.
• The type choice stays selected after the search.

Where to place the form

• The top of the homepage.
• The top of a blog or news index.
• A help or FAQ page.
• The end of long articles.
• A page of its own, named Search.

You do not need it on every page. Two or three well-chosen places are enough. On phones, put it above large banners so it is visible without scrolling.

Back end: the settings screen

This search plugin for WordPress keeps its settings short on purpose, so you can finish them in a minute. Go to Settings, then Themeve Advanced Search and Filter. The screen repeats the shortcode so you can copy it, and it has two options.

Placeholder text

The grey text inside the empty box. Make it helpful, for example Search recipes, Find a service or Search our guides. A good placeholder tells visitors what they can find. The default text is Search this website.

Show content type filter

A single tick box. When it is on, a drop-down appears beside the field with three choices: All content, Posts and Pages. This helps on sites that mix blog posts with service or help pages, because visitors get more relevant results. When it is off, the form searches everything.

Save settings

Press the button and the change shows on the front end at once. You can use the shortcode on as many pages as you like. They all share these settings.

Licence and updates

The plugin needs an active licence. Without it, the form does not work, and only the lock screen and the licence screen open. Once activated, updates appear in your dashboard under Updates while the licence is active.

Using the form in different places

In a page or post

Add a shortcode block and paste the shortcode. Update the page, and the form is live.

In a widget area

If your theme has a widget area that accepts shortcodes, add a text or shortcode widget and paste the same shortcode. The form then appears on every page that shows that area.

On a page of its own

Create a page named Search or Find, put only the shortcode on it, and link to it from your menu. Visitors who want to search go there, and the results appear on the same page.

Several forms on one site

You can use the shortcode more than once. All forms share the same placeholder and the same content type option. Each form sends the visitor to the page it sits on, so the results stay close to where the search began.

How the search works

The plugin uses the normal WordPress search query to look through your public content. It does not need an outside search service, and it does not send your content anywhere. Because it relies on WordPress itself, it works with any theme and needs no index to build.

What this search plugin for WordPress does not do

Being clear about limits saves you time. Here is what is not included.

• It does not filter by price, size, colour or other product attributes.
• It does not search WooCommerce products. If you need a search plugin for WooCommerce with product filters, this is not the right tool. It searches posts and pages.
• It has no live suggestions that appear as you type.
• It does not replace the WordPress search engine. It gives you a better-placed form on top of it.
• It does not rank results by popularity or sales.
• It does not show images or prices in the results. Each result is a title and a short excerpt.
• It shows ten results and has no page numbers.

Search results improve most when your content has clear titles and good text, so visitors' words match yours.

How it helps your site

• Visitors find articles and pages faster, so fewer leave in frustration.
• A search box on a help page can cut down repeated questions to your support team.
• Your own placeholder lets you tell visitors what your site offers.
• The content type choice keeps blog posts and service pages from mixing in one result list.
• You learn what people look for, because their words appear in your own address bar when they search.

A quick example

A cooking blog with three hundred recipes puts the form at the top of its homepage with the placeholder Search 300 recipes. Readers who arrive looking for a biryani or a pitha recipe type it straight away. They no longer scroll through categories, and they spend more time on the site.

Tips for better search

• Use the words your visitors use in your titles.
• Add a short excerpt to every page and post, because the excerpt appears in the result.
• Write content for common searches that return no results.
• Test a few searches yourself on a phone.
• Keep the placeholder short, so it is not cut off on small screens.

Setup steps

1. Download the plugin zip from your account after purchase.
2. In your WordPress dashboard, open Plugins, then Add New, then Upload Plugin, and choose the zip.
3. Press Install Now, then Activate.
4. Activate your licence on the licence screen.
5. Open Settings, then Themeve Advanced Search and Filter.
6. Write your placeholder text and decide on the content type choice.
7. Press Save settings.
8. Create or edit a page and add the shortcode in a shortcode block.
9. View the page and try a few searches.

Why choose it over a theme's built-in search

Many themes tuck the search box into the header icon and nothing more. You cannot move it, and you cannot change what it says. With this plugin you decide where the form goes, what it says and whether visitors can narrow it to posts or pages.

Many sites that need a search plugin for WooCommerce stores with filters will want a larger tool. Sites that need only a clear search plugin for WordPress pages and posts do not need that weight. Compared with heavy search suites, this one is small and plain.

There is nothing to index, no external account and no monthly fee for a search service. For a site that needs a clear box and sensible results, that is often enough.

What is included

• The plugin zip, ready to upload from the Plugins screen.
• A licence for your site, with updates in the dashboard while the licence is active.
• The search form shortcode.
• The settings screen with placeholder text and the content type option.
• Results shown under the form with titles and short excerpts.
• Documentation after purchase and support for six months.

It works with any theme and takes only a few minutes to set up.

Advanced Search is built on the official WordPress documentation standards, and you can browse more of our WordPress plugins.