{"id":7713,"date":"2022-07-05T11:52:36","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T11:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/?p=7713"},"modified":"2022-07-05T12:11:07","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T12:11:07","slug":"wordpress-site-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wordpress-site-search\/","title":{"rendered":"WordPress Site Search? Do Tell!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When navigating a website, users need to be able to easily find what they\u2019re looking for. If this is not happening, you might lose a subscriber or a potential client. This is why by having:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proper <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wordpress-menus\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">website navigation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in place,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blog categories,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/convertsquad.com\/blog\/seamless-online-store-navigation-for-woocommerce\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Product categories, filters, and sorting options <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the case of online stores,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Internal site search,<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you can improve website user experience, but also user engagement, and conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we\u2019ll go into the nitty-gritty of WordPress site search, which can help your visitors find the most relevant information for them. Particular tools can give you access to these searches so that you can gain insights into your visitors\u2019 needs. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, in this article we\u2019ll be talking about:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to add internal search to your WordPress site,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which are the most popular site search WordPress plugins,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to create your WordPress search page,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to track user searches on your site.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to add internal search to your WordPress site using widgets<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re not using the latest WordPress experience (aka Gutenberg, aka the Block Editor), you will be using\u00a0 the search widget in order to add the WordPress site search feature.<\/p>\n<p>Now, how do you know which experience you&#8217;re using?<\/p>\n<p>Well, this is how the Classic Editor looks like when you enter a post, for example:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10884\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/The-Classic-WordPress-Editor.jpg\" alt=\"The Classic WordPress Editor\" width=\"1000\" height=\"547\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And this is the Default Editor, also called the Block Editor or Gutenberg:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10885\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/The-Default-Editor.jpg\" alt=\"The Default Editor\" width=\"1000\" height=\"473\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, WordPress site search is a native feature for WordPress. It comes in the shape of a widget that can be placed inside a widget area. Now, depending on the theme you\u2019re using, there are several areas where you can place the site search widget, from header, till footer and sidebar.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are the steps for adding the WordPress site search widget to a widget area:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Head over to Appearance-&gt;Widgets<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7717 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image4-1.png\" alt=\"WordPress widgets\" width=\"303\" height=\"196\" \/><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Go to a widget area and click on the dropdown arrow.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10886\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Sidebar-widget-area.jpg\" alt=\"Sidebar widget area\" width=\"900\" height=\"524\" \/><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click on the &#8220;+&#8221; sign in order to add the search block to the page. In my example, I&#8217;m using the sidebar widget area. It has some existing widgets: Recent Posts, Recent Comments,\u00a0 \u00a0Categories, and Archives.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10887\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Add-the-search-widget-to-the-sidebar.jpg\" alt=\"Add the search widget to the sidebar\" width=\"1147\" height=\"667\" \/>Now, each of these were previously called widgets, now they are called blocks. The WordPress search site is now a block as well. We&#8217;re still transitioning from the &#8220;widget&#8221; term.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">A block inserter will show up. Let&#8217;s type &#8220;search&#8221; in the search bar.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10891\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Looking-for-the-search-block-inside-the-block-inserter.jpg\" alt=\"Looking for the search block inside the block inserter\" width=\"858\" height=\"584\" \/><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let&#8217;s click on the search block to add it to the sidebar. <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10893\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/The-toolbar-for-the-WordPress-search-block-1.jpg\" alt=\"The toolbar for the WordPress search block\" width=\"974\" height=\"352\" \/><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On top of the WordPress search block you will notice a toolbar which allow you to make a few edits to the search block. You can:<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Reposition the search block. When you select the 6 dots, you will have the option to drag and drop the block where you want. You can also use the up and down arrows to move the search block up and down.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Change the search block&#8217;s alignment.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Toggle the search label.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Change the position of the button.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Add an icon to the button.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Move the block to another area (footer, etc).<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Other options (block duplication, deletion, etc) . <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10895\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Other-seacrh-blcok-toolbar-options.jpg\" alt=\"Other seacrh blcok toolbar options\" width=\"653\" height=\"455\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you select the search block you will also notice a block editing panel on the right hand side. <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10897\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/WordPress-search-block-editing.jpg\" alt=\"WordPress search block editing\" width=\"259\" height=\"588\" \/>Here you can:<\/span>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make color changes to the text or background of the search block.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10898\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Change-the-background-color-of-the-search-block.jpg\" alt=\"Change the background color of the search block\" width=\"556\" height=\"459\" \/><\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Adjust the width of the search block.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Add CSS classes to the block if you want to make some<a href=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wordpress-custom-css\/\"> extra CSS styling<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All you have to do now is hit the &#8220;Update&#8221; button in the upper-right.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to add internal search to your WordPress site in the Block Editor<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the previous chapter I showed you how to add the WordPress search block to a widget area when you are using the old WordPress experience.<\/p>\n<p>But when you are using the current one, the so called Block Editor, you no longer need widget areas, they are no longer available.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s still available is the WordPress search block. And you can add it now to any page or post, in whatever position you like.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s go tot a page or post and add it.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Click on the &#8220;+&#8221; sign in the upper left of the Editor to open up the block inserter.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10869\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Toggle-the-block-inserter.jpg\" alt=\"Toggle the block inserter\" width=\"320\" height=\"128\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Type &#8220;search&#8221; into the block inserter&#8217;s search bar.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10901\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Look-for-the-search-block.jpg\" alt=\"Look for the search block\" width=\"326\" height=\"365\" \/><\/li>\n<li>Drag and drop the WordPress search block wherever you want in the page or post.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10902\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Drag-and-drop-the-WordPress-search-block.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"243\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In the previous chapter I showed you how to make edits to the block using the:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Block toolbar,<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10903\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/The-block-toolbar-options.jpg\" alt=\"The block toolbar options\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" \/><\/li>\n<li>The block editing panel,<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10904\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Edit-the-search-block-in-the-block-editing-panel.jpg\" alt=\"Edit the search block in the block editing panel\" width=\"261\" height=\"757\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are still valid here.<\/p>\n<p>Now, what if you need more styling options for the search block?<\/p>\n<p>Well, there&#8217;s a way for you to update the block editor. You could use the <a href=\"https:\/\/kubiobuilder.com\/\">Kubio page builder<\/a> for this. It is a free WordPress plugin that will put the Block Editor on steroids. It will allow you to make tons of block customizations, no matter the block you want to use.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to customize the WordPress search block using Kubio page builder<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The moment you install the builder you will notice new blocks in the block editor. The default ones will have black icons, while the Kubio ones are blue-green.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10621\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Kubio-blocks.jpg\" alt=\"Kubio blocks\" width=\"411\" height=\"798\" \/><\/p>\n<p>All you have to do is to add the Kubio search block to a page, instead of the default one. See? It looks almost the same. You can even recognize the toolbar.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10909\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/The-Kubio-search-block-toolbar.jpg\" alt=\"The Kubio WordPress search bar\" width=\"514\" height=\"407\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But, here&#8217;s the catch. Take a look at the block editing panel. It&#8217;s been upgraded! It has 3 customization layers: Content, Style, and Advanced. Let&#8217;s take a look inside:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10907\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Search-block-content.png\" alt=\"Search block content\" width=\"288\" height=\"453\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Search block content edits<\/h4>\n<p>At this level you can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Choose a search layout: input and button or input only,<\/li>\n<li>Specify the placeholder text. We recommend the default \u201cSearch\u201d,<\/li>\n<li>Specify the type of button: text or icon,<\/li>\n<li>Select a relevant icon for your button.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Search block style edits<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10908\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Search-block-input-styling.png\" alt=\"Search block input styling\" width=\"284\" height=\"590\" \/><\/h4>\n<p>Inside style you can make changes to the normal and hover states for the input and the button.<\/p>\n<p>For both the input and button you can customize the:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Text color,<\/li>\n<li>Background color,<\/li>\n<li>Border,<\/li>\n<li>Typography.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Search block advanced customizations<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10905\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Search-block-advanced-styling-options-in-the-Kubio-editor.png\" alt=\"Search block advanced styling options in the Kubio editor\" width=\"290\" height=\"438\" \/><\/h4>\n<p>At the \u201cAdvanced\u201d level, here are the\u00a0 available <span style=\"background-color: transparent;\">customizations a<\/span><span style=\"background-color: transparent;\">cross\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"background-color: transparent;\">the container, input, and button: <\/span><span style=\"background-color: transparent;\">background, spacing, border and shadows, typography, transform, dividers, transition, responsive, and miscellaneous. I won&#8217;t go into details here.\u00a0<\/span>But the point is: Kubio gives you so much freedom over block design in WordPress.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now, let&#8217;s say you want to add some extra functions to the WordPress search feature. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe you\u2019d want some autocomplete options, or typo recognition\u2026enter WordPress plugins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WordPress plugins to help you improve your internal site search<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve picked 3 of the most popular site search WordPress plugins out there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you do not know how to install a WordPress plugin, don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve got your back. This tutorial is all you need.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class='embed-container'><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Install, Deactivate and Work with WordPress Plugins\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tRmW1Texk3k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.relevanssi.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Relevanssi<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7722\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image9-1.png\" alt=\"Relevanssi WordPress site search\" width=\"1000\" height=\"444\" \/><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Relevanssi is a free WordPress that manages to enhance the default WordPress site search feature. For some advanced features, there\u2019s also a paid plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, here\u2019s how Relevanssi can optimize your internal WordPress site search:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It sorts search results by relevance, not by date.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It matches partial words as well if complete words don\u2019t match. Awesome, right?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It allows you to search for phrases with quotes, for example \u201csearch phrase\u201d, just like in Google\u2019s search engine.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It creates custom excerpts that show where the hit was made, with the search terms highlighted. This is also cool because you get a preview of the results, and it helps you realize if you\u2019ve got the right content or not.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It highlights search terms in the documents when the user clicks through search results. This is also great: you won\u2019t have to search it again.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It allows for WooCommerce products search.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I bet you had no idea that this is what optimized site search can mean.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Me neither, truth be told!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/ivorysearch.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ivory Search<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7725\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image12-1.png\" alt=\"Ivory - WordPress site search plugin\" width=\"1000\" height=\"462\" \/><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ivory Search can power up your internal WordPress site search with features like:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Display search forms anywhere on the site: the site header, footer, widget area, navigation menu, page content and on any other place using shortcode. This way you won\u2019t depend on the widget areas made available by your WordPress theme.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search any content on the site including but not limited to Post Types, Category, Taxonomy, Terms,\u00a0 Custom Fields, Authors, WooCommerce, Comments, Date, File Types etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excluded searches.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Advanced search form styling options.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/convertsquad.com\/blog\/woocommerce-search-bar\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search WooCommerce products<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/searchwp.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SearchWP<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SearchWP is a very accurate site search WordPress plugin. Here are some of its best features:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Show better results by using keyword stems instead of exact term matches.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It allows searches for your keyword in post, page,\u00a0 titles, slug, categories, tags, comments, taxonomies, excerpts, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has shortcode outputs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search WooCommerce products.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has search statistics and insights to understand what your visitors are searching for and (not) finding.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One very useful site search feature is the autocomplete one. I guess you\u2019ve seen this before:<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7719\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image6-1.png\" alt=\"Google autocomplete \" width=\"580\" height=\"562\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SearchWP doesn\u2019t include autocomplete search functionality by default. But you can enable it by using a free extension called SearchWP Live Ajax Search.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7726\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image13-1.png\" alt=\"WordPress site search with autocomplete\" width=\"1000\" height=\"447\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that you know which are the most popular site search WordPress plugins out there it\u2019s time to find out how search really works on a site. How do the results actually show up?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The WordPress search page<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Search Page is a WordPress Page with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wordpress-custom-page-template\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">custom Page template<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to give users more information for searching your site.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Search Page is in fact a template that displays the search results. When users type in the search bar a query, they\u2019ll be prompted to a page with results. These pages are generated thanks to a template file that is often included in the sidebar of many themes. If there isn\u2019t one in your theme, here is the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/support\/article\/creating-a-search-page\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">official WordPress tutorial <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on how to create it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, the Colibri theme has this file included. It can be accessed from the Customizer (Appearance -&gt; Customize). On the upper-left, you can see an icon representing a file. When clicked, a dropdown with all the templates will show up (the search page included).<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7714\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image1-2.png\" alt=\"WordPress search page template\" width=\"340\" height=\"487\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Colibri search template matches the overall theme design, but it can be customized within the theme\u2019s Customizer. When deploying the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/colibri-page-builder\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colibri Page Builder plugin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> you\u2019ll get access to tons of customization options.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Until now we\u2019ve managed to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Run internal site search<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Customize the search results page<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What now?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enable Site Search Tracking in Google Analytics<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you want to learn what your visitors are looking for on your site? Then, you need to enable site search tracking in <a href=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wordpress-google-analytics\/\">Google Analytics<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It gives you insights into how people use your website, which content they look for, and what search terms they enter in the search bar. Such insights might even give you hints on your next blog topic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Analytics is the tool that allows you to have access to users\u2019 search terms. In order to do this, you\u2019ll need to activate the feature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll have to log into your Google Analytics account, and head over to your Admin area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, navigate to View -&gt; View Settings.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7720\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image7-2.png\" alt=\"Google Analytics view settings\" width=\"1000\" height=\"550\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scroll down to \u201cSite search Tracking\u201d and toggle it on.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7723\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image10-1.png\" alt=\"Toggle site search on\" width=\"800\" height=\"523\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The query parameter is the letter that appears in your site\u2019s URL before the search terms. It usually is the letter \u201cs\u201d(as in search term) or the letter \u201cq\u201d(as in query). Go ahead and search for something, then check your URL.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7716\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image3-1.png\" alt=\"Site search on the Colibri blog\" width=\"1000\" height=\"536\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure to tick \u201cStrip query parameters out of URL\u201d. This strips only the parameters you provided and not any other parameters in the same URL. This way you are telling Analytics not to split up tracking for each visited page. You won\u2019t be seeing separate listings such as yoursite.com\/page?s=1, or yoursite.com\/page?q=2, etc. All visitors will be tracked together on\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">yourysite.com\/page. <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7721\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image8-1.png\" alt=\"Set up Site Search Analytics\" width=\"510\" height=\"254\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also enable \u201cSite search categories\u201d. In this case the query can be \u201ccat\u201d, more on the topic, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/answer\/1012264?hl=en&amp;ref_topic=1031951#zippy=%2Cin-this-article\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that you\u2019ve enabled site search in Google Analytics, you can check the reports under Behavior -&gt; Site Search.<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7728 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/image15.png\" alt=\"Analytics site search reports\" width=\"245\" height=\"560\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, we can call it a wrap!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your turn now to set up search on your WordPress site.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[sibwp_form id=1]<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When navigating a website, users need to be able to easily find what they\u2019re looking for. If this is not happening, you might lose a subscriber or a potential client. This is why by having: Proper website navigation in place, Blog categories, Product categories, filters, and sorting options in the case of online stores, Internal&hellip; <br \/> <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wordpress-site-search\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7731,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[159],"tags":[273],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>WordPress Site Search? Tell Me All About It!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"All you need to know about enabling WordPress site search, creating the search page, and tracking website searches using Analytics. Curious?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/colibriwp.com\/blog\/wordpress-site-search\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"WordPress Site Search? Tell Me All About It!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"All you need to know about enabling WordPress site search, creating the search page, and tracking website searches using Analytics. 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