Learn How to Customize WordPress Search Page Results
Do you want to edit the WordPress website’s search results page?
Learn How to Customize WordPress Search Page Results – Users may locate the material they’re searching for on the search results page. Customization will improve the user experience on your website, which will lead to more page views and sales.
In this post, we’ll show you how to change the search results page in WordPress without having to write any code.
It’s quite rare that a typical search engine like Google would return no results for your query (unless you search for something utterly nonsensical, but even then…). But this might happen more often than one would like when using the internal search feature of a WordPress site.
Many people who visit your website will be interested in learning more about you, your company, or your goods. However, if visitors enter a search term into your search box and land on a blank page, they’re likely to leave. If people are used to using Google or another comparable search engine, this is particularly true.
Users of the internet want certain qualities from the websites they frequent. When it comes to your search, it’s crucial that you take into account their expectations. If your personalized search page has the same parts that they are used to seeing, it will be easier to keep their attention and keep their interest in your content.
Why Are WordPress Search Results Pages Important? What Are the WordPress Search Results in Pages?
One of your readers will get a page showing all the material that fits their query when they input a word or phrase into the search box on your WordPress website. A “search results page” is what this is called. Of course, the results on an internal search page vary from those on a search engine like Google. One difference is that the internal page will only show products that are available on your website, instead of products from all over the internet.
Any website with text material that is accessible through common search engines should include an internal search results page. One of three things will happen when someone finds your website from a straightforward internet search. They will quickly find what they’re looking for, utilize your site’s built-in search to obtain the content, or leave. Therefore, the likelihood that readers will stay on your website depends on how fast they can locate what they’re searching for. One of the simplest ways to keep people on your site longer is to allow them to search and browse the results.
Why Should Your WordPress Search Results Pages Be Customized?
Visitors to your website have certain expectations when they visit. Despite not seeking the same outcomes as Google, they can anticipate seeing aspects that are comparable. This may contain content recommendations based on their original search, recommended spellings, and more.
Even when their searches are unsuccessful, having a personalized search results page may keep your readers interested in your website and its content. Additionally, you’ll be giving your visitors everything they anticipate from a typical search engine. You can also lower the number of people who leave your site by making it look like a well-known search engine.
A customized results page has numerous extra advantages when implemented properly. It can:
- Ensure that users can find what they’re searching for.
- Increase visitors’ stay on your website.
- It offers essential data that users may not have known they needed.
- Become more personable.
- Demonstrate your concern for the little things by being helpful.
The final effect is that you and your visitors get benefit from tweaking your WordPress search results to more closely resemble a conventional search engine. The best part is that you can simply do it by using plugins!
How to Personalize the Search Results Pages in WordPress
Your search results may be readily customized thanks to WordPress’ flexibility. For instance, to change the search.php file, for instance, you may use code or a plugin. Most WordPress users will find it easier to install and keep up with plugins if they use the second method, which is why we recommend it.
Your site, and you will choose which functionality works best. Small personal websites may benefit from using free plugins, while bigger websites may need a more expensive option.
As usual, before making any upgrades or changes, we advise you to back up your WordPress website. Let’s start now!
1. As a reminder of the first search, include or highlight the search term.
The closer you can make internal site search results pages resemble regular Google search results pages, the better. That’s one of the finest pieces of advice I’ve ever heard. Including the search phrase, your visitor used at the top of the search results page is one approach to accomplishing this. This is an easy method to demonstrate to visitors that a search was conducted even if it was unsuccessful (and perhaps a typo was the culprit). This also allows your readers to double-check that they used the correct words and phrases.
Free plugin Search & Filter integrates with WordPress’ built-in search feature. Users will be able to search every publicly accessible page on your website. Additionally, it provides functionality that enables users to arrange search results or even put the search word at the top of results pages (note this is in the Pro version).
Incorporate the Search Term into the Search Results Pages
To do this manually, you must first create a child theme.
Create a search.php file in your brand-new child theme and paste the code from your previous theme into it (you can access this by opening theme files on your server through FTP or by going to Appearance > Editor > Search.php in your WordPress dashboard). The following may now be used to swap out the default title in your child theme’s search.php:
<h1 class="search-title">
<?php echo $wp_query->found_posts; ?> <?php _e( 'Search Results Found For', 'locale' ); ?>: "<?php the_search_query(); ?>"
</h1>The title and number of relevant posts will be shown, followed by the search keyword. “15 Search Results Found For: My Search” would be the result.
In the search results, emphasize the key phrase.
You could also wish to emphasize the search word in the search results. When site visitors are shown search results, the phrase they entered will be highlighted inside each result. This function is well-served by the Highlight Search Terms plugin. Even though it’s simple, it might help your site visitors find what they’re looking for more quickly.
2. Add Recommended Pages to Keep Visitors Engaged with Your Website
Serving up material that is comparable to what visitors are searching for is one of the finest ways to utilize your results pages, in addition to delivering the information that was searched for. If you’ve ever looked for a product on Amazon, you’ve certainly seen recommendations for similar items. By presenting visitors with useful material, you may increase the time they spend on your website. Additionally, you may significantly lower your bounce rate by recommending sites for visitors to visit, even if they have nothing to do with their search query.
The Better Search plugin is a straightforward choice that we suggest if you’re seeking a search capability that functions like that of Amazon or eBay. Once installed, you may use a widget to embed a heat map for your most frequently performed searches. This will guarantee that visitors have a wide range of alternatives for where to go next.
3. Insert a search box
If your theme doesn’t already feature a search box, you may add one to the search results page to keep visitors on your site and interested in their searches. If no results are provided and you want to encourage consumers to try a new search query, this is extremely beneficial. The free Add Search to Menu plugin makes it simple to add a search box; just install it and use the plugin’s options to modify your search form and results.
Using the “get_search_form();” core WordPress function, you may also add a search box directly to any page (through your child theme, as indicated above).
<?php get_search_form( true ); ?>If a searchform.php theme file doesn’t exist, WordPress will output HTML for a default search form. This will show the search form as described by that theme file.
Your visitors will have no reason to wander from your website as a result of this. You can be confident that you’re doing your bit to improve visitors’ experiences on your site when you consistently point them back in the proper direction. And I can tell you right now that that kind of attention to detail is recognized and valued.
4. Add Ajax to Your Search
The last strategy we’d want to discuss today for retaining visitors to your website is to include Ajax search results so people can do “live” searches. Users may search your website using the free Ajax Search Lite plugin, and results are updated as they enter. The plugin offers enhanced options for Google autocomplete, category filtering, and keyword recommendations.
Consider upgrading to Ajax Search Pro for additional possibilities. Users can search for all of your custom post types thanks to the addition of support for bbPress, BuddyPress, WooCommerce, and JigoShop in the plugin’s premium edition. There are also capabilities for caching, custom fields, more than 100 design themes, four layouts, and a ton of other things.
Conclusion
Many WordPress users think about including a search widget in the sidebar of their website, but many forget what the outcomes of such searches will be. And that’s a serious omission.
Make sure every page on your website—including the search results pages—is actively promoting you. While the majority of readers could be interested in your home page or main services, they will undoubtedly visit your website in search of a particular item. Even if your website isn’t a search engine, it’s vital to provide the assistance and features that users are used to. You never know the impact a single page may have on certain people. When you provide the correct visitor with the right information at the right time, you increase the likelihood that they will stay on your site longer and become a devoted client.
Have you customized your search results pages in any way? If so, what has been most successful for you? What addition have you discovered to be the most successful? Please let me know in the comments as always.
We really hope that this post has shown you how to quickly alter WordPress’ search results page. You may also find our article on “How to easily add custom CSS to any WordPress site” helpful.
