7 Essential WordPress Search Plugins to Supercharge Your Site
                     7 Essential WordPress Search Plugins to 
Supercharge Your Site
Have you ever tested the search on your WordPress site only to find irrelevant 
results—or worse, nothing at all? You must have put a lot of effort into creating 
content and resources that are valuable, but if users are not able to find their 
way easily, they will get frustrated, leave your site, and you will be the one to 
lose readers, customers, or sales.
The default search of WordPress has as its main disadvantage that it is limited, 
does not take into account the relevance, and frequently ignores important 
content.
The good news? The WordPress Search Plugins can solve that problem. With 
features such as live suggestions, filters, and relevance-based results, they 
provide visitors with the easiest way of getting exactly what they want.
In this guide, we'll walk through the best WordPress search plugins that can 
transform how users navigate and experience your site.
We gathered the most popular WordPress search plugins — here are the ones 
that stood out:
Search Plugin Key Feature Pros Cons Pricing
Multiple custom 
Unlimited forms, Some features are Free. Pro at 
Ivory Search forms, AJAX live 
WooCommerce-ready Pro only $19.99/yr.
search
Deep content Search all content, live Free. Pro at 
SearchWP Free limited
indexing results $79/yr.
Relevance-based, Finds content with Advanced features Free. Premium 
Relevanssi
fuzzy match typos require Premium at $99/yr.
Instant, scalable Handles huge site Free. Premium 
ElasticPress Needs Elasticsearch
search traffic at $79/mo.
Ajax Search Live AJAX, image Can be slow on Free. Pro at 
Visual results
Lite previews large sites $45.81/yr.
WP Extended Custom search Full control, 
No live AJAX Free.
Search configs lightweight
Search heatmap, Accurate results, Advanced setup Free. Pro at 
Better Search
ACF integration analytics needed $39/yr.
1.    Ivory Search
2.    SearchWP
3.    Relevanssi
4.    ElasticPress
5.    Ajax Search Lite
6.    
WP Extended Search
Com7.p  a  rBiseotnte orf  Stehaer Tchop WordPress Search Plugins: Features & Pricing at a 
Glance Let's now understand each of the above-mentioned WordPress 
1. Ivory Search
Search Plugins in detail:
Ivory Search is a WordPress search box plugin that allows multiple custom 
search form creations with each form being for a different part of your site. For 
instance, you could have one search form for blog posts, another one that is 
product-specific, and one more just for your media library.
Moreover, it also enables AJAX live search, thus the visitors get the results 
instantly as they type, hence finding exactly what they need without waiting for 
a page to reload.
The plugin also works well with WooCommerce, thus you are able to design 
search forms just for products and even find by categories, tags, or attributes 
with it.
Ivory Search also gives you the option to set up custom rules for what content is 
included and excluded in search results, so you can pick which posts, pages, or 
custom post types are displayed in the search form.
Plus, you can put in search forms anywhere with the help of the Ivory Search 
shortcode, widgets, or even inside menus.
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Key Features of Ivory Search:
•    Multiple Custom Search Forms: To build different forms for various 
sections of your website, this plugin provides you a multiple custom 
search forms (search bars that can have filters, options, or checkboxes for 
selecting a particular content type). For instance, a form solely for your 
articles and the other solely for your products. So your visitors only see 
relevant results when they search.
•    AJAX Live Search: As your visitors start typing, results appear instantly 
without rendering the page. The moment they start typing, results show 
up instantly in a neat dropdown.
•    WooCommerce Integration: If you have an online store, you can make a 
search form specifically for products. Customers can type in a product 
name, category, or even attributes like "red shoes" or "size medium" and 
instantly see matching items. It makes shopping easier and faster, which 
o•f t  e Cn umsteoamn sI nmcloursei osna/lEexsc flours iyoonu R. ules: You decide what content shows up 
in each search form. For instance, you might want to exclude draft 
posts or internal pages from your blog search.
Flexible Placement: The Ivory Search shortcodes, widgets, or menus can 
be used to place your search boxes anywhere on your site.
Pros:
•    One of the benefits of the Ivory Search plugin is that you have the ability to 
create as many search forms as you want and then place them anywhere on 
your site.
•    If you're using WooCommerce, the plugin makes product searches super 
easy, letting shoppers find items by name, category, or even specific attributes 
like size or color.
Cons:
•    Only the Pro version of this plugin has some exclusive advanced features like 
WooCommerce search filters and AJAX live search.
•    If you are new to WordPress, then it might be difficult to understand how to 
set up several forms with different rules.
Pricing: The Ivory Search plugin comes with a free version, and the premium plan 
is available from $19.99/year for a single site.
Need more than what this plugin offers? Our plugin development services can 
help you build custom features or enhance this plugin to perfectly fit your site's 
needs.
2. SearchWP
SearchWP is a powerful WordPress search plugin that enables you to look 
through not just the standard posts and pages but also your website files, such 
as custom fields, PDFs, and eBooks. To illustrate this, if you have a PDF guide or 
a product manual uploaded to your site, SearchWP can make the content of 
these files available in search results so that the users getting the information 
are not hindered by a lack of access to the source.
The plugin also makes your entire media library searchable. Technically, 
images, videos, and other files can be shown in search results just like your 
normal posts and pages.
Additionally, you are also allowed to set your search engine so that it ranks 
certain content higher than others. For instance, you could make posts the first 
thing to appear when searching or the titles of products rather than their 
descriptions.
Plus, you can create multiple search engines for different parts of your website. 
So, if you run a blog and a resources section, each can have its own tailored 
search experience.
Key Features of SearchWP:
•    Deep Content Indexing: With SearchWP you can index every bit of your 
content, even custom fields, PDFs, and eBooks, that is, nothing gets 
missed out. For example, if you upload a PDF guide or a product manual, 
SearchWP ensures its content appears in search results so visitors never 
miss important information.
•    Customizable Multiple Search Engines: By using the SearchWP plugin you 
are enabled to give a higher priority to a certain content type or to change 
the weights of titles, contents, or excerpts to suit your requirements, 
moreover, you are also allowed to set up different search engines for 
diverse areas of your website like blog posts, documentation, or 
resources.
•    SearchWP Live Search: The plugin provides instant search results as 
visitors type, improving engagement and usability. For example, typing 
"pricing guide" could immediately show your related PDF, post, or page 
without hitting enter.
Pros:
•    You can find any type of content on your site, including hidden files like 
PDFs or special custom fields.
•    Live search results make it faster for visitors to get exactly what they 
need.
It's simple enough for beginners yet powerful enough for developers who 
want more control.
Cons:
• The free version has limited features. You'll need the Pro version to unlock 
things like multiple search engines and PDF indexing.
Pricing: SearchWP comes with a free version for basic features. The Pro 
version starts at $79/year for a single site license.
3. Relevanssi
Relevanssi WordPress is a search plugin that gives your site powerful relevance-
based search results. Unlike the default WordPress search, it ranks results by 
relevance, so visitors find the most useful content first, even if they don't type 
exact keywords. Suppose a user inputs "WooCommerce refund plugin" as a 
search query, Relevanssi can find matching documents with terms like "refund 
for WooCommerce orders" or "WooCommerce refund", so that searches are 
more accurate and flexible.
Relevanssi offers the feature of advanced search weighting, whereby you can 
decide which results will be displayed first. There is also the possibility of setting 
a higher rate for titles, keywords, or categories than for the body of the page so 
that the pages with the most significant aspect have higher positions in the 
search results.
Relevanssi also allows advanced search weighting, giving you control over which 
content appears first. You can prioritize titles, tags, or categories over body 
content to ensure the most important pages rank higher in search results.
Key Features of Relevanssi:
• Relevance-Based Search Results: Visitors of your website will be shown the 
most relevant content first, rather than just the latest posts. Suppose a person 
looks for
'WordPress SEO tips,' in that case, the article with the most 
comprehensive tips will be the first one to appear.
•    Fuzzy Matching: If there is a misspelling or a partial word is entered, 
Relevanssi will still assist the users in obtaining the needed data. For 
instance, a search for 'Woocomerce' may lead to results of 
'WooCommerce'.
•    Highlight Search Terms: The plugin marks the words which the users 
have searched for in their results earlier, thus making it simpler for them 
to find the exact match.
•    Search Across Multiple Content Types: Relevanssi doesn't just look at 
post titles. It searches comments, tags, categories, and custom fields too, 
so nothing important is left out.
•    Google-Style Suggestions ("Did You Mean?"): If a search has no exact 
match, it suggests alternatives, reducing frustration. For example, 
"Workpres" will prompt "Did you mean WordPress?"
Pros:
•    Helps your visitors find the most relevant content quickly, even with 
typos or partial words.
•    Highlights search terms and suggests alternatives, improving the 
overall search experience.
Cons:
•    Some advanced features, like indexing attachments or user profiles, 
require the Premium version.
•    It can take a bit of tweaking if you want search results perfectly 
weighted for your content.
Pricing: Relevanssi is available for free. The Premium version starts at 
$99/year for a single
site license.
4. ElasticPress
ElasticPress is another WordPress search plugin which transforms your site 
search with very quick and extremely scalable results powered by the 
Elasticsearch platform. No matter whether you have a huge content library or a 
very active WooCommerce store, this search plugin is always there to return the 
results for your visitors quickly and appropriately. Thus, they get what they want 
without the site slowing down.
You can also index more than just posts and pages. With ElasticPress, you can 
allow search results to show custom post types, metadata, taxonomies, and even 
PDFs so that your visitors will be able to find the resources that have been 
hidden in your site.
This plugin facilitates real-time autosuggest. Without a moment's delay, the 
instant search suggestions are ready every time users begin typing, thus helping 
them to obtain the needed information in less time.
The ElasticPress plugin also comes with advanced filtering options. Visitors can 
filter results by categories, tags, or any custom taxonomy you define, making 
navigation smoother for large websites.
Additionally, if you ever need guidance, the detailed ElasticPress documentation 
helps you set up and optimize everything step by step.
Key Features of ElasticPress:
•    Instant, Scalable Search Results: With Elasticsearch running in the 
background, your site will easily be able to manage a large amount of content 
and heavy traffic without a problem and still a search query will be quick and 
smooth.
•    Comprehensive Indexing: Through this plugin, it is possible to add custom 
post types, metadata, taxonomies, and even PDFs to your search results. For 
instance, if you have items in your portfolio, product details, or uploaded 
documents, making a search is the easiest way to access all of them.
•    Autosuggest While Typing: The ElasticPress plugin allows the visitors of your 
website to receive real-time suggestions thus making the process of finding the 
exact thing they need much faster.
•    Advanced Filtering: Your visitors can filter the results by categories, tags, or 
any other custom taxonomy so that they get the most relevant content. In fact, 
users can rapidly pick out products of a certain brand, price, or product type 
from a shopping site.
•    Related Posts: Keep your visitors engaged by showing them additional 
content they might like. For example, if a user reads a blog about "WordPress 
SEO Tips," related articles on "On-Page SEO" or "SEO Plugins" can appear below.
•    Clean Search Results: ElasticPress lets you filter out unwanted words from 
search queries, keeping your site's search results clean and professional.
Pros:
•    You can handle large sites and heavy traffic with no performance issues.
•    While typing, your visitors will be getting instant autosuggestions which 
makes finding content quicker.
•    The ElasticPress documentation gives clear, step-by-step instructions to 
help you set up and optimize the plugin.
Cons:
•    The plugin requires Elasticsearch hosting, and that may seem like 
something technical if you are unfamiliar or a beginner to hosting.
•    Some advanced features may need extra setup compared to simpler 
plugins.
Pricing: ElasticPress is available for free on WordPress.org with basic features 
like Post Search, Highlight Search Terms, etc. The premium plans start at 
$79/month for advanced features.
Wish your WordPress Search plugin could do more for your business?
Tell us the details and we'll handle the rest!
Hire WordPress plugin developers Today!
5. Ajax Search Lite
The Ajax Search Lite plugin is the best search plugin for WordPress, and it really 
shines with its live AJAX powered search. The moment someone starts typing 
results show up right there without any page reloads or waiting. Imagine you run 
a WooCommerce store and a shopper types "shoes". Before they even finish the 
word they're already seeing shoe products appear in the dropdown. It feels 
instant and smooth which makes people want to keep browsing.
On top of that, it gives you image previews in search results. Instead of just 
seeing the product title, you also see the dress image right inside the search 
dropdown. That makes browsing quicker and more visual for your visitors.
The plugin also includes customizable filter boxes, which are basically 
checkboxes for categories or post types. For instance, if you have a blog with 
tutorials, news, and case studies, users can tick only "tutorials" and instantly see 
results filtered to just that section.
From a design perspective, Ajax Search Lite is flexible because it comes with 
10+ built-in templates and color customization options. This way, you don't have 
to work on the backend or change the CSS.
And, if your site is multilingual or has unique content types, Ajax Search Lite will 
be able to handle it. This means, it not only supports language plugins like WPML 
and Polylang but also works with custom post types.
Key Features of Ajax Search Lite:
•    Live AJAX Search: Visitors of your site do not have to reload the page to see 
the results of their search, as results are shown instantly while they are typing. 
For instance, if someone enters the phrase "marketing tips" in your blog, related 
articles and guides will be there immediately in a dropdown.
•    Image Previews in Results: You can show product or post images directly in 
search results. This is perfect if a visitor searches for "red dress" and instantly 
sees the dress image next to the title.
•    Search in Custom Post Types: Ajax Search Lite enables you to add 
WooCommerce products, events, portfolios, etc., in the search results 
without missing any essential items.
•    Frontend Filters: The visitors of your site can simply filter by categories, 
post types, or tags with the help of checkboxes or dropdowns and thus it 
would become more convenient for them to find the exact items they 
require.
•    Compatibility with Page Builders and Multilingual Plugins: The plugin is 
compatible with Elementor, Divi, Gutenberg, WPML, and Polylang, to make 
sure that a search of your site's layout and language needs is perfectly 
integrated.
•    Caching for Faster Search: The Ajax Search Lite plugin caches images and 
search queries so repeated searches load instantly. For example, if 
someone searches "laptop" multiple times, the results appear even faster 
after the first search.
Pros:
•    You get strong visual and filtering features even in the free (Lite) version.
•    With Ajax Search Lite, you can use it easily with popular page builders and 
multilingual plugins.
•    This plugin caches images and queries, so repeated searches load faster.
•C oPnesr:formance can slow on sites with many content/products because it 
uses the WordPress database (not an external scalable engine).
Pricing: The Ajax Search Lite plugin is available for free, and the pro 
version is available at $45.81/year for a single-site license.
6. WP Extended Search
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WP Extended Search is another WordPress search plugin that allows you to make 
various custom search configurations for your site. Each configuration can be 
assigned to a different search form by using widgets, shortcodes, or PHP 
functions.
As an illustration, you could prepare one search form to examine only 
WooCommerce product SKUs and attributes while with the other, just your blog 
post titles and categories could be searched. Therefore, no matter the location of 
the visitors on your site, they would find exactly what they need.
This WordPress search plugin will enable you to limit or open your content by 
certain custom conditions such as categories, post types, or post statuses, and at 
the same time, allow for advanced meta and taxonomy searches through post 
meta fields, author names, categories, tags, and custom taxonomies. As an 
example, if you had a library online, users could still discover books by author, 
genre, or even book format, so they could quickly locate what they wanted while 
the old books could be removed from display.
In the case of WooCommerce sites, the plugin empowers you to look into product 
SKUs, variations, attributes, and custom fields, enabling the buyers to find what 
they exactly want in a short time rather than going through heaps of irrelevant 
results.
Key Features of WP Extended Search:
•    Multiple Custom Search Configurations: Different search parameters can be 
configured specifically for various sections of your website. For example, one 
search bar can focus on your blog posts while another targets your 
WooCommerce product SKUs.
•    Include or Exclude Specific Content: You have the power to decide which 
categories, post types or post statuses are displayed in your search results. As an 
example, archived posts can be hidden and at the same time, you can access the 
active content for search.
•    Advanced Meta and Taxonomy Search: Not only titles but also post meta 
fields, categories, tags, and custom taxonomies can be searched by you. Just to 
give an example, visitors may look for a product with a matching color, size, or 
any other attribute that you have set.
•    WooCommerce Integration: Making product SKUs, variations, and custom 
fields accessible through search will enable your customers to locate the exact 
items they need in no time.
•    Flexible Search Form Placement: You can assign your custom search setups 
to widgets, shortcodes, or PHP functions. This means you could place a 
specialized search bar in your sidebar, footer, or any page you like.
•    Lightweight and Performance-Friendly: You do not have to be concerned with 
your site being slow. Even if the users have multiple search forms or large 
datasets, this plugin is made to perform efficiently at all times.
Pros:
•    You get full authority over the content that shows up in the search results, 
thus only the most relevant details are displayed to the visitors.
•    This plugin can be easily integrated with WooCommerce and custom fields 
which means that your buyers can locate the products they need in no time.
•    WP Extended Search stays efficient even when handling multiple search 
forms or large datasets.
Cons:
•    Some advanced features require a bit of setup and understanding of custom 
fields or taxonomies.
•    WP Extended Search doesn't provide live AJAX search out of the box, so 
results aren't instant like some other plugins.
Pricing: The plugin is available for completely free on WordPress.org with all 
features
available.
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•    Top 9 WooCommerce Product Search Plugins to Improve Navigation
7. Better Search
The Better Search plugin is one of the best WordPress search plugins, and it 
stands out because of its search heatmap feature. You are able to see the exact 
words that your visitors
are typing into the search box, as well as which queries have the highest 
popularity. For instance, most users, if they are searching for "SEO tips," you 
can modify your content or bring out the relevant posts so that the visitors get 
engaged further. This gives you real-time insights into what your audience likes, 
and that too, accurate.
Another strong feature is search result weighting. You are allowed to make 
certain posts, pages, or custom post types more visible so they rank higher in 
search results. Just as an example, you may want your newest blog post or a top 
product to be the first thing visible when users search for related keywords.
Better Search also supports custom fields including ACF better search 
integration. This means searches can consider content in your ACF fields, giving 
your visitors more accurate and relevant results.
Moreover, the detailed search analytics are available to you. You can monitor 
the development of search queries over a period of time, which tells you the 
areas not covered in content or topics that visitors need help finding, and Better 
Search additionally allows flexible search result layouts for you to adjust the 
appearance of search results and the type of data shown to make it more 
attractive to your visitors.
Key Features of Better Search:
•    Search Heatmap: It is possible to see exactly which users to your site and 
what the most common queries are. For example, if a great number of users 
were looking for "SEO tips," then not only could you encourage access to 
similar posts through presenting them, but also adjust your content to be more 
suitable for their needs.
•    Search Result Weighting: The plugin allows you to select among posts, 
pages, or custom post types that you want to rank higher in the results.
•    ACF Better Search Integration: More accurate search results will be given 
to your visitors because the plugin supports all kinds of custom fields, 
including ACF fields. Therefore, if there is some hidden content or extra 
details in custom fields, they will be searchable.
•    Detailed Analytics: Better Search gives you the opportunity to follow the 
evolution of the search trends and, in this way, have an idea of what 
visitors' real interests are, as well as discover the content areas that you 
can fill.
•    Customizable Search Templates: In case you want to make search results 
more appealing and easier for your visitors to navigate, you can redesign 
them.
•    Multisite Support: If you run multiple sites, Better Search works across 
your WordPress Multisite network, so you don't have to configure it 
separately for each site.
Pros:
•    You get real insights into visitor interests through the heatmap.
•    Custom field integration ensures more accurate and relevant search 
results.
Cons:
•    Some advanced analytics or template customization may require 
additional setup.
•    The free version lacks some advanced search result weighting features.
Pricing: Better Search is available for free on WordPress.org, while the Pro 
version starts at $39/year.
Final Verdict on WordPress Search Plugins!
Essentially, the search function is a must-have tool for your WordPress site as 
it enables your users to find the products they need in a matter of 
seconds, thus, it becomes a great way to increase the engagement and 
conversion rate of your site. Nevertheless, the in-built WordPress search 
has been encountered with several issues of inefficiency particularly in 
large sites or custom content, hence the use of a proper search plugin has 
become a must.
SearchWP takes a lead over all other plugins by being capable of indexing 
any content, like PDFs and custom fields, as well as giving you the 
opportunity to adjust the relevancy of results according to your 
preference. On the other hand, you should not only consider the top 
search plugin but also the others, such as Ivory Search, Relevanssi, 
ElasticPress, Ajax Search Lite, WP Extended Search, and Better Search, 
which are equipped with different features so that you can find the one 
that best fits your needs.