Why Use Multiple Search Forms in WordPress?
WordPress search forms help your visitors find the content they’re looking for. Better content discoverability leads to users spending more time on your website which helps increase your pageviews and reduce your bounce rate.
Also when a user spends more time on your site, they’re more likely to join your email list, purchase a product, or become a subscriber.
By using multiple search forms on your site, you make it easy for your visitors to search different areas of your website and find a search form at any time.
Plus, you can customize these search forms so that they show different results depending on the location. For example, you can have a sitewide search bar in your header, and create a separate product search bar so visitors can search for a product in your online store.
That being said, let’s show you how to create multiple search forms in WordPress, step by step.
Create a New WordPress Search Algorithm with a WordPress Plugin
The easiest way to add multiple search forms to your WordPress website is by using the SearchWP plugin. It’s one of the best search plugins for WordPress used by over 30,000 sites.
It’s very easy to use, gives you complete control over your WordPress search results, and lets you use multiple different search forms on your site.
Setting Up SearchWP
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, you need to go to Settings » SearchWP and then click on the ‘License’ menu option.
Here, you need to enter your license key into the ‘License’ box and click the ‘Activate’ button. You can find this information under your account on the SearchWP website.
After that, you need to click on the ‘Engines’ menu option.
This brings up a screen where you need to set your search engine settings. Think of it like creating your very own Google search algorithm built specifically for your WordPress site and content.
You need to create a sitewide search engine before you can create multiple custom search forms that show different results.
To adjust the search engine settings, simply click on ‘Posts’, ‘Pages’, ‘Library’, or other custom post type drop downs that are available.
Then, you can adjust the ‘Weight Multiplier’ up or down to change how your search engine will rank that type of content.
Once you’re done, make sure to click the ‘Save Engines’ button.
Now, it’s time to create multiple different search forms you can add to various locations across your site.
Create Multiple Different Search Forms in WordPress
SearchWP is a very flexible search plugin and makes it easy to create a variety of different types of search forms.
Here are some of the most common types of custom search forms you can create.
Creating Custom Post Type Search Forms
Custom post type search forms are a great way to help your visitors find the most relevant content. For example, we use custom post types here at WPBeginner for our glossary and deals pages, so they’re separate from the rest of our content.
This type of search form is also common on review websites, where you want to separate your product review posts from the rest of the content on your site.
Using SearchWP, you can create individual search forms that only search for content within that specific post type.
For more details, see our guide on how to create advanced search form in WordPress for custom post types.
Creating Category Search Forms in WordPress
Search by category forms let your visitors search your website by specific categories. If you have a lot of content, then this can help your visitors find what they’re looking for quickly.
Instead of searching through all your articles, you’re giving your visitors control over the exact kind of content they’re looking for.
For more details, see our guide on how to search by category in WordPress.
Creating Custom Page and Post Search Forms in WordPress
Your default search forms will show all of your pages, posts, and custom post types in the search results. However, there are times when you might want to stop certain pages and posts from appearing.
