{"id":93605,"date":"2026-04-08T00:04:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bricktowntom.com\/blog\/?p=93605"},"modified":"2026-04-08T00:04:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T05:04:04","slug":"woocommerce-wednedays-make-it-easy-to-find-products-in-woocommerce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bricktowntom.com\/blog\/04\/woocommerce-wednedays-make-it-easy-to-find-products-in-woocommerce.html","title":{"rendered":"WooCommerce Wednedays: Make it easy to find products in WooCommerce"},"content":{"rendered":"

Site navigation is an essential part of the user experience for ecommerce customers. If you want users to have a positive experience, you need to make it easy for them to find products in a WooCommerce store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Search functionality is a key piece of the site navigation puzzle, as it allows visitors to quickly find specific products.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While the default WooCommerce configuration comes with basic search abilities, there are ways to expand it to create a more powerful search function.<\/p>\n

In this post, we\u2019ll look at home to optimize your WooCommerce search feature to better help your customers find the products they seek.<\/p>\n

Role of search on an ecommerce site<\/h2>\n

The objective of any ecommerce site is to enable the discoverability and ability to purchase products. Not everyone who visits your store will already know what products they want.<\/p>\n

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Easy product discovery can make the difference in whether someone becomes a customer or leaves your site without placing an order.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Ecommerce site search is a functionality that allows shoppers to search your site using text-based keywords, similar to a search engine like Google. When a customer enters a search, the sire returns a list of matching products.<\/p>\n

The searches coming from shoppers can vary drastically in their nature. Some will enter an exact search with a specific product name, SKU, or model number.<\/p>\n

Others will enter a type of product like \u201cT-shirts,” \u201claptops,” or \u201cutensils.” And then there are shoppers that enter problem-based searches seeking a product that solves a certain issue. For example \u201cclean dirty screen.”<\/p>\n

Customers will also search for information not related to your products. For example, someone could look for general information like your return policy or shipping costs.<\/p>\n

What customers expect from an ecommerce site search<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having become accustomed to powerful search engines like Google, it can be easy to take an effective site search for granted. This is clearly reflected in today\u2019s ecommerce customers as many have come to expect more than a simple search function when visiting an online store.<\/p>\n

As a result, most of the world\u2019s top ecommerce sites have implemented some form of an advanced search function. Research from Baymard Institute<\/a> reveals that auto-suggest, autocomplete, or instant search is present on 96% of major ecommerce sites.<\/p>\n

Benefits of strong site search<\/h3>\n

Improved customer experience and longer visits<\/strong><\/p>\n

A good search function makes it easier for shoppers to discover products. Naturally, this leads to a better experience for your customers as it improves the chances they find what they\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n

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Conversely, If your site is missing the search feature, or if it is not effective at surfacing products, shoppers can give up and leave your site.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Making it easier for shoppers to find the products they want will also increase the time they spend on your site. In turn, this improved engagement can have a positive impact on your search engine rankings as it signals to Google that your site offers a great user experience.<\/p>\n

Higher conversions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Data from SearchNode shows that nearly half of ecommerce site revenue comes from on-site searchers. By implementing a strong site search, your store will appeal to the many customers relying on the feature to inform their purchase decisions.<\/p>\n

This will help you maximize your conversions.<\/p>\n

Data<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another benefit to having a frequently used site search is the ability to collect data. When a visitor enters something into the search field, you gain insight into the type of products the person finds interesting.<\/p>\n

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In aggregate, this information can help you form a better understanding of your products<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You can use this information to create a shopping experience more optimized for conversions. For example, you may notice many visitors searching for one of your products that isn\u2019t prominently featured on your site and decide to start displaying this item on your homepage.<\/p>\n

Or you may notice people frequently searching for products that you don\u2019t offer. This can be a sign that these items are worth adding to your assortment.<\/p>\n

Native WooCommerce search<\/h2>\n

WooCommerce comes with product search functionality built-in. While this feature is somewhat useful in surfacing products, it is not the most robust search function.<\/p>\n

This is because the native WooCommerce search will only check the product title and description for matching results. As such, variables like short descriptions, attributes, SKUs, reviews, or any other field can\u2019t be used to look up products.<\/p>\n

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This often leads to shoppers being unable to find products in WooCommerce, causing you to miss out on sales.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For example, if you sell clothing and don\u2019t include product characteristics in the product title, shoppers searching for a specific attribute won\u2019t find the products they’re looking for.<\/p>\n

You could have several blue variations of T-shirts and someone could search for \u201cblue tops\u201d but none of the items would appear in the results.<\/p>\n

Extending site search with WooCommerce plugins<\/h2>\n

Leveling up the WooCommerce site search is a straightforward process as there are a variety of WordPress plugins that offer advanced search features.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at some of the best WooCommerce search plugins and how you can use them to make it easier for shoppers to find products.<\/p>\n

Smart WooCommerce Search<\/h3>\n

Smart WooCommerce Search<\/a> is a freemium plugin that enables you to expand your WooCommerce search to also look in tags, categories, and other areas of your site. The plugin is quick to set up and it works seamlessly with page-building apps and other popular plugins.<\/p>\n

Setting up the plugin<\/strong><\/p>\n

After you download and activate the plugin, you\u2019ll need to determine how you want to implement the enhanced search features. There are two ways you can do it.<\/p>\n

The first is to use the plugin to extend the functionality of the default WordPress Search and Product Search widgets. With this approach, your site search will run through the default search widgets but with the features of the Smart Search plugin.<\/p>\n

Go to Smart Search > Default<\/strong>. There you\u2019ll see two tabs for WordPress Default Search and WooCommerce Product Search. Each will have the option to enable Smart Search for that particular widget. Simply click the slider to turn on Smart Search.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

With that complete, you can also use the Layout and Styling tabs to customize the popup displaying the search results. There you can adjust the picture size, border color, backdrop color, text color, and other display aspects.<\/p>\n

Custom Search Widget<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other way to use the plugin is to create a custom widget. Custom widgets have all the plugin features and are implemented by publishing a Smart Search widget.<\/p>\n

To create a new widget go to Smart Search > Widgets > Add New<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Next, you\u2019ll need to enter a name for the widget and configure the General settings. Among the settings are options for the search field\u2019s placeholder text, the minimum number of characters customers need to type before seeing results, and whether to show out-of-stock products. There you\u2019ll also have the ability to disable the AJAX popup.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Once you configure the General Settings, make sure to click the blue Save<\/strong> button at the bottom of the page before proceeding to the other widget settings.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll then want to click on the Items to Search Through<\/strong> tab to configure where the search plugin will look for products. By default, new custom widgets will have the following search areas enabled:<\/p>\n