Advanced Search for WordPress

A powerful WordPress plugin that enhances search functionality by searching through posts, custom post types, and taxonomies (categories, tags, and custom taxonomies including WooCommerce product attributes).

Features

• Enhanced Search Logic: Searches in posts content and taxonomy terms
• WooCommerce Support: Includes product attributes, categories, and tags in search
• Modular Design: Separate functions for search logic and HTML generation
• WordPress Integration: Automatically enhances native WordPress search
• Plugin Compatibility: Safe integration with existing search plugins

How It Works

The plugin uses a two-step approach:

1. Direct Search: First searches directly in post content using WordPress native search
2. Taxonomy Search: If no results found, searches in taxonomy terms (categories, tags, product attributes) and returns associated posts

Supported Taxonomies

• Posts: Categories and tags
• WooCommerce Products: Product categories, tags, and custom attributes
• Custom Post Types: Any registered taxonomies

Installation

1. Download or clone this repository
2. Copy the files to your WordPress theme's functions.php or create a custom plugin
3. The enhanced search will automatically integrate with WordPress native search

Usage

Basic Implementation

The plugin provides three main functions:

1. Get Search Data (Raw Results)

// Get structured search results without HTML
$search_data = advanced_search_data('search term', array('post', 'product'), 10);

// Returns array with:
// - type: 'posts', 'terms', or 'none'
// - results: array of posts or term results
// - query_string: original search term

2. Generate HTML from Results

// Generate HTML from search data
$html_output = advanced_search_html($search_data);

3. Complete Search (Backward Compatible)

// Original function - returns HTML directly
$html_results = advanced_search('search term', array('post', 'product'), 10);

WordPress Native Search Integration

The plugin automatically enhances WordPress's built-in search (/?s=search-term) without requiring any template modifications.

For search templates, use:

// In your search.php template, replace:
echo get_search_query();

// With:
echo get_enhanced_search_query();

Custom Implementation Example

// Custom search form handler
function handle_custom_search() {
    $search_term = sanitize_text_field($_GET['search']);
    $post_types = array('post', 'product', 'custom_post_type');

    // Get raw search data
    $search_data = advanced_search_data($search_term, $post_types, 20);

    if ($search_data['type'] === 'posts') {
        // Handle direct post results
        foreach ($search_data['results'] as $post) {
            // Process posts
        }
    } elseif ($search_data['type'] === 'terms') {
        // Handle taxonomy-based results
        foreach ($search_data['results'] as $term_result) {
            // Process term results
        }
    }

    // Generate HTML when needed
    $html = advanced_search_html($search_data);
}

Plugin Compatibility

The plugin is designed to work alongside other search plugins:

• Live Search Block: Automatically detects and avoids conflicts
• WooCommerce: Native support for product searches
• Custom Search Plugins: Uses safe hooks to minimize conflicts

Configuration

Customize Post Types

// Search in specific post types
$results = advanced_search_data('term', array('post', 'page', 'product'), 15);

Modify HTML Output

// Customize the HTML generation
function custom_search_html($search_data) {
    // Your custom HTML generation logic
    return advanced_search_html($search_data);
}

Disable Native Search Integration

// Remove the automatic WordPress search enhancement
remove_filter('posts_results', 'enhance_search_results_posts', 20, 2);

Search Result Types

Direct Post Results

When posts are found directly through content search:

$search_data = array(
    'type' => 'posts',
    'results' => array(/* WP_Post objects */),
    'query_string' => 'search term'
);

Taxonomy-Based Results

When results are found through taxonomy terms:

$search_data = array(
    'type' => 'terms',
    'results' => array(
        array(
            'term' => $term_object,
            'taxonomy' => 'category',
            'posts' => array(/* WP_Post objects */)
        )
    ),
    'query_string' => 'search term'
);

Requirements

• WordPress 4.0+
• PHP 7.0+
• WooCommerce (optional, for product search features)

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

License

This plugin is open source and available under the GPL v2 or later license.

Support

For issues and questions:

1. Check existing GitHub issues
2. Create a new issue with detailed description
3. Include WordPress and PHP version information

Changelog

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• Basic search functionality for posts and taxonomies
• WordPress native search integration
• WooCommerce support
• Plugin compatibility features