Parish Search - WordPress Plugin

A WordPress plugin for searching parish documents and content using Meilisearch.

Features

• Full-text search across documents, posts, and pages
• Live search with debouncing
• Filter by content type (Documents, News, Pages)
• Search grammar for advanced queries
• Accessible search bar shortcode for embedding anywhere
• Auto-search from URL parameters

Installation

1. Upload the parish-search folder to /wp-content/plugins/
2. Activate the plugin in WordPress admin
3. Go to Settings > Parish Search to configure

Configuration

Settings

Setting	Description
Search API URL	Meilisearch URL (e.g., http://meilisearch:7700)
Search API Key	Read-only search API key
Results per page	Default number of results
Content Types	Enable/disable files, posts, pages

Shortcodes

Full Search Form

[parish_search]
[parish_search placeholder="Search documents..." limit="20"]

Displays a complete search form with filters and results area.

Attributes:

• placeholder - Input placeholder text (default: "Search documents...")
• limit - Results per page (default: from settings)

URL Parameter: Add ?q=search+term to pre-fill and auto-search.

Compact Search Bar

[parish_search_bar]
[parish_search_bar action="/search/" placeholder="Search..."]

Displays a compact search form that redirects to a search page.

Attributes:

• action - URL to redirect to (default: /search/)
• placeholder - Input placeholder text (default: "Search documents...")

Search Grammar

Refine searches using these patterns:

Pattern	Example	Description
type:	type:file	Filter by content type (file, post, page, document, news)
year:	year:2024	Filter by year
doctype:	doctype:minutes	Filter by document type (minutes, agenda, policy, planning, finance)
before:	before:2024	Documents before date
after:	after:2023-06	Documents after date
in:	in:council	Search within folder path

Examples

budget year:2024                    # "budget" from 2024
"annual report" type:file           # Files containing "annual report"
planning doctype:minutes            # Planning-related minutes
grants after:2023 before:2025       # Grants from 2023-2024
policy in:council                   # Policies in Council folder

Template Customization

The plugin uses these template files:

• templates/search-form.php - Main search form template

To override, copy to your theme's parish-search/ folder.

CSS Classes

Class	Description
.parish-search-container	Main wrapper
.parish-search-form	Search form
.parish-search-input	Text input
.parish-search-button	Submit button
.parish-search-filters	Filter buttons container
.parish-search-filter	Individual filter button
.parish-search-results	Results container
.parish-search-result	Single result item
.parish-search-bar	Compact search bar form

Filter Bar

The search form includes a filter bar with these controls:

Control	Description
Doc Type	Filter documents by type: Minutes, Agenda, Policy, Planning, Finance, Other
Year	Filter by year (current year down to 2020)
Exact match	Disable AI/semantic search for precise keyword matching
Sort	Sort by Relevance, Date (newest), or Date (oldest)

Notes:

• Doc Type filter only applies to Documents - selecting a doc type auto-selects the Documents filter
• Date sorting disables hybrid/semantic search to ensure proper date ordering
• Relevance sorting uses AI-powered semantic search (20% semantic, 80% keyword)

AJAX Endpoint

The plugin registers an AJAX endpoint for search:

Action: parish_search

Parameters:

• query - Search query (may include grammar patterns)
• limit - Maximum results
• type - Content type filter from UI
• doctype - Document type filter (minutes, agenda, policy, planning, finance, other)
• year - Year filter
• sort - Sort order (relevance, date_desc, date_asc)
• exact_match - Disable semantic search (0 or 1)
• nonce - Security nonce

Requirements

• WordPress 5.0+
• PHP 7.4+
• Meilisearch server with indexed documents

Changelog

1.2.1

• Auto-select Documents filter when doc type is chosen

1.2.0

• Added filter bar with Doc Type, Year, Sort, and Exact Match controls
• Added date sorting (newest/oldest)
• Added exact match option to disable semantic search
• Hybrid search now only used with Relevance sort for proper date ordering

1.0.3

• Added search grammar (type:, year:, doctype:, before:, after:, in:)
• Added year and path filterable attributes

1.0.2

• Added [parish_search_bar] shortcode
• Added URL parameter (?q=) support for pre-filled searches
• Added auto-search on page load

1.0.1

• Fixed document links to use Caddy-served path
• Version bump for cache busting

1.0.0

• Initial release

License

GPL v2 or later