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WP Extended Search
Version: 2.2.1
Description
WP Extended Search is a lightweight and powerful search plugin.
With this plugin you can customize WordPress search to search in Post Meta, Author names, Categories, Tags, or Custom Taxonomies via admin settings. You can control the default behavior of WordPress to search in the post title, post content, and post excerpt.
Apart from customizing default search behavior, you can create multiple search settings, and then you can assign these settings to custom search forms.
For custom search forms, you have the option to choose from a widget, shortcode, PHP function, or HTML.
Features
- Search in selected meta keys
- Search in category, tags or custom taxonomies
- Search in the post author name
- Include or exclude any public post type
- Control whether to search in title or content or excerpt or all
- Compatible with WooCommerce. Search in product SKU, Attributes, variations, and custom fields, etc.
- Create unlimited search settings to use with custom search forms.
- Add search forms using a widget, shortcode or PHP function. Also works with custom searchform.php
- Exclude old content from search results (Older than admin specified date)
- Customize the number of posts to display on the search results page
- Customize SQL relation (AND/OR) between search terms
- Customize order of search results
- Control whether to match search query exactly or partially
- Limit attachment results by mime type e.g. display only pdf files in search results.
- Translation ready
- Compatible with WPML
Links
Installation
- Install WP Extended Search from the ‘Plugins’ section in your dashboard (Plugins > Add New > Search for ‘WP Extended Search’).
Or
Download WP Extended Search and upload it to your webserver via your FTP application. The WordPress codex contains instructions on how to do this here. - Activate the plugin and navigate to (Settings > Extended Search) to choose your desired search settings.
Screenshots
WP Extented Search settings page
Add/Delete Settings
Edit setting name
Faq
Yes, It is. When WooCommerce is active you will see a new checkbox in setting “Optimize for Products Search” select it and then the search results will use the default WooCommerce template or the template from your theme.
You can use the Widget, Shortcode, and PHP function to display the search form. Also, you can add a hidden HTML field to your existing searchform.php template.
Yes, you can. You can modify the global setting to alter the results from the default search form. An extra search form is needed only when you would like to have more than one search criteria on the site.
Yes, you can. Go to the Search Settings and select Global in setting name, there you will see a button to disable the global search.
As global search is disabled now you can add a new search form with specific search criteria.
You can add custom CSS to the theme to style the search form. Or you can set CSS classes in the widget, shortcode, and PHP function.
Also, you can add a complete custom template for each search setting in the theme.
Reviews
Works brilliantly with Pods
By 
Works brilliantly! Simple to set up and supports custom post types and custom fields created with Pods.
Fantastic plugin
By 
Fantastic plugin, got me out of a serious issue I was having with search functionality. Works flawlessly, highly recommend. Thank you...
Great plugin!
By 
Thnx!
Works SUPER
By 
Thanks works super good, keep up the great work
Awesome plugin!
By 
I have been searching for over a week for a plugin like this. Its awesome!
Just used it and it works great!
By 
Be sure to dig into the individual settings to ensure you can include things like tags, but also.. portfolio tags! I just had a few minutes where I thought it was not working until I clicked the right settings, then bam, totally fine. Saved me $100 bucks from buying WP Search. This integrates seamlessly with the standard WordPress search, and in my case I am using the Avada theme. I could not be happier to have all this power and no coding!
Nice extension to WP search
By 
Thumps up! Helped me on product searches! Still room for improvements, but it really does whats expected of it.
Works Perfectly
By 
Absolutely love it when we look for a plugin, find one, it's simple to use and it works straight away.
Great work guys!
Didn't understand
By 
I still didn’t understand how to use it. Didn't find any documentation.
It lacks something to be 5 stars
By 
I should have the option to be able to change the text of the button, as well as if I want an icon or text, and be able to select at least 2 or 3 types of icons. including the color too. Having to do extra things is very tedious. You should add at least one filter on the button to be able to change it by code.
Changelog
2.2.1 – 2025-04-21
- Fixed translations warnings with WP 6.8
2.2 – 2024-11-28
- Fixed issue with YITH badges management plugin.
- Fixed issue with WP Query loop block.
- Removed select2 CDN.
- Fixed issues with WP 6.7
- Other minor improvements.
2.1.2 – 2023-01-05
- Fixed XSS vulnerability in search form.
- Fixed missing text domains and MO file loading issue.
- Added option to search in WC product variations. Ref https://wordpress.org/support/topic/search-not-showing-single-product-variations/
2.1.1 – 2022-03-19
- Fixed recommendations notice issue with cache plugins.
- Minor fixes.
2.1 – 2022-03-13
- Added new feature to limit attachments by mime type.
- Fixed issue with add to cart link on search results page.
- Other minor improvements.
2.0.3 – 2021-08-04
- Fixed search issue in WC settings > Advanced tab
- Fixed fatal error with WP 5.8 on new widget screen (Still not compatible with block-based widgets.)
2.0.2 – 2021-04-11
- Fixed issue with WooCommerce pages.
- Fixed issue with backend REST requests.
- Added Select2 for admin pages.
2.0.1 – 2020-12-18
- Fixed errors in dashboard for non-admin users.
2.0 – 2020-12-11
Upgrade Notice
2.0 went through code refactoring and major feature updates. Please make a complete site backup before upgrading.
- Added new feature to add multiple search settings.
- Added WooCommerce product search support.
- Complete code refactoring.
1.3.1 – 2020-07-25
- Fixed issue with ACF relationship post field admin search.
- Fixed issue with Elementor admin search.
- Added support for new query variable
disable_wpesto disable WPES search.
1.3 – 2019-10-21
- Fixed media search issue
- Fixed conflict with search when adding new menu item in backend
- Added setting link in plugin action links
- Added feature to modify search results order
- Added feature to match search query exactly or partially
1.2 – 2018-08-17
- Fixed bbPress forum posts dissappear
- Fixed issue with Ajax calls
- Added feature to control search in post excerpt
- Added compatibility with WPML
- Added new filter wp_es_terms_relation_type
- Updated wpes_posts_search filter. Now you can access $wp_query object as a second argument
1.1.2 – 2016-06-06
- Fixed media library search is not working when plugin is active. Thanks @gazettco
- Fixed escaping issue in SQL query. Thanks again @brurez
- Dropped support of WP version older than 4.0
1.1.1 – 2016-01-26
- Added feature to support Ajax calls
- Fixed text domain issue
- Fixed
suppress_filtersissue. Thanks @brurez
1.1 – 2015-06-21
- Added feature to search in post author name
- Added feature to customize number of posts per search results page
- Added feature to control SQL query relation between search terms
- Added new filters in settings wpes_meta_keys, wpes_tax and wpes_post_types
1.0.2 – 2015-01-11
- Added support for post_type parameter in URL
- Exclude old content from search results
1.0.1 – 2014-10-03
- Fixed taxonomy table join issue
- Added new filters wpes_meta_keys_query, wpes_tax_args, wpes_post_types_args, wpes_enabled, wpes_posts_search
- Internationalized plugin.
1.0 – 2014-09-14
- First Release