Ever since we launched the first static WordPress site on Shifter we realized a few things that were going to be a challenge. Among those were, Search, eCommerce, and Contact Forms.
Native WordPress was a tough one to figure out but today, there is a new option. It’s called WP Serverless Search!
WP Serverless Search is a WordPress Plugin that brings site search functionality back to static WordPress sites. Unlike any WordPress search plugin (at the time of this post) it does not rely on any PHP or any 3rd party search providers like Google or Algolia to work. Instead, WP Serverless Search is completely static, free to use, local, and crazy fast.
WP Serverless Search Explained
To best explain the features and benefits of WP Serverless Search, here are a few FAQs we’ve received.
Q: Is WP Serverless Search a WordPress site search plugin?
A: Yes!
Q: Can I use it to replace native WordPress Search?
A: Yes!
Q: Can I still use it with a non-static WordPress site?
A: Yep, it works on both.
Q: Why did you build this?
A: Native WordPress site search is slow and inaccurate. We wanted to improve that experience and find a solution that works for us so we built one.
Q: Do I need to add a custom template, custom HTML, etc. to make it work? A: Nope. The current version works by launching a modal window much like Google Custom Search Engine
Q: Is it free to use?
A: Yeah! Go have fun.
Q: Is it fast?
A: Yes, very fast. We’re interested in testing this WordPress Plugin on very large sites. If you have a site with thousands of posts, hit us up.
Q: Why so fast?
A: WP Serverless Search uses just a few lines of JavaScript to search a static XML. Three are no database queries or network resources consumed while searching.
Q: My site is huge, is that an issue?
A: Should be okay. So far, we’ve tested WP Serverless Search up to ~1K posts and was able to return search results within milliseconds.
Q: Does it support Fuzzy search? e.g. Hallo, Halo, Hello, Helloooo
A: Yes! It uses Fusejs to provide fuzzy search results for typos.
Q: Does it support AutoComplete?
A: Yes, it will search and sort as you type.
Q: How do I get WP Serverless Search?
A: It’s available now, on Github!
Download WP Serverless Search on Github