Search Anything Anywhere

Description

Search Anything Anywhere is a powerful, flexible WordPress plugin that transforms your site’s search experience. Instantly enable:

  • Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) search
  • Taxonomy-based search and filtering (categories, tags, custom taxonomies)
  • Clean, SEO-friendly URLs for search queries
  • Automatic replacement of the default WordPress Search block
  • Flexible sorting (relevance, date, title)
  • Intuitive admin settings for easy configuration

Ideal for blogs, portfolios, e-commerce, and any site where users need to find content quickly and precisely.

Features

  • ACF Search: Search inside Advanced Custom Fields content.
  • Taxonomy Search & Filtering: Filter by categories, tags, or custom taxonomies via dropdowns or URLs.
  • Friendly URLs: Clean URLs like /search/term/category+genre.
  • Taxonomy Priority: Set priority to resolve ambiguous term slugs.
  • Custom Sorting: Sort results by relevance, date, or title.
  • Flexible Settings: Configure post types, taxonomies, and display options in the admin.

Usage

  1. Replace the WordPress Search Form: The plugin can automatically replace the default search form.
  2. Add the Block: Insert the Search Anything Anywhere block in the block editor.
  3. Customize Settings: Adjust filters, taxonomies, and display options under Settings > Search.
  4. Use Enhanced Search: Enjoy advanced search, filtering, and sorting on your site.

No coding requiredβ€”just install, configure, and go!

Options

Access plugin settings at Settings > Search. Tabs include:

General | Display | Taxonomies | Miscellaneous

General Tab

  • ACF Search: Include ACF fields in search.
  • Taxonomy Search: Search inside taxonomy terms.
  • Show Taxonomy Filters: Enable taxonomy filter dropdowns.
  • Friendly URLs: Enable clean, SEO-friendly search URLs.
  • Replace Search Form: Automatically swap the default search form.

Display Tab

  • Show Term Counts: Display post counts in taxonomy filters.
  • Context-Aware Placeholder: Dynamic placeholder text based on page context.
  • Exclude Posts Without Images: Hide posts without featured images.
  • Taxonomy Filter Sorting: Alphabetical or by count.
  • Search Result Sorting: Choose default sort order.

Taxonomies Tab

  • Taxonomy Dropdowns: Select taxonomies for filter dropdowns.
  • Taxonomy Priority: Set order to resolve ambiguous slugs.

Miscellaneous Tab

  • Homepage Post Types: Choose post types for homepage search.
  • Cache Settings: Control caching for term counts; enable automatic invalidation or clear cache manually.
  • Debug Logging: Enable detailed logs (requires WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG).

Credits

ACF search inspired by Adam BalΓ©e’s guide.

License

This plugin is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3 or later. See the LICENSE file for details.

Contributions

Contributions welcome! Open an issue or submit a pull request on GitHub.

Made with love for the WordPress community

Screenshots

  • Search Anything Anywhere Form – The enhanced search form as seen on the frontend.
  • Taxonomy Filter Dropdowns – Example of taxonomy-based filtering in action.
  • General Tab – Configure core search options, including ACF and taxonomy search.
  • Display Tab – Customize how filters and results appear to users.
  • Taxonomies Tab – Select and prioritize taxonomies for filtering.
  • Miscellaneous Tab – Manage caching, and advanced settings.
  • Miscellaneous Tab – Debug logging.

Blocks

This plugin provides 1 block.

  • Search Anything Anywhere Search Form A Search Anything Anywhere form with advanced filtering options.

Installation

WordPress Admin

  1. Download search-anything-anywhere-x.x.x.zip.
  2. Go to Plugins > Add New in your dashboard.
  3. Click Upload Plugin, select the ZIP, and click Install Now.
  4. Click Activate Plugin.

Manual

  1. Extract the ZIP to search-anything-anywhere.
  2. Upload to /wp-content/plugins/.
  3. Activate via Plugins in the dashboard.

Composer

  1. Run composer require wpackagist-plugin/search-anything-anywhere.
  2. The plugin will be installed to wp-content/plugins/.
  3. Activate via Plugins in the dashboard.

FAQ

Does it support custom post types?

Yes, all publicly queryable custom post types are supported.

How do I troubleshoot?

  • Enable Debug Logging in plugin settings.
  • Enable debugging in wp-config.php:
    define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
    define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
  • Check wp-content/debug.log for errors.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Search Anything Anywhere” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Changelog

1.0.1

  • 1.0.1 (2025-08-24)
  • Bug Fixes
  • dependencies: update dependencies
  • dependencies: update dependencies
  • lintrc: remove PHPSTAN from the PHP mapping configuration
  • lintrc: update linting tool behavior and add composer verify
  • package: add npm-package-json-lint and config for validation
  • package: add npm-package-json-lint to depcheck ignores
  • package: remove repository field from composer.json
  • package: restore license field and clean up scripts section
  • readme: reorder screenshot descriptions for clarity
  • release: update dependencies and quick fixes
  • release: update dependencies and quick fixes

1.0.0

  • 1.0.0 (2025-08-18)
  • ⚠ BREAKING CHANGES
  • plugin: first stable release πŸŽ‰
  • Features
  • plugin: first stable release πŸŽ‰
  • Bug Fixes
  • workflows: correct SVN_PASSWORD formatting in publish.yml

0.2.6

  • 0.2.6 (2025-08-18)
  • Bug Fixes
  • workflows: disable DRY_RUN for WP.org deployment

0.2.5

  • 0.2.5 (2025-08-18)
  • Bug Fixes
  • dependencies: update dependencies

0.2.4

  • 0.2.4 (2025-08-18)
  • Bug Fixes
  • dependencies: update dependencies

0.2.3

  • 0.2.3 (2025-08-18)
  • Bug Fixes
  • workflows: refactor release workflow
  • workflows: refactor release workflow

0.2.2

  • 0.2.2 (2025-08-18)
  • Bug Fixes
  • dependencies: update dependencies
  • dependencies: update dependencies
  • release: remove composer.json update logic from release script
  • workflows: update action versions and permissions in YAML files

0.2.1

  • 0.2.1 (2025-08-18)
  • Bug Fixes
  • labeler: add asset and configuration file patterns to labeler

0.2.0

  • 0.2.0 (2025-08-11)
  • Features
  • assets: update wp.org assets path and add .distignore
  • Bug Fixes
  • dependencies: update dependencies

0.1.0

  • 0.1.0 (2025-08-09)
  • Features
  • assets: add new image assets including banners and icons
  • initialize project with package.json and basic configurations
  • plugin: initialize plugin files

0.0.1

  • Initial release.