Ajax Search Pro is a premium WordPress plugin ($36 on CodeCanyon, one-time) that adds a live search experience – as visitors type in the search field, matching results appear in a dropdown with thumbnails, descriptions, and direct links. Unlike backend search improvements (Relevanssi, SearchWP), Ajax Search Pro focuses on the search interface: how results look and feel as you search, rather than the relevance of results.
What Ajax Search Pro Does
When a visitor starts typing in the search field, Ajax Search Pro sends Ajax requests to WordPress, retrieves matching posts, and displays them in a styled dropdown below the search input. Results show the post thumbnail, title, excerpt, and post type label. Visitors can click a result directly from the dropdown without pressing Enter or loading a search results page.
This live search pattern significantly reduces the friction of finding content – most visitors click a suggestion within the first few characters of typing rather than completing a full query. It also provides immediate feedback that the search is working, reducing the number of visitors who type a query and see a results page with zero matches.
Step 1: Install and Place the Search Form
Install Ajax Search Pro from CodeCanyon and upload the ZIP to WordPress via Plugins -> Add New -> Upload. After activation, go to Ajax Search Pro -> Settings. The plugin creates a search instance with a default configuration.
Add the search form to your site using the shortcode, widget, or Elementor widget. The shortcode format is [wpdreams_ajaxsearchpro id=X] where X is the search instance ID (shown in the admin). Place it in your theme’s header, a sidebar widget, or any page content area where you want live search to appear.
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Step 2: Configure Result Display
Go to Ajax Search Pro -> Settings -> [your instance] -> Results. Configure what appears in the dropdown:
- Post types to include – which post types appear in results. Enable all relevant types (posts, pages, products, custom post types). Disable post types visitors would not benefit from seeing (revisions, nav menu items).
- Number of results – how many items to show in the dropdown before a “See all results” link. 5-8 is typically right; more than 10 makes the dropdown too long.
- Thumbnail display – show featured images in results. Enable for content sites and product searches where thumbnails help visitors identify the correct item.
- Fields to search – title only (fastest), title and content, or title, content, and custom fields. Start with title only and expand if visitors frequently search for terms that appear in content but not titles.
Step 3: Search Field Configuration
Configure the search input behaviour in the General Settings tab:
- Minimum characters – how many characters a visitor must type before live results appear. 2-3 characters is standard; 1 character produces too many irrelevant results.
- Search trigger delay – milliseconds to wait after a keystroke before sending the search request. 300-500ms reduces unnecessary requests while still feeling responsive.
- Placeholder text – what the empty search field says (e.g., “Search products…”, “Find recipes…”)
Step 4: WooCommerce Product Search
For WooCommerce stores, configure Ajax Search Pro to show product-specific information in results: sale price, regular price, stock status, and an Add to Cart button in the dropdown. Enable these in the WooCommerce-specific settings within the plugin. A live search dropdown that shows a product’s price and a direct buy button converts significantly better than one that only shows the product title.
Combining With SearchWP or Relevanssi
Ajax Search Pro handles the frontend search experience. SearchWP or Relevanssi handle the backend search quality. They can work together: configure Ajax Search Pro to use SearchWP as its search engine, so the live results are powered by SearchWP’s relevance ranking and custom field indexing. This combination gives you both high-quality results and a polished live search interface.