I use a Soledad Child Theme on two WP sites. I have been trouble adding a search bar to my site. I've tried several plugins and they all render a Search Results page that is practically unusable for my the purposes of my website.
The standard Search Results template renders one or two ENTIRE pages (my websites are all "pages" and no "posts"), plus some extra, unneeded stuff off to the side. All I want is a plain old search results page, like you'd get when using a Google or Bing search box: a list of page titles, each with a snippet containing the search term in bold (or otherwise highlighted), and the URL of the page. A list of images would be awesome, but I'd be happy with just a "normal" search results page.
From what I can tell, I have to re-code the template's php page. Someone I've hired to help me with my Wordpress sites tell me that they are not coders and if I try it, I might break the theme. Which is true—I'm not a coder, either!
Since all the plugins seem to rely on the built-in Soledad template, am I stuck with the built-in Search Results page?
Usually, one or two pages (of many) that contain results will be printed in entirety (or at least most of it). But the current plugin I'm trying gives results in a dropdown in the search box (at bottom of any page), but not on the results page after hitting "Enter" after typing in the search word. There should have been many results for the search term "anatomy" in this site.
The current version of the Soledad already includes the AJAX search result, please enable it by going to Appearance → Customize → General → Search Settings: turn on the "Enable Ajax Live Search" option.
Thanks for the tip. However, that does not address my question.
I've already tried the AJAX search function built into the theme and it gives me that unacceptably formatted search results page. I've tried it again today (https://theapprofessor.org/?s=carbaminohemoglobin ) and it renders a awkward, not-useful results page.
My question is... how can I customize the search results page without having to into the theme files and change the coding? The default template for search results in the theme is not helpful for my users.
By the way, if I do use the theme's built-in search, I cannot find a way to put a search box on my site. If a user is logged into Wordpress, there is a search icon in the upper left, next to the username. But nearly all my users will not be logged into Wordpress and thus will not see a way to do a site search.
How would you like the search result page to be displayed? In Soledad, you can create a custom search result using the Elementor Page Builder through the Archive Template. To assign it, navigate to Appearance → Customize → General → Category, Tag, Search, Archive Pages → Select Builder Template for Search Result Page.
Unfortunately, when I try to create a new Archive Template for searches, I cannot implement Elementor. I don't usually use Elementor, so I've never opened it before. When I do now, it keeps hanging up and giving me a 500 error. Clicking for the meaning of that, there's a laundry list of many different it-could-be factors to eliminate. I don't have time to play with that now, so I'm giving up on having a decent Search page on my websites for now.
I've checked your site, this is an issue of the BugMeBar - A simple little notification plugin. Please try to update this plugin to the latest version of deactivate it and then check again.
I no longer use the BugMeBar plugin, which I just found out has been abandoned by its developer, so I deactivated, then deleted it. And now Elementor works in my template! Yay!
This experience is a good lesson for me on keeping a better watch on my plugins.
I use a Soledad Child Theme on two WP sites. I have been trouble adding a search bar to my site. I've tried several plugins and they all render a Search Results page that is practically unusable for my the purposes of my website.
The standard Search Results template renders one or two ENTIRE pages (my websites are all "pages" and no "posts"), plus some extra, unneeded stuff off to the side. All I want is a plain old search results page, like you'd get when using a Google or Bing search box: a list of page titles, each with a snippet containing the search term in bold (or otherwise highlighted), and the URL of the page. A list of images would be awesome, but I'd be happy with just a "normal" search results page.
From what I can tell, I have to re-code the template's php page. Someone I've hired to help me with my Wordpress sites tell me that they are not coders and if I try it, I might break the theme. Which is true—I'm not a coder, either!
Since all the plugins seem to rely on the built-in Soledad template, am I stuck with the built-in Search Results page?
Your advice will be greatly appreciated!
Hi,
Can you send me the screenshot or a similar page URL?
Regards,
PenciDesign.
Hi there!
The URL of a recent search results page is at https://theapprofessor.org/?s=anatomy
Usually, one or two pages (of many) that contain results will be printed in entirety (or at least most of it). But the current plugin I'm trying gives results in a dropdown in the search box (at bottom of any page), but not on the results page after hitting "Enter" after typing in the search word. There should have been many results for the search term "anatomy" in this site.
Here's a Dropbox link with a screenshot
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xkky0cpsefntuzsvdfc8g/
Thanks for you help!
Cheers,
-kevin
Hi,
The current version of the Soledad already includes the AJAX search result, please enable it by going to Appearance → Customize → General → Search Settings: turn on the "Enable Ajax Live Search" option.
Regards,
PenciDesign.
Thanks for the tip. However, that does not address my question.
I've already tried the AJAX search function built into the theme and it gives me that unacceptably formatted search results page. I've tried it again today (https://theapprofessor.org/?s=carbaminohemoglobin ) and it renders a awkward, not-useful results page.
My question is... how can I customize the search results page without having to into the theme files and change the coding? The default template for search results in the theme is not helpful for my users.
By the way, if I do use the theme's built-in search, I cannot find a way to put a search box on my site. If a user is logged into Wordpress, there is a search icon in the upper left, next to the username. But nearly all my users will not be logged into Wordpress and thus will not see a way to do a site search.
I have figured out how to add a search box widget to my footer. However, I still cannot find a way to change the format of the search results page.
Any advice about that?
Hi,
How would you like the search result page to be displayed? In Soledad, you can create a custom search result using the Elementor Page Builder through the Archive Template. To assign it, navigate to Appearance → Customize → General → Category, Tag, Search, Archive Pages → Select Builder Template for Search Result Page.
Regards,
PenciDesign.
Thanks for these instructions!
Unfortunately, when I try to create a new Archive Template for searches, I cannot implement Elementor. I don't usually use Elementor, so I've never opened it before. When I do now, it keeps hanging up and giving me a 500 error. Clicking for the meaning of that, there's a laundry list of many different it-could-be factors to eliminate. I don't have time to play with that now, so I'm giving up on having a decent Search page on my websites for now.
Hi,
For this case, please send me your WordPress admin account in a PRIVATE reply.
I'll log in and try to help you check this problem.
Regards,
PenciDesign.
Hi,
I've checked your site, this is an issue of the BugMeBar - A simple little notification plugin. Please try to update this plugin to the latest version of deactivate it and then check again.
Regards,
PenciDesign.
Thanks so much for your help!
I no longer use the BugMeBar plugin, which I just found out has been abandoned by its developer, so I deactivated, then deleted it. And now Elementor works in my template! Yay!
This experience is a good lesson for me on keeping a better watch on my plugins.