How to Create a WordPress Search Form for Custom Post Types

After 15+ years of building websites, I‘ve found advanced search to be one of the most important features for keeping users engaged.

When visitors can easily find the content they want, it creates a positive experience that keeps them on your site longer.

For WordPress sites with custom post types like directories, listings, portfolios, etc. a custom search form is essential.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll share how to create targeted search forms for custom post types in WordPress.

Why You Need Custom Post Type Search Forms

Default WordPress search only covers posts and pages. But custom post types allow you to go beyond blogs and create diverse content structures.

Here are some key reasons why building custom search is important:

1. Improve User Experience

• 72% of users say relevant search results are the most important factor. [Source]

• Custom forms filter content specifically for what visitors are looking for.

• No more irrelevant results or sifting through blog posts to find custom content.

2. Increase Engagement

• Websites with excellent search self-reported 26% lower bounce rates. [Source]

• Custom forms keep visitors onsite by quickly serving the right content.

• Good findability improves time on site, pages per visit and conversion rates.

3. Highlight Valuable Content

• Draw attention to custom content like case studies, testimonials, directory listings that need visibility.

• Give more search weightage to high priority post types.

• Hide content types you don‘t need searchable.

4. Organize Information

• Separate search for different structures like recipes, products, portfolios, reviews etc.

• Categorize content types to simplify search for users.

• Use filters to drill down within complex custom post results.

Overall, custom search forms improve content discoverability and user experience on WordPress sites.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building Custom Search Forms

Creating a targeted search experience takes two steps:

1. Configure SearchWP plugin to index custom post types
2. Build search form widgets to search specific post types

Step 1: Index Custom Post Types with SearchWP

For advanced WordPress search functionality, I recommend the SearchWP plugin. It has powerful customization options beyond what WordPress offers out of the box.

After installing SearchWP:

1. Go to SearchWP » Settings » General tab

2. Enter your license key to activate premium features

3. Navigate to SearchWP » Algorithm

4. Under Sources & Settings, check boxes next to custom post types

5. Click Add/Remove Attributes to select fields to index

6. Adjust Attribute Relevance sliders to control search weightage

7. Hit Save for changes to take effect

Now SearchWP will index and search your custom post types in WordPress.

Other plugins like Relevanssi also offer advanced search functionality. But I‘ve found SearchWP to be fastest and most customizable from my experience.

Step 2: Build Search Forms for Specific Post Types

Next, you can create custom search form widgets to surface those post types:

1. Go to SearchWP » Search Forms

2. Click on Add New to create a new form

3. Give the form a relevant title

4. Select desired layout style and custom styling

5. In Type of Search, add target custom post types

6. Remove default posts, pages etc. to only search custom types

7. Customize colors, labels and other options

8. Hit Save

9. Display form using shortcode or search block

Now visitors can instantly search your custom content right from the front-end.

As you add more custom posts, they will automatically become searchable without any extra effort.

Customizing and Optimizing Search Forms

Here are some pro tips for further enhancing your custom post type search forms:

Add Filters

Use category dropdowns or tag filters so users can drill down results.

Instant Search

Plugins like Typeahead Search give instant results as visitors type.

Style for Branding

Make forms match your theme‘s design – fonts, colors, spacing etc.

Multiple Forms

Create different forms on different pages to search specific content types.

Related Content

Display related posts under results for deeper engagement.

Search Analytics

See popular search terms and optimize content accordingly.

Search Testing

Test forms with relevant queries and ensure accurate results.

Empty Results Text

Provide helpful prompts if a search returns no results.

Onsite Search Tips

Include text/videos to educate visitors on better site searching.

With some customization, you can build the perfect search experience for your readers.

Fixing Common Search Form Issues

Here are some troubleshooting tips for typical search problems:

No Results: Check SearchWP index status on settings. Rebuild index if needed.

Irrelevant Results: Adjust attribute relevance sliders to improve ranking.

Wrong Posts: Confirm correct post types added to search algorithm.

Unindexed Content: New posts usually index within 15 mins max. Clear cache if issue persists.

Slow Loading: Contact host about server resources if form is taking too long.

Broken Layout: Disable plugins one by one to identify conflicts.

Disappeared Form: Shortcodes can break with theme changes. Try using block instead.

Not Searching Fields: Enable custom fields you want to make searchable.

No Autocomplete: Some plugins need compatibility fixes. See docs.

Getting search working smoothly may require some initial tweaking. But the effort is well worth the great user experience it provides.

Conclusion

Advanced WordPress search is crucial for keeping users engaged on your site and highlighting the best content.

For sites using custom post types, targeted search forms are a must-have.

By following this guide, you can get custom post types indexed in SearchWP and build search forms to surface relevant results.

Some search optimization and troubleshooting may be needed, but the improved findability is well worth it.

After 15 years of web design experience, I can say confident search is one of the highest returning investments for any WordPress site.

I hope this guide helps you deliver the right content to your readers and creates a search experience as simple as Google.