Introduction:
If you own an eCommerce store then you must be aware of the importance of search functionality on your website. Having a good search engine helps customers to quickly find the products they want, which can increase the conversion rate of your store.
WooCommerce is a powerful eCommerce plugin that allows people to easily set up an online store on their WordPress website. However, the default search functionality of WooCommerce is not always reliable, and it can become frustrating for customers if they can’t find the products they are looking for.
To improve the search functionality of your WooCommerce store, you can use a powerful search engine like Apache Solr. Apache Solr is an open-source search platform that can handle complex queries, faceting, and real-time indexing. By implementing Apache Solr on your WooCommerce store, you can improve the performance of your search and deliver more accurate and relevant search results to your customers.
In this post, we’ll show you how you can use Apache Solr to improve the search functionality of your WooCommerce store and increase the conversion rate of your website.
Using Apache Solr with PHP Client:
To use Apache Solr with WooCommerce, you need to install a PHP client for Solr. This client will allow you to communicate with the Solr server and perform search queries. Here’s an example of how you can use the PHP client to search for products in your WooCommerce store:
// Include client library
require_once 'solr-php-client/Apache/Solr/Service.php';
// Connect to Solr server
$solr = new Apache_Solr_Service('localhost', '8983', 'demo');
// Set search parameters
$query = $_GET['q'];
$params = array(
'q' => $query,
'fq' => 'post_type:product',
'start' => 0,
'rows' => 10,
'sort' => 'price desc'
);
// Execute search query
$results = $solr->search($params);
// Display search results
foreach ($results->response->docs as $doc) {
echo $doc->post_title . " - " . $doc->price;
}
In this example, we first include the Solr PHP client library and then connect to the Solr server running on localhost on port 8983, with a core named “demo”. We then set the search parameters, including the search query, the post type of products, the start and rows parameters to limit the number of search results, and a sort parameter to sort the search results by price in descending order.
After setting the search parameters, we execute the search query and then loop through the search results to display them to the user.
Using WPSOLR Plugin to Help:
While it is possible to manually implement Apache Solr on your WooCommerce store using PHP client, it can be a complicated and time-consuming process. However, it’s much easier with the help of a plugin like WPSOLR.
WPSOLR is a plugin that integrates Apache Solr with your WordPress website, including WooCommerce stores. WPSOLR makes it easy to set up and configure Apache Solr on your website, without requiring any programming skills. Here are some of the features of WPSOLR:
- Easy installation and setup through a wizard
- Support for custom post types and taxonomies
- Real-time indexing and search
- Faceted search and filtering
- Support for multiple Solr indexes
- Highly configurable search parameters
- Integration with WordPress search query
- Advanced search query builder
- Translation support for search results
- Flexible pricing options to suit your needs
With WPSOLR, you can easily improve the search functionality of your WooCommerce store and provide more accurate and relevant search results to your customers, which can lead to increased sales and revenue.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, if you want to improve the search functionality of your WooCommerce store, then Apache Solr is a great option. By using the Solr PHP client, you can set up a powerful search engine that can handle complex queries and deliver accurate and relevant search results to your customers.
Alternatively, you can use a plugin like WPSOLR to integrate Apache Solr with your WooCommerce store, which can save you time and effort. With the help of WPSOLR, you can set up and configure Apache Solr quickly and easily, without requiring any programming skills.
With a better search engine on your WooCommerce store, you can provide a better user experience to your customers and increase the conversion rate of your website.
