How to Create a Custom Search Form for a Specific Post Type in WordPress?

Are you looking to enhance the search functionality on your WordPress website? If you’re using custom post types to organize your content, you might want a tailored search form that only searches through a specific post type.

This can greatly improve user experience and make it easier for visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through the process of creating a custom search form for a specific post type in WordPress.

The default WordPress search functionality is great, but when you’re working with custom post types, you might want to narrow down search results to a specific post type. This guide will help you create a custom search form that enables users to search within a designated post type, providing a more focused and efficient search experience.

Step by step guide to add Custom Search Form for a Specific Post Type

Step 1: Install and Activate the Plugin

The first step is to install and activate the “Advanced Custom Fields” plugin. This plugin allows you to create and manage custom fields for your posts, which will be crucial for setting up the custom search form.

Step 2: Determine the Post Type

Identify the specific post type you want to create a custom search form for. This could be anything from “Products” to “Events” or “Portfolio.”

Step 3: Create a Custom Search Form Template

1. In your theme folder, locate the searchform.php file.
2. Duplicate this file and name it searchform-posttype.php.
3. Open the duplicated file and customize the form’s HTML structure.
4. Add custom fields that allow users to input search criteria relevant to the chosen post type.

Here’s an example of the code you can use in the searchform-posttype.php file:

<form role="search" method="get" id="searchform" class="searchform" action="<?php echo esc_url( home_url( '/' ) ); ?>">
    <div>
        <label for="s">Search in <?php echo $post_type_name; ?>:</label>
        <input type="text" value="<?php echo get_search_query(); ?>" name="s" id="s" />
        <input type="hidden" name="post_type" value="<?php echo $post_type; ?>" />
        <input type="submit" id="searchsubmit" value="Search" />
    </div>
</form>

Step 4: Modify the Search Query

1. Open your theme’s functions.php file.
2. Add code to modify the default search query for the specified post type.
3. Utilize the pre_get_posts action hook to alter the query parameters.

function custom_search_filter($query) {
    if ($query->is_search && !is_admin()) {
        if(isset($_GET['post_type'])) {
            $post_type = $_GET['post_type'];
            $query->set('post_type', $post_type);
        }
    }
    return $query;
}
add_filter('pre_get_posts','custom_search_filter');

Step 5: Add the Search Form to Your Website

1. Edit the template file where you want to display the custom search form.
2. Use the get_search_form() function to call the custom search form.
3. Customize the location and appearance of the form to match your website’s design.

Step 6: Test the Custom Search Form

Before making the custom search form live, thoroughly test it. Ensure that it accurately returns results from the chosen post type and that the user experience is smooth.

FAQs

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully created a custom search form tailored to a specific post type in WordPress. By following this step-by-step guide and utilizing the provided code snippets, you’ve enhanced the search functionality of your website and provided users with a more precise way to find the content they’re interested in.