Documentation > Wordpress

Opensolr Search for WordPress

Wordpress

Opensolr Search for WordPress

WordPress's built-in search is basic — it runs raw SQL queries against your database, with no relevance scoring, no fuzzy matching, no autocomplete, and terrible performance on large sites. Our free Opensolr Search for WordPress plugin replaces it with a real search engine that scales to hundreds of thousands of posts.

WORDPRESS DEFAULT SEARCH vs OPENSOLR SEARCHDefault WordPress SearchSQL LIKE queries (slow)No relevance scoringNo autocompleteNo faceted filteringStruggles past 10K postsExact match onlyOpensolr Search PluginFull-text + AI vector searchRelevance-ranked resultsReal-time autocompleteFacets, filters, sortingHandles 700K+ posts easilyFuzzy matching, stemming, synonyms

The Opensolr Search Plugin

Opensolr Search for WordPress is our free, official plugin that replaces WordPress's default search entirely and sends all queries to your Opensolr Index.

What It Does

  • Hybrid AI + keyword search — combines vector embeddings with full-text search for the best of both worlds
  • Real-time autocomplete — suggestions appear as users type in the search box
  • Faceted navigation — filter results by category, tag, custom taxonomy, price range, date, and more
  • WooCommerce support — search products by SKU, attributes, price, and custom fields with price sliders
  • AI Hints & AI Reader — AI-generated answer summaries above search results, and full-page AI summaries
  • Query Elevation — pin or exclude specific results for any search query
  • Analytics dashboard — track searches, clicks, no-results queries, and CTR
  • Dark theme — automatic dark mode support
  • Data Ingestion — push structured content directly from WordPress to Solr
  • Web Crawler — automatic site crawling and indexing from within the plugin
  • Multilingual — full WPML and Polylang support with automatic locale filtering

Setup Steps

Step 1: Create Your Opensolr Index

  1. Log in to your Opensolr Dashboard
  2. Create a new Opensolr Index (the plugin can also create one for you automatically)

Step 2: Install the Plugin

Download and install:

  • Download Opensolr Search 1.0.0 — upload via WordPress admin > Plugins > Add New > Upload
  • Or install directly from the WordPress Plugin Directory (coming soon)

Step 3: Connect to Opensolr

  1. Go to Settings > Opensolr Search in your WordPress admin
  2. Enter your Opensolr email and API key
  3. Click Save & Connect — the plugin validates credentials and sets up your index automatically

Step 4: Index Your Content

Choose your indexing method:

  • Web Crawler — point it at your sitemap, it handles everything automatically
  • Data Ingestion — push content directly from WordPress with one click ("Ingest All Now")
  • Real-time sync — new posts are automatically pushed to Solr on save

WooCommerce Search

Full WooCommerce support built in:

  • Search by SKU, name, description, and attributes
  • Price slider with currency-formatted range facets
  • Category hierarchy drill-down (Electronics > Laptops > Gaming)
  • Product images in autocomplete suggestions
  • Sorting by price, date, or relevance

Documentation

Full setup guides and feature documentation:

Quick Checklist

  • Download the plugin or install from WordPress Plugin Directory
  • Enter your Opensolr email and API key in Settings > Opensolr Search
  • Click Save & Connect to auto-configure your index
  • Choose Web Crawler or Data Ingestion to index your content
  • Visit your search page to verify results