Testing: Instant search and filtering prototype

In Jetpack 7.9, we launched a prototype replacement for Jetpack Search with the goal of providing a better, faster search experience.

This feature is only available with a Jetpack Professional plan.

Enabling the Instant Search Prototype

Please note that this is a prototype, so we don’t recommend using it in production yet. It will require some minor code changes to enable.

If you just added a Jetpack Professional plan, you may experience a delay while posts get indexed. Currently, there is no progress bar to indicate how far along the indexing process is. We index about 5,000-10,000 posts per minute, but the start time can be delayed by a few minutes.

Please note that this is a prototype, so we don’t recommend using it in production yet. It will require some minor code changes to enable.

The best experience is currently on desktop. We recommend using the prototype on a site with a sidebar that includes the Jetpack Search widget. If your site does not have a sidebar, the prototype will work best if you have a search bar in your site’s header.

Once Jetpack Search is enabled on your site, you can then enable the prototype in wp-config.php by using the following code:

define( "JETPACK_SEARCH_PROTOTYPE", true );

If you have a production site already running Jetpack Search, you can selectively turn it on with a query parameter using the following filter:

function enable_jetpack_instant_search() {
	if ( isset( $_GET['instant-search'] ) ) {
		define( "JETPACK_SEARCH_PROTOTYPE", true );
	}
}
add_action( 'muplugins_loaded', 'enable_jetpack_instant_search' );

You can then go to any page and append ?instant-search=true in the URL, to enable instant search. This allows you to test the prototype without affecting the site for other visitors.

To configure filters for your site, follow the same instructions as the existing Jetpack Search.

Share your feedback

We have documented known issues in Github. We value your feedback and would love to know what you think! A thumbs up on an issue would help us gauge what matters most to the community. We also welcome any additional suggestions you might have. These are the top known issues:

• Improvement is needed for mobile and for themes that don’t have a sidebar. Filtering is not usable in these cases, and the search box may be off screen from the results. 
• There are likely some theme incompatibilities. 
• There is only one format for search results. We are planning a product format and an engagement format. 
• If you just added a Jetpack Professional plan, you may experience a delay while posts get indexed. Currently, there is no progress bar to indicate how far along the indexing process is. We index about 5,000-10,000 posts per minute, but the start time can be delayed by a few minutes.