Type-ahead product search with thumbnails, prices and matching category suggestions.
A type-ahead search box delivered by the [ambikly_smart_search] shortcode or by adding data-ambikly-smart-search to any input. Keystrokes are debounced for 180 ms and sent to GET /ambikly-pro/v1/smart-search, which matches the query against product name, SKU and short description, orders results by units sold on non-cancelled orders, and optionally returns up to five matching published categories. The panel shows thumbnails, names and formatted prices, supports arrow-key navigation, Enter and Escape, and carries combobox ARIA attributes. Links point at the real shop page, so the box works in a header or widget. The endpoint enforces the minimum character count and allows 60 requests per IP per minute.
Built on the same Addon SDK as every other Pro add-on — extend it instead of replacing it.
GET /ambikly-pro/v1/smart-searchwp_enqueue_scriptsrest_api_initA parts or supplies store whose repeat buyers know product codes. Typing a partial SKU brings up the exact item with its thumbnail and price, letting a trade customer reorder in seconds without browsing categories or opening a product page first.
A store with hundreds of categories turns category suggestions on. A shopper typing 'lamp' sees the Lamps category above individual products and can jump straight to the filtered grid, while the product list below still shows the best sellers that match.
A store that also publishes buying guides adds the box to the site header. Because links resolve to the shop page, product results open correctly from a blog post, and a reader who learns about a product in an article can reach it in one step.
Ambikly → Add-ons → Smart Search → toggle on. Pro must be active; nothing else to install.
Open its settings panel and set: maximum number of results (default 8); minimum characters before a search runs (default 2); whether category suggestions are shown; placeholder text in the box.
The storefront surfaces, admin screens and settings it adds are listed under “Where it shows up” above; nothing needs placing by hand unless a shortcode is named there.
Disable the add-on from the same screen. Its settings and data stay in place, and a lapsed license pauses it the same way — the store keeps running.
No. It runs a LIKE match over name, SKU and short description in the products table, with popularity computed from order history in the same query. That is fast enough for catalogs of roughly ten thousand products; no cron job or third-party API is involved.
By total units sold across orders that were not cancelled or failed, highest first, with the newest product id breaking ties. A product that sells often therefore appears above an older product with the same name match, and category suggestions are ordered shortest name first.
Yes. Result links are built from your configured shop page's permalink, not the current URL, so the box works in a header, footer or sidebar widget. Use the shortcode or add data-ambikly-smart-search to an existing input and the script wires it up.
The endpoint refuses queries shorter than your minimum character setting and returns a 429 response once an IP has made 60 requests within a minute. Genuine typing stays well under that limit because the client waits 180 ms after the last keystroke before requesting.
Pro is $199 a year or $549 once, for all 35 add-ons. Enable this one from the same admin the day you need it.