AJAX-powered, instant search results for your WordPress search forms. Works out of the box.
- Real-time results (AJAX)
- Multilingual: Polylang, WPML, or fallback to default
- Accessible: ARIA + keyboard navigation
- Configurable keyboard shortcut with a dedicated settings screen
- Optional type-to-search: start typing outside any input to focus the search field
- Frontend matching modes: All words, Any word, Exact phrase, Whole word, Fuzzy — switchable by the visitor directly from the search field
- Fuzzy mode tolerates one-character typos via edit-distance-1 MySQL
LIKEpatterns (e.g. "helo" matches "hello") — no external dependencies - Secure: nonce + sanitized input
- Translation-ready
- Use a standard WordPress search form; results appear below the input.
- Min query: 3 chars. Shows configurable number of results (defaults to 10) + a "More results..." link.
- Manage plugin options from the Ninoxa Live Search admin menu.
- The default shortcut is Ctrl + /, and you can replace it with your own key combination or disable it completely.
- Ctrl + / by default: Focus the first available Ninoxa Live Search input on the page
- Shortcut value is configurable from the Ninoxa Live Search admin menu
When enabled in settings, typing two printable characters in quick succession anywhere on the page (outside inputs, textareas, and contenteditable regions) focuses the search field and inserts the typed text. A lone keypress is ignored, so accidental single-key bumps do not hijack focus. Works alongside the keyboard shortcut above. Disabled by default; leave off if your theme or plugins rely on single-key shortcuts. Inactive on touch-first devices.
- Arrow Up / Arrow Down: Navigate through search results
- Enter: Open highlighted result
- Escape: Close search results
- Tab: Move focus into the matching mode bar (keeps results open)
- Arrow Left / Arrow Right: Move between matching modes
- Home / End: Jump to first / last mode
- Enter / Space: Activate the focused mode
- Escape: Return focus to the search input
A pill-button radiogroup appears inside the results dropdown, letting visitors switch modes without reloading the page. Controls are fully keyboard-accessible (arrow keys to move, Enter/Space to select, Escape to return to the input).
| Mode | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| All words | Every typed word must appear (standard WordPress behaviour) |
| Any word | Posts matching any typed word (broader results) |
| Exact phrase | The full query treated as one phrase |
| Whole word | Only whole-word matches, no partials |
| Fuzzy | Tolerates one-character typos via edit-distance-1 LIKE patterns |