About this plugin
Aknex Fast Product Search replaces the default WooCommerce product search with a lightning-fast, search-as-you-type widget backed by its own denormalized MySQL index. Because search queries run against a single flat index table instead of wp_posts and wp_postmeta, results are returned in milliseconds even on shared hosting with 100,000+ products.
Key features:
- Variation-aware — variations are indexed as individual rows. Choose between three result modes per widget instance: parents only, all variations as standalone results, or variations collapsed under their parent.
- Field-scoped search — restrict search to any combination of title, SKU, categories, tags, and attributes using a simple shortcode parameter.
- Configurable index fields — choose which product data (SKU, categories, tags, attributes, short description) is included in the full-text index via the admin settings page.
- REST transport — search requests run through a dedicated WordPress REST API route for compatibility with WordPress.org requirements.
- Gutenberg block + shortcode — embed the search widget anywhere. An optional filter automatically replaces the default WooCommerce search form site-wide.
- Smart indexing — full rebuild runs as a chunked, resumable background job using Action Scheduler (bundled with WooCommerce). Incremental updates are queued automatically on product save, stock change, and deletion. A nightly reconciliation job keeps the index consistent.
- Micro-cache — a short-lived database cache layer prevents redundant queries for popular search terms under high traffic.
- Rate limiting — configurable per-IP request throttling protects the search endpoint.
- WP-CLI support — wp fastsearch rebuild, wp fastsearch status, and wp fastsearch flush commands for DevOps workflows.
- HPOS compatible — fully compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage.
- Multisite ready — one index table per site via $wpdb->prefix.
Premium Turbo edition
A separately licensed Turbo edition includes:
- SHORTINIT direct search — uses a lightweight endpoint when supported by the host, with the WordPress REST API as a fallback.
- License management — activate and validate an Aknex license for the Turbo site.
- Automatic updates — receive Turbo releases through the WordPress plugin updater while the license is valid.
An active Aknex license is required. Turbo Version.
Shortcode usage:
[fastsearch]
Optional attributes:
- placeholder — input placeholder text
- mode — parents (default), all, or collapse
- fields — comma-separated: title, sku, categories, tags, attributes, or all (default)
- cat — restrict results to a category ID
- limit — number of results (1–50, default 10)
Example: [fastsearch mode="collapse" fields="title,sku" limit="8"]
Requirements:
- WordPress 6.2 or later
- WooCommerce 8.0 or later
- PHP 7.4 or later
- MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+ with InnoDB and FULLTEXT support
If FULLTEXT indexing is unavailable on your host, the plugin automatically falls back to prefix-LIKE mode with a notice in the admin dashboard.