About this plugin
Faceted Search for Ultimate Member adds a configurable filter sidebar to any Ultimate Member member directory. Visitors combine filters on profile fields — country, industry, skills, job title, or any custom UM field — and see matching members update instantly over AJAX.
The plugin hooks into Ultimate Member’s native member directory ( um_get_members ), so member cards, pagination, sorting, and keyword search keep working as before. Facet counts refresh in real time as filters are applied, showing how many members match each option.
Key features
- Per-directory setup — enable faceted search on each Member Directory individually.
- Six filter UI types — checkbox list, radio list, dropdown, tag cloud, numeric range, and date range.
- Live facet counts — option labels show member totals (e.g. United States (24)) that update with each selection.
- AJAX filtering — no full page reload; results update through UM’s member directory.
- Multiple layouts — sidebar left, sidebar right, or horizontal top bar.
- Active filter chips — visitors see and remove active filters at a glance.
- URL state persistence — shareable filter URLs when enabled.
- Mobile-friendly — optional collapsible facet panels on small screens.
- Role-based facet visibility — show different filters to different UM roles.
- Sortable facet values — by count (high/low) or alphabetically (A–Z / Z–A).
- Meta key autocomplete — admin facet builder suggests UM profile field keys.
- Smart field detection — maps UM field types (text, select, radio, checkbox, multiselect, date, number, and more) to the correct filter logic.
- Security by default — passwords, 2FA tokens, file URLs, and other sensitive meta keys are never offered as facets.
Who is this for?
- Membership communities — help members find others by location, interests, or expertise.
- Professional directories — filter consultants, freelancers, or staff by specialty or availability.
- Alumni and association sites — browse graduates or members by class year, region, or industry.
- Niche marketplaces — narrow vendor or service listings on UM-powered directories.
- Any WordPress site using Ultimate Member directories — turn a long member list into a browsable, filterable experience.
Front-end experience
- Combine multiple facet filters at once (AND logic — members must match all active filters).
- Use facet filters together with Ultimate Member’s built-in directory search and sort.
- Clear individual filters or reset everything with Clear all.
- See a results summary (e.g. “Showing 12 of 48 members”) above the member grid.
- Keyboard-accessible facet controls for better usability.
Admin configuration
Configure everything under Ultimate Member → Member Directory → Add/Edit, in the Faceted Search metabox:
- Enable or disable faceted search per directory.
- Add facet fields mapped to UM user meta keys (profile field keys).
- Set a custom label and UI type for each facet.
- Drag to reorder facets.
- Choose layout and toggle Show Counts, Active Filter Chips, Collapsible on Mobile, and URL State Persistence.
- Set how many options appear before a facet panel collapses (“Collapse after X items”).
- Configure per-facet sort order and role visibility in advanced options.
- Set min, max, and step for numeric range facets; from/to dates for date range facets.
No shortcode is required — the filter sidebar appears automatically on directories where faceted search is enabled.
How it works
- Enable faceted search on a Member Directory and choose which profile fields become filters.
- When a visitor opens that directory, the filter sidebar renders alongside the member grid.
- Each filter selection is sent with Ultimate Member’s member query.
- The member list updates via AJAX; facet counts recalculate for the current filter combination.
- Only members matching all active filters are shown.
For developers
Hooks and filters for customization:
- um_fs_before_sidebar — before the sidebar wrapper is rendered
- um_fs_inside_sidebar — inside the sidebar, after the facets panel
- um_fs_after_sidebar — after the sidebar closing tag
- um_fs_user_card_data — filter data passed to member cards
- um_fs_field_type_overrides — override detected field types by meta key
- um_fs_facet_max_users — cap users scanned when building facet counts (default 5000)
- um_fs_facet_base_args — adjust base WP_User_Query args used for counting