1. Set the search options
The settings are under Shop Parameters > Search. “Search within word” lets a query match inside a word, so “lou” finds “blouse”. “Search exact end match” matches the end of a word, so “book” finds “notebook” but not “bookcase”.
Fuzzy search takes misspellings into account: according to the documentation, “ummingbird” finds “hummingbird”. By default it handles up to 4 words per query, and PrestaShop recommends a maximum word length of 15 characters to keep it fast. Minimum word length and blacklisted words decide which short or common words are left out of the index.
2. Aliases and the search index
Aliases point a misspelled word to the correct one, for example “palyer” to “player”. PrestaShop suggests finding the most frequent mistakes under Stats > Shop search and adding them as aliases. They work as soon as they are saved.
The Indexing section compares the number of searchable products with your catalogue. If the numbers differ, add the missing products or rebuild the entire index. You can also have products indexed as soon as they are created or changed.
- Check under Indexing that all products are in the search index.
- Open Stats > Shop search and note the most frequent misspellings.
- Add an alias for each of them and test the search again.
3. Field weights
Weights decide which fields count most for the ranking. By default the product name has a weight of 6, tags 4, short description and description 1 each. A product with the search word in its name therefore ranks above one that only has it in its tags. You can also weight categories and attributes, among others.
Change one weight at a time and repeat your test set afterwards, because the order of results can change considerably.
4. Test the search with a fixed test set
Take ten typical queries. Include a word with a typo, a part of a longer product name, a product reference and a two-word query where one word is in the name and the other in an attribute. Note whether the expected product is among the first results, and repeat the test after every change.
Example test set
“gardn hose” (typo) · “hose” (part of “garden hose”) · “GH-25-GR” (reference) · “hose green” (name and colour).
5. When an additional search is worth it
If the built-in search is still not good enough after tuning, you can add a search module or an external search. Compare whether typos, word parts, references and filters work together, how much load the search puts on your server and where search data is processed.
You connect Grumeria to PrestaShop with a product feed and a small widget. For PrestaShop 1.7 and 8 the feed can come straight from your store's public category pages via https://grumeria.com/api/prestashop-feed?shop=your-shop.com, no feed module needed, or from a feed module (CSV, XML or Google Shopping). The free Grumeria Search module adds the widget without editing theme files. The search runs on its own servers, finds products despite typos, searches every feed field you mark as searchable and uses your own synonyms. It works without cookies, with data hosted in Frankfurt. You can check your feed for free first.