Title: Basic Step-by-Step Instructions Last modified: July 27, 2022 --- # Basic Step-by-Step Instructions * Resolved [erikallen](https://wordpress.org/support/users/erikallen/) * (@erikallen) * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/) * I have an account with Algolia and a database uploaded. I came across your plugin, installed it, and connected my account to the plugin. * After setting it up, I don’t have the slightest clue on how to actually access the content between the plugin and Algolia. * I would like someone to help me with building a simple vehicle search. We currently use a plugin that we don’t like. It works, but it’s slow and VERY hard to update. Our current search can be found here: [https://fullriverbattery.com/find-your-battery/](https://fullriverbattery.com/find-your-battery/) * Any help you can give me would be much appreciated. Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total) * Plugin Contributor [Michael Beckwith](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tw2113/) * (@tw2113) * The BenchPresser * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15865359) * Good day Erik, * A first question for me is if you’re wanting to have InstantSearch style result display, or if you want Algolia to just power the “backend” of search queries. * You can see an example of InstantSearch at [https://community.algolia.com/instantsearch.js/v2/examples/media/](https://community.algolia.com/instantsearch.js/v2/examples/media/) where the result list revises itself as you type, as well as offering widget spots on the left to also revise your search boundaries. * Using it just on the backend, is going to be more akin to what WordPress already does with search, but the queries will return values from your Algolia index instead of querying your local database. * You can choose between that, or not use Algolia at all for search (perhaps you just want autocomplete), over at the `/wp-admin/admin.php?page=algolia-search- page` settings page. Also on this page, you can trigger to push all available searchable posts into the connected Algolia account. * If you have any questions about autocomplete, let me know but it sounds more like you’re focused on search results than autocomplete. * Next question how to best do a search with how things are now. I’m seeing on [https://fullriverbattery.com/find-your-battery/](https://fullriverbattery.com/find-your-battery/) about 4 different dropdowns that populate as you go top to bottom. Is that the current search? Or should I be looking elsewhere? Trying to see if I can mentally work out how to possibly integrate that dropdown version into Algolia, unless you’re willing/able to change how the search experience is. * Plugin Contributor [Michael Beckwith](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tw2113/) * (@tw2113) * The BenchPresser * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15865364) * Forgot to say, that we have a wiki with a lot more information overall, that you can see at [https://github.com/WebDevStudios/wp-search-with-algolia/wiki](https://github.com/WebDevStudios/wp-search-with-algolia/wiki) but I’m not expecting you to just go through that and try things, I’m willing to answer questions directly first. * Thread Starter [erikallen](https://wordpress.org/support/users/erikallen/) * (@erikallen) * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15865374) * Thank you for the quick reply. * We are basically looking to keep our search interface on the front end the same, if possible, as that’s what most people are used to when it comes to a vehicle part search. * However, we hooked up with Algolia because it is a faster system for searches and updates than having it housed on our servers. * We would like to keep the search parameters to: – Year – Make – Model – Engine * The results would display the single or few results available. It would show the battery photo and model name. We also have a column in our db for remarks about the battery. We want that to display on the results as well. * What would be the best way to create that? * Plugin Contributor [Michael Beckwith](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tw2113/) * (@tw2113) * The BenchPresser * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15865496) * What plugin are you using now? `WPCE - WooCommerce Parts Compatibility Editor`? based on the URLs that are generated when I click submit. It’s a URL like `?s =&wpce_search=345743&post_type=product` and I’m trying to figure out what the` wpce_search=345743` portion is relating to. * Before getting to customization, of display and whatnot, I’m trying to work out how to potentially make the dropdown combinations work with Algolia and the resulting request. Basically a way to piece the 4 separate parts into one. * Definitely not saying it’s not possible at the moment, but it’s looking to me like it won’t be out of the box instant compatibility based on what I’m seeing, there’s going to be some custom dev work involved to get things integrated. I do believe it’s likely going to need to append them all to the `?s=` parameter. for example: * ``` ?s=2020 Acura MDX 3.5 V6 ``` * That said, it looks like the dropdowns themselves are already tied to this other search plugin you’re probably using, and would potentially need to be remade as well, so that it’s not still trying to use this slow search on top of Algolia. * Thread Starter [erikallen](https://wordpress.org/support/users/erikallen/) * (@erikallen) * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15867602) * Yes, we use WPCE and it’s awful. * My understanding is that if we hosted our data on Algolia, we should be able to create an interface to the data from our website. Now, I’m not a programmer, so I don’t know how that part goes… but that’s what I was led to believe when having meetings with companies like Algolia, Elastic, etc. * If possible, we would like it to work the same as what we currently have because that’s kind of the industry standard for vehicle parts search: * [https://www.batterysystems.net/battery-finder](https://www.batterysystems.net/battery-finder) * [https://www.battfinder.com/](https://www.battfinder.com/) * [https://www.autobatteries.com/en-us/car-battery-finder](https://www.autobatteries.com/en-us/car-battery-finder) * [https://www.interstatebatteries.com/](https://www.interstatebatteries.com/) * However, we don’t HAVE TO use that format if it’s not something that is easily deployable. I don’t mind hiring you to build the dropdown-style interface… as long as it’s not a runaway project that takes weeks and costs tens of thousands of dollars. * I don’t mind having a filterable menu on the left with parts on the right. This seems to be the way Algolia LIKES to work out of the box. If that’s what we are stuck with, I’m OK with that. I just have issues with it not working properly and have hit a wall. * I created a video of what I made via Algolia and sent it to support. Here is the video in case you would like to see it. * [https://api.vadoo.tv/landing_page?vid=AB7q05WgaqeALZtGRDviQHgkO52XluGn](https://api.vadoo.tv/landing_page?vid=AB7q05WgaqeALZtGRDviQHgkO52XluGn) * This is their response via email, which led me to seek additional help as programming is not my forte. * ————————————– * ``` Hi Erik, For implementing Algolia Search with WordPress the best place to start is our WordPress guide. This guide walks you through the process of building your own Algolia WordPress integration using the PHP API client. From the video you shared I see that you're viewing the dashboard UI demo. At this time UI demo is just for proof of concept and design planning and does not provide an export of Code to plug into your site. That being said building your InstantSearch experience will allow you to customize it to your specifications with the behavior you would like to see. To build your search UI with InstantSearch and this Search UI guide will help you get started with a basic implementation. We recommend reading through our InstantSearch guide to learn the basics of what InstantSearch can do for you. InstantSearch has many different widgets which you can pick and choose from, our widget showcase is a great place to start to see which widgets you want in your UI. From your video I saw a few things you mentioned that are addressed by some of our widgets. The currentRefinement widget will allow you to show your users what refinements are currently active. The clearRefinements widget will allow your users to remove all active refinements. You had also mentioned that you would like your refinementLists to be collapsable after a user made a selection. This behavior can be controlled with panel widget. Lastly to allow the results of your InstantSearch to link to pages on your site or anywhere else you first need to ensure that the records all have an attribute that contains the URL you want the user to be directed too. We have a full guide on how to Format and Structure your Data, but an example record might look something like this. ``` * { “name”: “Mercedes S Series” “url”: “[https://yourwebsite.com/mercedes/S-series”](https://yourwebsite.com/mercedes/S-series”);} * ``` Once a record has the URL as an attribute you can access it in the hits widget item template. Here's a CodeSandBox where you can see this in action. The URL links will not redirect in CodeSandBox but the item template code is correct. The url attribute of every hit is passed to the href of the anchor tag. ``` * templates: { item: `

{{#helpers.highlight}}{ “ attribute”: “name” }{{/helpers.highlight}}

{{#helpers.highlight}}{ “attribute”:“ description” }{{/helpers.highlight}}
* ``` , }, ``` * If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you Best Regards, Sean Algolia Support` * —————————— * I hope that helps. * Thread Starter [erikallen](https://wordpress.org/support/users/erikallen/) * (@erikallen) * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15867609) * Not sure why the last reply formatted things like that… but I hope you are able to get the picture of what is going on and what we are trying to achieve. * Plugin Contributor [Michael Beckwith](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tw2113/) * (@tw2113) * The BenchPresser * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15867928) * > My understanding is that if we hosted our data on Algolia, we should be able > to create an interface to the data from our website. * I know they have demo UI functionality in their dashboard for some quick scoping/ review, and I know that others have utilized Algolia’s widgets and UI tools to build sites away from WordPress, and all those parts communicate back and forth between the site and the associated Algolia instances. * We do similar things with that with our autocomplete and instantsearch templates, which get loaded by WordPress, and have markup/Algolia widgets/javascript that all communicate back to Algolia. Thus, the UI an functionality on your WordPress based pages. * > If possible, we would like it to work the same as what we currently have because > that’s kind of the industry standard for vehicle parts search * Noted and understood the desire and dare say need to stay within industry standards. * The first and biggest hurdle that I still perceive based on what time I’ve spent thinking about this use case and situation is how to best take the inputs from 4 different dropdown fields and present one search request to be sent to Algolia for processing. * Other details that arise from that are making sure that the details are in order, like should a result have ANY of the parts of the constructed, or should it have ALL of the parts? Refinements in configuration as well in the Dashboard, to help aid in relevancy determinatin. Also having to reconstruct the 4 dropdowns and potentially have them behave the way they are now, wherein the next one gets filled in based on the previous selection. * I am seeing that you mention that you yourself are not a programmer, and I don’t know who else you may be working with as a team for the site, who may be. So I don’t know if you have others you could potentially rely on for the customization. I also see you mention the words “hire us”, which has me thinking it may be a pretty small team here. * As I recall yesterday, you did reach out through those proper contact channels, and got nudged this way for perceived potential general support, as opposed to proper hiring for a project. Does that sound accurate for how I’m interpreting this part? * Thread Starter [erikallen](https://wordpress.org/support/users/erikallen/) * (@erikallen) * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15867948) * Yes, our web team consists of myself and a few other people… none of which are programmers. * This project has been going on for months and my boss is starting to get really antsy because it’s holding up a major feature of our website. I originally reached out to your company to have a phone meeting with an engineer to discuss if it would be easy to integrate into the website on my own or would it be better to simply hire you to deploy what we want. * As quick to reply as you are, I was told I have to go this route first. I truly hate the back and forth and don’t have time for this. I would truly appreciate it if you would have someone call me so we can chat about the project in real time. This way, I can make a decision one way or the other and get the ball moving in the right direction. * Does that make sense? * Plugin Contributor [Michael Beckwith](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tw2113/) * (@tw2113) * The BenchPresser * [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15867972) * Understood and yes that makes sense. * If you could please, reach back out to Laura, who I believe you got in contact with initially, and she’ll have some more information at this point for how to best proceed. Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total) The topic ‘Basic Step-by-Step Instructions’ is closed to new replies. * ![](https://ps.w.org/wp-search-with-algolia/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=2894668) * [WP Search with Algolia](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-search-with-algolia/) * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-search-with-algolia/#faq) * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-search-with-algolia/) * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-search-with-algolia/active/) * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-search-with-algolia/unresolved/) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-search-with-algolia/reviews/) * 9 replies * 2 participants * Last reply from: [Michael Beckwith](https://wordpress.org/support/users/tw2113/) * Last activity: [3 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/basic-step-by-step-instructions/#post-15867972) * Status: resolved