Title: Deprecated code, search not working
Last modified: January 26, 2026

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# Deprecated code, search not working

 *  [ltempest](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ltempest/)
 * (@ltempest)
 * [4 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/deprecated-code-search-not-working/)
 * Hello, I get this error when loading the page:
 * Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated;
   use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity
   instead in /XXXX/public_html/wp-content/plugins/ajax-search-lite/includes/functions/
   functions.php on line 575
 * The search does not seem to return any results, even when searching for known
   keywords.
 * How can I resolve this issue?
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fdeprecated-code-search-not-working%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

 *  Plugin Support [Ernest Marcinko](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ernestmarcinko/)
 * (@ernestmarcinko)
 * [4 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/deprecated-code-search-not-working/#post-18798662)
 * Hi!
 * The deprecation warning is a known issue, it will be permanently resolved in 
   the upcoming release, thank you for letting me know though. You can safely ignore
   it, it will not cause any issues. If you get the error on your site front-end
   anywhere, then make sure to turn off the [wordpress debug mode](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/debug/debug-wordpress/)
   once your site is in production (it will remove the error message too).
 * The most likely cause of not seeing the expected results is likely that the incorrect
   post types might be selected for searching. In your case I see the products are
   stored in the Post post type, make sure [that is selected here](https://wp-dreams.com/assets/support/2026-01-26_g112FcQf0h.jpg).
   After clearing your site cache and reloading should resolve the issue.
 * All the best,
   Ernest
 *  Thread Starter [ltempest](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ltempest/)
 * (@ltempest)
 * [4 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/deprecated-code-search-not-working/#post-18800170)
 * Thanks for the reply, it is now working as expected and returning results. As
   a follow up how do i modify the layout of the results page like this one:
   [https://pumpsupplies.dynamicsalessolutions.co.uk/?s=drainage&asl_active=1&p_asl_data=1&customset%5B%5D=page&customset%5B%5D=post&asl_gen%5B%5D=excerpt&asl_gen%5B%5D=content&asl_gen%5B%5D=title&qtranslate_lang=0&filters_initial=1&filters_changed=0](https://pumpsupplies.dynamicsalessolutions.co.uk/?s=drainage&asl_active=1&p_asl_data=1&customset[]=page&customset[]=post&asl_gen[]=excerpt&asl_gen[]=content&asl_gen[]=title&qtranslate_lang=0&filters_initial=1&filters_changed=0)
 * Is there a template file somewhere I can modify or a CSS file?
 *  Plugin Support [Ernest Marcinko](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ernestmarcinko/)
 * (@ernestmarcinko)
 * [4 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/deprecated-code-search-not-working/#post-18800861)
 * Great!
 * The results page design/layout is controlled by the theme you are using, unfortunately
   search plugins can’t change that. You may have to ask the theme developer for
   instructions. If you are using a block theme or Elementor/Divi, there is usually
   a page template designer built-in, where you can customize the results archive
   page layout.
 * All the best,
   Ernest

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

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 * 3 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [Ernest Marcinko](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ernestmarcinko/)
 * Last activity: [4 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/deprecated-code-search-not-working/#post-18800861)
 * Status: not resolved