Module · LNK Advanced Search
LNK Search, the PrestaShop search that finds what your customers mean
A customer types “hummingbrid”, “jumper” instead of “sweater”, or waits two seconds for the search bar to answer: they leave empty-handed. LNK Search suggests products from the second letter, corrects typos, applies your synonyms and offers an advanced search that reads like a sentence. It replaces the PrestaShop search bar and keeps your results page.
- Version 1.1.1 · PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 8.x
- Version 1.9.2 · PrestaShop 9
- PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 9.x
- PHP 7.1 to 8.5
- No override
Key points
- Suggestions from the second letter: products, categories, brands, searches.
- Typos corrected, without random results.
- Synonyms, redirections and pinned products, per language.
- Arabic supported down to the correction, synonyms and redirections.
- Table of searches without results.
- Advanced search written as a sentence, with the real number of products.
- Same results page, same products as the suggestions.
- 0.8 KB of JavaScript on load, panel loaded on opening.
- Native PrestaShop search index, no external service.
- Keyboard and screen readers supported, / key to open the search.
- Settings page with a preview of the real panel, in every language.
- PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 9, six languages, no override.
Instant suggestions
A panel slides down from the top of the page. With each keystroke, it suggests products with their thumbnail, price and stock, the matching categories and brands, and the frequent searches of your shop. Each block can be turned on and set in the back office. The keyboard is enough: arrows to browse, Enter to open, Escape to close.
Typos corrected
When a word does not exist in your catalog, LNK Search looks for the closest word and says so: “Results for “hummingbird””. An unrelated word brings nothing back, instead of random products.
In Arabic too: the correction is shown in the script of your catalog (“قميص”), and a typo on a single letter counts as one. Your redirections, pinned products and frequent searches keep the word as it was typed, script and accents included.
Your synonyms, your redirections, your products first
Sweater, pullover and jumper: one synonym group, and the three words find the same products. A search can also lead straight to a page (“delivery” to your delivery page) or show chosen products first. The table of searches without results shows what your customers look for without finding it, so you can create the synonym in one click.
An advanced search in one sentence
A discreet link, “Refine the search”, unfolds a sentence you write: “I am looking in [category], from the brand [brand], under [price].” Each gap offers the values present in your catalog: categories, brands, features, combinations, prices. In stock or On sale checkboxes complete it. The button shows the real number of products before the click.
Light and fast
Figures measured on the delivered module, compressed with gzip (level 9). When the page loads: the button and a 0.8 KB script. The panel, 3.9 KB of JavaScript and 1.9 KB of CSS, loads on first opening or while the browser is idle. No jQuery dependency.
On a catalog of 10,013 products, the native PrestaShop search answers in 1.5 to 5.5 seconds. LNK Search ranks the products on the native search index before filtering them: the computation measured on a quiet machine (median of five runs), computing a new search takes 66 to 149 ms, and a search already made comes back, end to end, in 78 to 213 ms. Target checked for every version: under 150 ms of computation, under 250 ms end to end from the cache.
The same results page, the same products
The results page stays the one of your theme, with its thumbnails and sort orders. LNK Search provides its products with the same rules as the suggestions: the number shown in the panel is the one of the page. Disabled products, products hidden from search or reserved to a customer group: the PrestaShop rules are respected, and a test bench checks it for every version.
Compatible with PrestaShop 1.7.6, 8 and 9
Two versions of the module, one per generation: 1.1 for PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 8.x, 1.9 for PrestaShop 9. The Classic and Hummingbird themes and the LNKBOOT themes are supported. In French, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian and Polish. No override.
Frequently asked questions
How can I improve the search of my PrestaShop shop?
Install LNK Search: it replaces the PrestaShop search bar with a panel of instant suggestions, corrects typos and applies your synonyms. Then disable the Search bar module (ps_searchbar): the settings page points it out and disables it in one click.
Do I need an external search engine?
No. LNK Search uses the PrestaShop search index, the one your shop already keeps up to date. No external service, no subscription, no data sent elsewhere.
My customers make typos: what happens?
When a word does not exist in your catalog, the module looks for the closest word and tells the customer: “Results for “hummingbird””. A word unrelated to the catalog brings nothing back, instead of random products. In Arabic, the correction is shown in the script of the catalog, and a typo on a single letter counts as one.
How do I add synonyms?
In the LNK Search page, Synonyms section: type the words separated by commas, for example “sweater, pullover, jumper”; in Arabic, the Arabic comma “،” works too. Each one then finds the products of the others. Synonyms are set for each language of the shop.
What do my customers look for without finding it?
The table of searches without results lists the searches of the last 90 days that found nothing, the most frequent first. From each row, you create a synonym or a redirection. The log keeps no personal data.
How does the advanced search work?
A “Refine the search” link unfolds a sentence you write, with lists in place of some words: category, brand, feature, combination, price. Each list offers the values present in your catalog, and the button shows the real number of products.
Does the search slow down my pages?
No. When the page loads, only the button and a 0.8 KB script are added. The panel loads on first opening. On 10,013 products and a quiet machine, a new search is computed in 66 to 149 ms, then served from the cache, end to end, in 78 to 213 ms.
Does my results page change?
It stays the one of your theme, with its thumbnails and sort orders. LNK Search provides its products, with the same rules as the suggestions: the number shown in the panel is the one of the page. If the Faceted search module has filters set for the search page, it keeps simple searches, and the back office explains the choice.
Is the module compatible with PrestaShop 9?
Yes. Version 1.9 is made for PrestaShop 9, with a native settings page. Version 1.1 covers PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 8.x.
What happens if I uninstall the module?
Its tables (synonyms, redirections, pinned products, log), its settings and its cache are deleted. Your catalog and the PrestaShop search index are not changed. It installs no override.
Release history
-
Version 1.9.2 PrestaShop 9
New
- Banner when the Search bar module (ps_searchbar) is still enabled, with a button to disable it.
- Hint of the / key on the search button, on desktop, when the shortcut is enabled.
Changes
- Settings page redone: navigation by panels (Suggestions, Search field, Sentence search, Search page; No results, Synonyms, Redirections, Pinned products), language chosen in the header, preview of the real panel on the right (empty field or while typing, full width).
- Suggestion blocks set with counters; features under the product name chosen in their display order.
- Focus of the search field: no more black outline; the line under the field thickens in the theme's focus color.
- Addresses of the module's CSS and JS files versioned by the fingerprint of their content: after an update, neither a CDN nor the browser serves the old version.
Fixes
- Search in Arabic: the correction of a typo is shown in the script of the catalogue ("قميص") instead of the transliterated form PrestaShop keeps in its index ("qmys"); in French, with its accents. A typo on one Arabic letter counts as one, including the letters PrestaShop writes with two characters (ث, خ, ذ, ش, غ).
- Redirections, pinned products and frequent searches: the original entry is saved and displayed ("التوصيل", "Délai de livraison"); matching still uses the normalised form. Rules already saved keep working.
- Synonyms and suggested searches: the Arabic comma and semicolon ("،" and "؛") separate the terms, like the comma.
-
Version 1.9.1 PrestaShop 9
Changes
- Licence updated; module styles made generic, styling left to the theme.
-
Version 1.9.0 PrestaShop 9
First version for PrestaShop 9. PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 8.x has its own version, 1.1.0.
New
- A server-rendered search button and a panel of instant suggestions: products (thumbnail, price, stock, chosen features), categories, brands, frequent searches, optional CMS pages.
- Typo correction on the shop index, capped at 30 ms, without random results.
- Synonyms, redirections and pinned products, per language, and a table of searches without results over 90 days.
- Advanced search in a sentence written by the merchant, with the values present in the catalog and the real number of products.
- Products of the native search page provided with the same rules as the suggestions, sorting and pagination done in the database.
- Server cache per shop, language, customer group, currency and tax display, cleared on every catalog change.
- 0.8 KB of JavaScript when the page loads; 3.9 KB panel loaded on opening.
- Keyboard and screen readers supported (combobox pattern); French, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian and Polish.
Show the 2 previous versions
-
Version 1.1.1 PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 8.x
New
- Banner when the Search bar module (ps_searchbar) is still enabled, with a button to disable it.
- Hint of the / key on the search button, on desktop, when the shortcut is enabled.
Changes
- Settings page redone: navigation by panels (Suggestions, Search field, Sentence search, Search page; No results, Synonyms, Redirections, Pinned products), language chosen in the header, preview of the real panel on the right (empty field or while typing, full width).
- Suggestion blocks set with counters; features under the product name chosen in their display order.
- Focus of the search field: no more black outline; the line under the field thickens in the theme's focus color.
- Addresses of the module's CSS and JS files versioned by the fingerprint of their content: after an update, neither a CDN nor the browser serves the old version.
Fixes
- Search in Arabic: the correction of a typo is shown in the script of the catalogue ("قميص") instead of the transliterated form PrestaShop keeps in its index ("qmys"); in French, with its accents. A typo on one Arabic letter counts as one, including the letters PrestaShop writes with two characters (ث, خ, ذ, ش, غ).
- Redirections, pinned products and frequent searches: the original entry is saved and displayed ("التوصيل", "Délai de livraison"); matching still uses the normalised form. Rules already saved keep working.
- Synonyms and suggested searches: the Arabic comma and semicolon ("،" and "؛") separate the terms, like the comma.
- PrestaShop 1.7.6: the results page stayed with the core (the search type is not set there), with no redirection, pinned product or synonym; the module now handles it, as from 1.7.7 on. In 1.7.6, PrestaShop keeps Arabic as is in its index: the correction counts letters, not bytes.
-
Version 1.1.0 PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 8.x
First version for PrestaShop 1.7.6 to 8.x. PrestaShop 9 has its own version, 1.9.0.
New
- A server-rendered search button and a panel of instant suggestions: products (thumbnail, price, stock, chosen features), categories, brands, frequent searches, optional CMS pages.
- Typo correction on the shop index, capped at 30 ms, without random results.
- Synonyms, redirections and pinned products, per language, and a table of searches without results over 90 days.
- Advanced search in a sentence written by the merchant, with the values present in the catalog and the real number of products.
- Products of the native search page provided with the same rules as the suggestions, sorting and pagination done in the database.
- Server cache per shop, language, customer group, currency and tax display, cleared on every catalog change.
- 0.8 KB of JavaScript when the page loads; 3.9 KB panel loaded on opening.
- Keyboard and screen readers supported (combobox pattern); French, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian and Polish.
