After testing, I confirmed that this behavior is not caused by plugins or custom code, but rather by the default WordPress/WooCommerce search logic, which relies on LIKE queries and matches exact phrases instead of individual words.
To resolve this, I implemented a custom solution:
Added a FULLTEXT index to the wp_posts table (post_title, post_content)
Modified the search query using the posts_search filter to use MATCH … AGAINST
This allows the search to match individual words regardless of order, and now queries correctly return the search.
My question is:
Is there any plan to support FULLTEXT search or improve word-based matching in future Woodmart updates, especially for AJAX search? It would greatly improve the search experience for WooCommerce stores with larger product catalogs.
Thanks in advance!
My code in functions.php:
add_filter(‘posts_search’, ‘use_fulltext_search’, 20, 2);
function use_fulltext_search($search, $wp_query) {
global $wpdb;
if (empty($wp_query->query_vars[‘s’])) {
return $search;
}
$search_term = esc_sql($wp_query->query_vars[‘s’]);
return ” AND MATCH({$wpdb->posts}.post_title, {$wpdb->posts}.post_content)
AGAINST(‘{$search_term}’ IN NATURAL LANGUAGE MODE)”;
}
.
