Dana Ross

Dave’s WordPress Live Search adds “live search” functionality to your WordPress site. As visitors type words into your WordPress site’s search box, the plugin continually queries WordPress, looking for search results that match what the user has typed so far.
The <a href="http://ajaxpatterns.org/Live_Search" rel="nofollow ugc">live search</a> technique means that most people will find the results they are looking for before they finish typing their query, and it saves them the step of having to click a submit button to get their search results.
This functionality requires Javascript, but the search box still works normally if Javascript is not available.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CGR2bJ1mLM 
<a href="https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/daves-wordpress-live-search/assets/intro_video_transcript.txt" rel="nofollow ugc">transcript</a>
This plugin is compatible with the <a href="https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/xlanguage/" rel="ugc">xLanguage</a> and <a href="http://wpml.org/" rel="nofollow ugc">WPML</a> plugins for internationalization (i18n) of search results.
<h3>Filters</h3>
See <a href="https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/daves-wordpress-live-search/trunk/filter_examples.php" rel="nofollow ugc">filter_examples.php</a> in 
the plugin files for examples of how to use these filters. Remember, these filters only affect the 
Dave’s WordPress Live Search display, not the normal WordPress search results or the posts themselves.
<ol>
<li>dwls_alter_results</li>
<li>dwls_attachment_thumbnail</li>
<li>dwls_post_title</li>
<li>dwls_the_excerpt</li>
<li>dwls_post_date</li>
<li>dwls_author_name</li>
<li>dwls_alter_result_template</li>
<li>dwls_post_custom</li>
<li>dwls_query_fields</li>
</ol>
<h3>Wish List</h3>
Features I want to implement in future releases:
<ol>
<li>“No results found” message (optional)</li>
</ol>

Dave's WordPress Live Search

At first, this seems like a good plugin and it is. I tried to report a bug a couple of months ago and, despite the fact the plugin says it's compatible with the latest version of WordPress, there seems to be bugs that are not addressed. At this point, I had to hack the plugin and edit source code to make it work.

Unmaintained plugin

You do a great job

Adds "live search" functionality to your WordPress site. Uses the built-in search and jQuery.

wpdreams

Ajax Search Lite is a live search plugin for WordPress. This responsive live search engine, which will boost your user experience by providing a user friendly ajax powered search form – a live search bar. You can filter the results with the category and post type filter boxes as well. Google autocomplete and keyword suggestions also included.
<iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="750" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qI2_iKK4n_4?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
Very smooth animations with mobile device support and regular updates. Use Ajax Search Lite as a replacement for the default WordPress search with a better looking, more efficient search engine. 
Fine-tune the user experience by providing a powerful ajax search plugin to your visitors. Supports custom post types and custom fields and more. Boost your site search engine with this custom built live search engine.
<a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com" rel="nofollow ugc">Home</a> | <a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com/features" rel="nofollow ugc">Features</a> | <a href="https://documentation.ajaxsearchlite.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">Lite Docs</a> | <a href="https://documentation.ajaxsearchpro.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">Pro Docs</a>
<iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="750" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tMde9nDQOEU?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>
Ajax Search Lite and Ajax Search Pro does not require monthly subscriptions, does not store your data on external servers – everything is done locally, on your server.
<h4>Features List</h4>
<ul>
<li>Search in posts and pages</li>
<li>Search in custom post types such as WooCommerce Products, Events, Portfolio items and more</li>
<li>Search in title, description, excerpt, categories and tags and any custom fields</li>
<li>Archive page live loader and filter</li>
<li>Automatic search replacement as well as widget and shortcode availalbe</li>
<li>Custom Filter boxes (checkbox filters) for categories and post types</li>
<li>WPML, Polylang and QtranslateX compatible</li>
<li>10+ built in templates + options for color adjustments</li>
<li>Retina ready vectorized SVG and CSS3 icons</li>
<li>Category and post exclusions</li>
<li>Frontend search settings boxes</li>
<li>Images in search results</li>
<li>Fully ajax powered</li>
<li>50+ options on the backend</li>
<li>Caches images for faster response time</li>
<li>Performance Options</li>
<li>Google analytics integration – both as Events and Pageviews</li>
<li>Primary and Secondary ordering options</li>
<li>Highly compatible and responsive</li>
</ul>
<h4>Support</h4>
Feel free to <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/ajax-search-lite/" rel="ugc">contact us</a> via the support forums.
<h4>In Pro version</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com" rel="nofollow ugc">Front-end demo</a> | <a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com/try/" rel="nofollow ugc">Back-end demo</a></li>
<li>Create multiple search bars with different configurations</li>
<li>All page builders supported (Elementor, Divi, Oxygen, Breakdance, Gutenberg, Beaver etc..)</li>
<li>Search in Every custom post type</li>
<li>Search in <a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com/file-search/" rel="nofollow ugc">Media Attachments and contents</a> (PDF, Excel, Word, PowerPoint etc..)</li>
<li>Search in BuddyPress activity feed, users and group names</li>
<li>Search in PeepSo Groups and Group Activities</li>
<li>Search result grouping by categories or post types</li>
<li>Search in custom fields including repeaters and special custom field taypes</li>
<li>Predictive search results suggestions</li>
<li>WooCommerce <a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com/shop-search/" rel="nofollow ugc">Shop search and filter</a></li>
<li>Search and filter Elementor <a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com/elementor-live-filter/" rel="nofollow ugc">Loop Grid</a> and <a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com/jet-engine-listing-grid-filter/" rel="nofollow ugc">JetEngine Listing Grid</a></li>
<li>Advanced caching technology – image precaching, search phrase caching</li>
<li>Category filters, custom field filters, post type filters, tag filters, taxonomy term filters and date filters</li>
<li>Checkbox, Drop-down, Multiselect, Radio, Slider and Range slider filters</li>
<li>Results grouping by category, post type or content type</li>
<li><a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com/load-more-infinite-scroll/" rel="nofollow ugc">Load more and Inifinite scroll</a></li>
<li>100+ Themes – Fully configurable and editable – with theme customizer & preview window</li>
<li>4 layouts: Vertical, Horizontal, Polaroid and Isotopic (with pagination)</li>
<li>400+ Admin options </li>
<li>Google keyword suggestions and autocomplete</li>
<li>Compatibility options and features</li>
<li>Caching options & Search statistics</li>
<li>Keyword Highlighting & more…</li>
<li>Highly compatible and responsive</li>
<li><a href="https://ajaxsearchpro.com/features/" rel="nofollow ugc">Full Features List</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Testimonials</h4>
<blockquote>
“Beyond the live search, it also makes your search much more complete. You’ll be able to include custom fields, comments, and more in your search index.” – Ben Pines – Elementor
“Consider this plugin if you’re looking for a professional live search offering.” – Tom Ewer – WPMU Dev
“Ajax Search Pro plugin gives you a live Ajax search, so much comfortable search experience” – Dragan Nikolic – Thematosoup
“As the name suggests, the core value of Ajax Search Pro is the ability to add Ajax live search to WordPress.” – Colin Newcomer – aThemes
</blockquote>

Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter

Awesome Support


A very solid plugin that offers a lot of useful features out of the box.  It's pro version however is even better. Great and quick support. Highly recommend.


A very solid plugin

The Best Ajax Live Search and Filter for WordPress. Live suggestions, Custom Post types, Custom fields, Categories, WooCommerce & Elementor support

Dave's WordPress Live Search vs Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter