Release date: 20 May 2026
Initial release of Cogio Search, a lightweight WordPress search enhancement plugin for adding live search suggestions to websites.
Added
- Added shortcode for placing an enhanced search box anywhere shortcodes are supported.
[cogio_search]- Added live search suggestions that appear as the user types.
- Added a custom REST API endpoint to return public search results.
- Added support for searching selected public post types, including pages and posts by default.
- Added a plugin settings page under Settings > Cogio Search.
- Added settings for:
- post types to include in search
- number of suggestions shown
- minimum character count before suggestions appear
- excluded page/post IDs
- default search box placeholder text
- Added keyboard support for navigating suggestions using arrow keys, Enter and Escape.
- Added a “View all search results” link beneath the suggestion list.
- Added a fallback to the standard WordPress search results page when the form is submitted.
- Added basic front-end styling for the search form, button and suggestion dropdown.
- Added lightweight result scoring to help prioritise stronger title matches.
- Added short-lived caching for repeated suggestion queries to reduce unnecessary database load.
Notes
This first release focuses on providing a simple, reusable search enhancement that can be added to websites without tying the functionality to a specific theme. The plugin is designed to provide a solid foundation for future improvements such as promoted results, additional layout controls, custom result types and deeper theme integration.