Now Available: Low Search

The man we know as “Low” (Lodewijk Schutte) released yet another add-on today and it’s a great one: Low Search.

Low Search is a simple yet powerful search tool for ExpressionEngine. It uses search collections based on channels to create an index, which is searched and returns channel entries. Per search collection, you can apply weight to each searchable field, adding importance to that field. Once an index is built, it is kept up to date automatically.

Just like the built-in search module you have template tags for the search form and results. Additionally Low Search keeps a search log, so you can review recent search queries “including keywords, member (if applicable), ip address, search date and parameters (eg. search mode, collection, etc.).” Wow! That’s a great way to see what your visitors are looking for so you can help them more easily find that content.

Low Search will also do “loose ends” search so you can have partial word matches returned.

A normal search will match exact words only, a fuzzy search will also return partial matches, eg. Lion will also match Lions and Lioness, but not Dandelion. Exact matches will still be rated higher than partial matches.

At 35 Euros (about $51 US), it’s worth the purchase just to see what the add-on can do and how you can flex its muscles in your next EE2 project.