Search Suggestions

Overview

Search Suggestions in Znode enhance the Storefront search experience by presenting relevant information when customers interact with the search bar. Znode supports two complementary search suggestion experiences:

Typeahead Search – Displays live results as customers type
Hydrated Search – Displays a structured, enhanced search panel when customers click or start typing in the search input

Together, these experiences help customers discover products, categories, brands, and content faster while reducing search effort and abandonment.

Prerequisites

Administrator access to the Znode Admin Console
A Store created and published
Product catalogues published and indexed
Site Search enabled for the Store

Search Suggestion Experiences

Typeahead Search

Typeahead Search displays suggestions dynamically as the customer types a search term.

Suggestions update in real time
Results are refined with every keystroke
Selecting a suggestion executes the search immediately
Functions independently of Hydrated Search

Hydrated Search

Hydrated Search provides an expanded search interface that opens when a customer clicks into the search bar or begins typing.

Depending on configuration, the hydrated view can display:

My Searches
Popular Searches
Popular Products
Popular Categories
Popular Brands
Popular Content

If all hydrated search sections are disabled, the hydrated panel does not appear.

IMPORTANT:

When the "Hide from Search" flag is enabled for a product and the catalog is published, the product is immediately removed from search results across the storefront. However, the product may continue to appear in the Popular Products section of Hydrated Search.
This behavior is expected because the Popular Products section is driven by product popularity data generated from order history, rather than the product's current search visibility settings. The popularity data is refreshed through a scheduled process and is not updated in real time when a product is hidden from search.
- Example:
  - Consider the following scenario:
    - Product A (Blue T-Shirt) has received a high number of orders over the past few weeks and is currently displayed in the Popular Products section.
    - An administrator enables the "Hide from Search" flag for Product A and publishes the catalog.
      Product A is immediately removed from standard search results.
    - However, Product A may still appear in the Popular Products section because it was previously identified as a popular product based on historical order data.
    - Over time, customers continue placing orders for Product B and Product C.
    - During the next popularity data refresh, Product B and Product C may rank higher than Product A due to increased order activity.
    - If Product A is no longer receiving orders at a level comparable to other popular products, it may eventually be removed from the Popular Products section and replaced by higher-ranking products.
- Note:
  - `The "Hide from Search" setting affects only search visibility. It does not immediately remove a product from the Popular Products (Hydrated Search) section, as that section is based on periodically refreshed popularity rankings derived from order data. As new orders are placed and popularity rankings change, products that are no longer among the most ordered items may naturally drop out of the Popular Products results.

Accessing Search Settings

Sign in to the Znode Admin Console.
Navigate to Marketing.
Select Site Search.
Open the Search Settings tab.

This page displays configurations for individual Stores and a mandatory All Stores configuration.

All Stores vs Store-Specific Settings

All Stores acts as the default configuration
Store-specific settings override All Stores
Only one search configuration can exist per Store
The All Stores configuration cannot be deleted

Configuring Typeahead Search

Navigate to Marketing > Site Search > Search Settings.
Edit the required Store.
Enable Typeahead Search.
Configure applicable limits or behaviours.
Save the changes.
Republish the Store.

Expected outcome: Customers see live suggestions while typing in the search bar.

Configuring Hydrated Search

Hydrated Search behaviour is controlled through the Typeahead Settings sections.

Available Hydrated Sections

My Searches

Displays recent searches for logged-in customers
Not visible for guest users

Popular Categories

Derived from popular products

Popular Brands

Derived from popular products

Storefront Behaviour

When the Search Bar Is Clicked (No Input)

The hydrated search panel opens if enabled
Configured sections are displayed
Result counts follow Admin settings

When a Customer Types a Search Term

Typeahead results are displayed
Product results may exceed 10
Categories, Brands, and Content are limited to 10 results
An All Products link redirects to the PLP

If CMS Search is disabled, content results do not appear.

Validation Rules and Limits

Result values must be between 1 and 10
Values greater than 10 are not allowed
A value of 0 is invalid
If all hydrated sections are disabled, the hydrated panel does not appear
Search results are filtered by the applicable catalogue

Notes and Best Practices

Configure All Stores settings first
Test changes in a non-production Store
Ensure catalogues are indexed after major updates
Review search activity regularly to refine results

Summary

Znode Search Suggestions combine Typeahead Search and Hydrated Search to deliver a fast, intuitive, and configurable search experience. Using both approaches together allows Administrators to improve product discovery, personalise the experience, and support higher conversions across Stores.