Why the Right Search Module Matters for PrestaShop Stores
Search is one of the strongest indicators of purchase intent. Research shows:
Shoppers who use on‑site search convert significantly higher than those who don’t.
Poor search experiences can push bounce rates very high, especially on mobile.
Advanced search tools have been linked to large increases in conversion or basket size.
PrestaShop’s default search lacks the deeper capabilities — intent understanding, merchandising, analytics — that help merchants improve discovery and conversion.
What to Look For: Key Features (and Why)
Instant & Predictive Search Autocomplete suggestions, real‑time updates, and instant results reduce friction and keep users engaged.
Typos, Synonyms & Intent Recognition Strong search tools understand misspellings, related terms, and user intent beyond literal keyword matching.
Advanced Filtering & Faceted Navigation For large catalogues, filters for size, colour, brand, availability, and price are essential to narrowing results quickly.
Merchandising Controls Search should support business goals, allowing you to promote seasonal items, highlight profitable SKUs, and hide out‑of‑stock products.
Analytics & Zero‑Result Tracking Understanding which terms fail, which convert, and how shoppers interact with search results enables continuous optimisation.
Performance & Theme Compatibility Search must be fast, mobile‑optimised, compatible with your PrestaShop theme, and able to scale with traffic.
Easy Integration & Support The best tools are easy to install, configure, and maintain — even for non‑technical teams.
How to Implement Clerk.io Search on PrestaShop
- Download and install the official Clerk.io PrestaShop module via Modules and Services in your PrestaShop backend.
- In the module settings, enter your Public Key and Private Key from your Clerk.io account.
- Go to your Clerk.io dashboard → Data → Configuration: add your store URL, select platform “PrestaShop”, select language, and click Start Sync.
- Configure real‑time updates and data types to sync (products, customers, orders, categories, pages).
- In Clerk.io dashboard: configure Instant Search Dropdown, configure Search Results Page with facets/filters, enable merchandising rules (boost/pin/bury), set synonyms, typo tolerance, and ensure indexing is live.
- Ensure your PrestaShop theme’s search input is configured to use Clerk’s search module and scripts.
- For multi‑store or multiple languages: create separate “Store” entries in Clerk.io and synchronise each language/domain.
- Monitor analytics: track zero‑result rate, search‑to‑order conversion, and filter usage. Use insights to refine synonyms, merchandising, and search placement.
