Search product by title and short description

By default, the Phone Orders product search looks only at the product name. If a customer vaguely remembers a product’s short description but not its title, your agent cannot find it. This guide provides a code snippet that expands the search to also match terms inside the product’s short description. The search becomes more flexible, helping agents locate items faster during a live call.

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The Complete Code Snippet

Copy and paste the following PHP code into your child theme’s functions.php file or via the Code Snippets plugin.

What the Code Does

The code works by extending WooCommerce’s main product query. It does not create a second, independent search. Instead, it adds an extra condition to the existing database query.

Element	Explanation
add_filter( "wpo_custom_product_search", ... )	Hooks into Phone Orders’ custom product search filter. The plugin calls this filter when an agent types a search term.
return false	Tells the plugin to continue using its default search logic. We are not replacing the search; we are extending it.
add_filter( "posts_where", ... )	Adds a filter to the main WooCommerce product query. This filter modifies the WHERE clause of the SQL statement that retrieves products.
foreach ( $query->query_vars['search_terms'] as $term )	Loops through each word the agent typed. The plugin has already split the search string into separate terms.
$wpdb->esc_like( $term )	Escapes any special SQL characters in the search term (e.g., %, _). This prevents SQL injection and ensures the term is treated as a literal string.
CONCAT({$wpdb->posts}.post_title,{$wpdb->posts}.post_excerpt) LIKE '$like'	Creates a condition that checks whether the search term appears anywhere inside the concatenated string of the product title and its short description.
$custom_where = join( " AND ", $custom_conditions );	Joins multiple conditions with AND. If the agent typed three words, the product must match all three in its title or short description.
return $where . " OR " . $custom_where;	Appends the new condition to the existing WHEREclause. The search now returns products that match the original conditions (title only) or the new condition (title + short description).

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Step‑by‑Step Implementation

Step 1: Choose where to add the code

• Option A (Recommended): Use the free Code Snippets plugin. Install it from Plugins → Add Newby searching for “Code Snippets”. This method is safe and allows you to activate or deactivate the snippet without touching your theme files.
• Option B: Add the code to your child theme’s functions.php file. Navigate to Appearance → Theme File Editor, open functions.php, paste the code at the bottom, and save. Never add custom code directly to a parent theme.

Step 2: Insert the snippet

• If using Code Snippets:

Step 3: Test the functionality

1. Open a phone order (WooCommerce → Phone Orders).
2. In the product search field, type a word that appears only in a product’s short description, not in its title.
3. The product should now appear in the search results.

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Customisation Options

You can easily adapt the code to search additional fields.

Include the full product description – Replace post_excerpt (short description) with post_content (long description).CONCAT({$wpdb->posts}.post_title,{$wpdb->posts}.post_content)

Search only the short description (exclude title) – Remove post_title from the CONCATfunction.{$wpdb->posts}.post_excerpt

Search with OR logic (any term, not all terms) – Replace " AND " with " OR " in the joinfunction.$custom_where = join( " OR ", $custom_conditions );

Add more fields (e.g., SKU) – Include additional columns in the CONCAT function.CONCAT({$wpdb->posts}.post_title,{$wpdb->posts}.post_excerpt,{$wpdb->postmeta}.meta_value)You would also need to join the postmeta table, which is more complex. Contact our support team for assistance.