Search Template Overview

Before setting up your custom search template, make sure you have included the search field in your Page Template (click here to learn how).

Custom search templates allow you to control the appearance of search results pages in your store. Like a page template, a search template controls the page-wide settings, but other templates can affect the appearance of links and product listings. The search settings allow you to set an override search-results product and page link template to keep a consistent look on your search pages. When designing a search template, it may be a good idea to design an accompanying Page template with a Link To Page definition, and a Product template, to be used in conjunction with your Search template.

The search page, like regular pages within ShopSite, has a name field, text fields, a graphic field, and so on. You would add the tags for these fields in your search template the same way you add the tags for these fields in your page template. You can refer to the following page template examples for instructions on how to add many search fields onto the search result pages.

• Page Name
• Page Header and Footer
• Page Graphic
• Page Text Fields

At the very beginning of your search template you need to add the tag [-- DEFINE SEARCH_RESULTS --], and at the very end of your search template you would need to include the tag [-- END_DEFINE SEARCH_RESULTS --].

For the rest of the search results page, including the page and product results and the advanced search field, you can continue on to the next few pages.