Types of Searches in the Store Locator

Agile Store Locator offers a diverse range of search options to help users find stores with ease. Whether it’s searching by address, defining custom boundaries, exploring database attributes, or searching by store names, the plugin provides versatile search capabilities. Users can fine-tune their search using intuitive controls such as sliders, dropdowns, and targeted criteria, ensuring accurate and personalized results for their specific needs, all the settings are provided in the ASL Settings.

Search By Address (Google Place API): #

This is the most basic search option in the plugin. Users can enter a location and specify a radius within which they want to find stores. The plugin uses the Google Place API to geocode the entered address and retrieve a list of stores that fall within the specified radius, to troubleshoot this search follow this guide about how to fix your Google API Store Locator search.

Only this search offers the distance controls, the rest of the options below don’t have distance controls, as they don’t have destination coordinates.

Search Stores in the Database: #

This search option allows users to search for stores based on database addresses. The plugin considers various attributes such as postal codes, cities, and states stored in the database. When someone performs a search, only the listed values in the database will be considered, ensuring that only relevant stores are displayed.

Since version 4.10+ we have provided a shortcode attribute in the “Search by Stores Cities, States (Database)” to include the store titles as well, to include them you need to add the shortcode attribute.

[ASL_STORELOCATOR search_title="1"]

Excluding Cities, States, and Postal Codes from Search #

Since version 4.10.15, Agile Store Locator provides the ability to exclude certain types of locations from the search results. This feature can be useful if you want to limit the search to specific types of locations or if you want to exclude certain areas from being searchable.

Configuration Options #

You can configure the following options in the shortcode to exclude cities, states, and postal codes from the search results:

1. Exclude Cities: Set db_search_exclude_cities to 1 to exclude cities from the search results.
2. Exclude States: Set db_search_exclude_states to 1 to exclude states from the search results.
3. Exclude Postal Codes: Set db_search_exclude_postal to 1 to exclude postal codes from the search results.

Example Shortcodes #

Here are examples of how these options can be used in the shortcode:

[ASL_STORELOCATOR db_search_exclude_cities="1"]

Additional Search for Multiple Values for Each Store: #

This advanced search feature is an extension of the “Search Stores in Database” functionality, offering even greater flexibility and customization. With this feature, users can define additional search criteria for each store by specifying a range of postal codes. When users perform a search within a specific postal code range, the plugin will only display stores that fall within that range, for more details on it please check the guide document about the additional search attributes for stores.

How to limit the number of results to appear? #

In order to change the number of results that appear using a Database search, you can use the following shortcode and define your own limits.

[ASL_STORELOCATOR search_name_limit="10"]

Search by Boundary Box: #

With this search option, users can search for stores within a specific boundary box rather than a radius. For example, if someone searches for a city like “Jonesboro,” the plugin will display all the stores located within that city’s boundaries. The search is not limited to a radius but is based on the defined geographical boundaries.

If you have specific search requirements that go beyond the available features, we also offer customization services. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your unique needs and explore how we can assist you in creating a tailored solution.