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How to use posts_search_orderby filter in WordPress

Sandeep Kumar Mishra
Sandeep Kumar Mishra
July 4, 2023
5 minutes read

Alright, let’s talk about the posts_search_orderby filter. This filter lets you tweak the ORDER BY clause when you’re ordering search results in WordPress. It’s a handy tool for developers who want to customize how search results are displayed. To get started with the posts_search_orderby filter, you’ll need to register it using add_filter. You can add this code to the functions.php file of your active theme or, better yet, a custom WordPress Plugin. At WePlugins, we always recommend using a custom plugin so your modifications remain intact even after theme updates.

Sometimes, you might need to remove a registered hook, and for that, remove_filter comes in handy.

Parameters

Below are the 2 parameters required to use this hook.

  • $search_orderby: (string) The ORDER BY clause.
  • $query: (WP_Query) The current WP_Query instance.

Live Example 1: Basic Hook Application

This example demonstrates a basic application of the posts_search_orderby hook.

    function weplugins_modify_posts_search_orderby_defaults($search_orderby, $query) { 
        // Update the $search_orderby variable according to your website requirements and return this variable.
        return $search_orderby; 
    }
    // add the filter
    add_filter("posts_search_orderby", "weplugins_modify_posts_search_orderby_defaults", 10, 2);
    

Live Example 2: Conditional Modifications

Here, we can see how to modify the ORDER BY clause conditionally.

    function weplugins_custom_search_orderby($search_orderby, $query) {
        if ($query->is_search() && !is_admin()) {
            // Custom logic for search queries
            $search_orderby = 'post_date DESC';
        }
        return $search_orderby;
    }
    add_filter("posts_search_orderby", "weplugins_custom_search_orderby", 10, 2);
    

Live Example 3: Removing a Hook

If you need to remove a previously registered hook, you can use the following approach.

    remove_filter("posts_search_orderby", "weplugins_modify_posts_search_orderby_defaults", 10, 2);
    

Ensure you provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments when removing the hook callback.

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Contact Us

If you need any customization or run into issues using this hook, feel free to Contact Us. We’re here to help!

Sandeep Kumar Mishra

Sandeep Kumar Mishra

Sandeep Kumar Mishra writes about WordPress and Artificial Intelligence, offering tips and guides to help you master your website and stay updated with the latest tech trends.

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