Better Search v3.3: A Major Release with Code Rewrite, New Dashboard, and More

Date: 03 April 2025

Hi Reader 👋,

Last week I released the latest update to Better Search, my awesome, free WordPress search plugin. Version 3.3 brings a few major changes to Better Search that makes it even better (had to get that in there).

As I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, I have been rewriting my plugins to use object-oriented programming techniques. Better Search went through a similar rewrite over the past few months. I’ve rewritten and moved huge portions of code - GitHub tells me over 10k additions and 7.5k deletions.

Additionally, I’ve run this code through PHPStan - which is a new standard of static PHP code analysis I’ve adopted over the past year. What you get is cleaner, better tested, safer and more extendable code.

The new Dashboard

One feature that I enjoyed building in was the new dashboard that shows you the number of searches on your site by day as well as the most popular searches for the day, yesterday, etc. If you also use Top 10 on your site, then this dashboard will look very familiar to you.

You still have the familiar popular searches tables.

Restructuring the database tables

In version 3.3, I changed the mySQL queries that records the number of searches reducing them to two vs four previously. This means this version has a slightly lighter footprint. However, while working on this, I realised that the table structure wasn’t optimum. Version 3.3 includes a manual wizard that allows you to upgrade your database tables. This manual process has been intentionally been done to ensure that you’re in control of the upgrade process. I recommend backing up your database before proceeding with the upgrade.

​

Read: Better Search v3.3 release post

A Pro version in 2024

Better Search has been a free WordPress search plugin since its early days. This free version remains powerful, efficient (with it’s own caching system) and easy to use. In 2024, I plan on releasing Better Search Pro which will bring more features and customisations. I haven’t got a timeframe yet as I plan to first release pro versions of Contextual Related Posts and Top 10 over the next several months.

I hope you’ll be interested in these. I’ll post updated information in this newsletter, including discount codes for early adopters.

Do you like this newsletter? If you’re already a subscriber, then please forward this to your friends who can hit the big orange button below to subscribe and read past issues. If you’re not, then the orange button is for you! ​ Read past issues and subscribe