RDP Google Custom Search
RDP Google Custom Search lets you use Google's Custom Search Engine (CSE) API to add targeted search capability to your site.
Consider an alternative
RDP Google Custom Search shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 30/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 9 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.6 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where RDP Google Custom Search stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| google custom search | >100 |
| google custom search engine | >100 |
| google search | >100 |
| multiple site search | >100 |
| search results | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
About RDP Google Custom Search
From the official readme · v1.0.0Description
ATTN: This plugin only works with the PAID version of Google Custom Search.
With RDP Google Custom Search, you can target your site’s contents, or other site’s contents. You can add multiple CSEs and allow your visitor to choose one.
RDP Google Custom Search uses a simple shortcode so that a search box can be placed anywhere.
You can put a multi-CSE search box in the main content of your page, and then put another search box in the sidebar that is dedicated to only one CSE, such as your site.
Each search box also provides a Page selector, which will search the current page and highlight matching text.
The results are displayed using a special template that replaces the content of the current page/post and that can be styled as desired. The default width of the results content is 980px. The built-in rendering function marks up the results to use Google styling HTML and class names.
This plugin can be used with the RDP Wiki Embed plugin, which allows you to have the links in the search results that point to MediaWiki sites to postback and display content on your own web site.
Usage
RDP Google Custom Search is implemented using the shortcode [rdp-gcs]. It accepts the following arguments:
- id: (required) comma separated list of id numbers, indicating the CSEs to use
- default: when more than one CSE is selected, this indicates the CSE to use by default
Examples:
[rdp-gcs id=’3′]
[rdp-gcs id=’1,3′ default=’1′]
External Scripts Included
- jQuery.PositionCalculator v1.1.2 under MIT License
- jQuery Highlight under MIT License
PHP Hook Reference:
rdp_gcs_render_search_results_applied
- Params: none
- Fires after the default render function is added to the filters array.
rdp_gcs_styles_enqueued
- Params: none
- Fires after plugin-specific styles are enqueued
rdp_gcs_scripts_enqueued
- Params: none
- Fires after plugin-specific scripts are enqueued
PHP Filter Reference:
rdp_gcs_before_search_box
- Param: empty string
- Fires before the rendering of the search box within the results template
- Return: any text/HTML/script to be rendered before the search box
rdp_gcs_after_search_box
- Param: empty string
- Fires after the rendering of the search box within the results template
- Return: any text/HTML/script to be rendered after the search box
rdp_gcs_before_search_results
- Param: empty string
- Fires before the rendering of the search results within the results template
- Return: any text/HTML/script to be rendered before the search results
rdp_gcs_render_search_results
- Param 1: JSON object containing Google API search results or NULL if an error occurred during the API call
- Param 2: string containing the last error message set during the search request or empty string if no error occurred
- This filter is required for hooking into a function that will render the search results. For a custom rendering function, be sure to remove this filter during the rdp_gcs_render_search_results_applied hook, and then re-set this filter to use your custom rendering function
rdp_gcs_after_search_results
- Param: empty string
- Fires after the rendering of the search results within the results template
- Return: any text/HTML/script to be rendered after the search results
Installation
- Upload
rdp-google-custom-searchfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Go to ‘RDP GCS’ -> ‘Add New Google CSE’
- Fill in the form with a Name, a Menu Title, and the JSON URL to the Google CSE
- Click the ‘Save Changes’ button
- Continue to add any other Google CSEs, by following steps 4 & 5 above
Extra
To make everything pretty, add a rdp-gcs.custom.css file to your theme’s folder. Start with the rdp-gcs.custom-sample.css file located in the ‘pl/style/’ folder.
Changelog
0.1.4
- REFACTOR: modified Position Calculator script
- REFACTOR: changed add_object_page to add_menu_page
0.1.3
- REFACTOR: removed unused admin-side script file reference
0.1.2
- REFACTOR: fixed downward pointing triangle changing to entity values after picklist switch
- REFACTOR: fixed code to handle search terms containing quotation marks and apostrophes, after postback
0.1.1
- REFACTOR: added downward pointing triangle to CSE search scope button
0.1.0
- Initial RC
Screenshots
For developers
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Best RDP Google Custom Search alternatives
All google custom search plugins →FAQ
RDP Google Custom Search: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 6, 2026
Is RDP Google Custom Search free?
Yes. RDP Google Custom Search is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is RDP Google Custom Search safe to use in 2026?
RDP Google Custom Search shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 30/100 on our health check.
How many websites use RDP Google Custom Search?
RDP Google Custom Search is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 2,620 times since it launched in February 2015. It was downloaded 50 times in the last 30 days.
Does RDP Google Custom Search work with WordPress 7.1?
RDP Google Custom Search is officially tested up to WordPress 4.6.30, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was RDP Google Custom Search last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.0, was released on November 30, 2016 (10 years ago).
Who makes RDP Google Custom Search?
RDP Google Custom Search is developed and maintained by Robert D Payne.
What are the best alternatives to RDP Google Custom Search?
The most popular alternatives to RDP Google Custom Search are WP Google Search (5K+ installs) and Server-Side Google Search (10+ installs).
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