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Search Keyword Highlighter icon
Actively maintained Tested with WP 7.1 #58 in Highlight

Search Keyword Highlighter

Highlights searched keywords in search results to improve search visibility.

Active installs10+10+ tier
Downloads · 30d71▼ -6.6% vs prev. 30d
Rating—0 reviews
Health score62/100Good
All-time downloads677Since Jul 2025
Support resolved—No recent threads
RequiresWP 5.6PHP 7.4+
Downloads · 7d15▲ +36.4% week over week
Our verdict

Solid choice

Search Keyword Highlighter is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 1 month ago, and scores 62/100 on our health check.

  • Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
  • Small user base (10+ active installs)
  • Very few reviews so far

How does it stack up?

Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support

Daily downloads

71421Jul 5Aug 18Oct 2
Yesterday3
Daily average (1y)2
Peak day29Aug 2, 2026
Last 12 months566

Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.

Rankings

Where Search Keyword Highlighter stands today

WordPress.org search rankings

Live position in the plugin search, top 100
KeywordPositionCompeting pluginsCategory
Highlight >100 3,023 Best Highlight plugins →
keyword >100 3,291 Best keyword plugins →
search >100 10,000 Best search plugins →
search improvement >100 5,376 Best search improvement plugins →
search results >100 6,867 Best search results plugins →

Version adoption

Share of active sites per release.

  • 1.1100.0%

About Search Keyword Highlighter

From the official readme · v1.1

Description

Search Keyword Highlighter is a lightweight WordPress plugin that automatically highlights search terms on search results pages.

Features:
– Highlights the keywords entered in the search box.
– Supports titles, excerpts, and content.
– Customizable highlight color.
– Option to enable or disable highlighting.
– Simple settings page, accessible directly from the dashboard.

Installation

  1. Upload the plugin files to the /wp-content/plugins/search-keyword-highlighter directory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
  2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress.
  3. Go to Dashboard > Search Keyword Highlighter to configure settings.

Frequently asked questions

Is this plugin compatible with all themes?

No, this plugin is not compatible with all themes. If your theme already includes a built-in mechanism for highlighting search keywords, this plugin may not override those styles. It is compatible with themes that use the following standard WordPress functions to display search results: the_title() get_the_title() the_excerpt() the_content() If your theme uses custom functions to output search content, this plugin may not work as expected.

Can I change the highlight color?

Color options are available. You can select the highlight color from the plugin’s settings page. The following highlight colors are available: Yellow Light Green Orange Light Blue Pink Purple Gray

Can I disable the keyword highlighting?

Yes, there’s an option to enable or disable the feature from the settings page.

Changelog

1.1

  • Added five new highlight color options: Orange, Light Blue, Pink, Purple, and Gray.

1.0

  • Initial release.

Full changelog on WordPress.org →

Screenshots

Settings page display
Settings page display

For developers

Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.

Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.

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Best Search Keyword Highlighter alternatives

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FAQ

Search Keyword Highlighter: quick answers

Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.

Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 3, 2026

Is Search Keyword Highlighter free?

Yes. Search Keyword Highlighter is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.

Is Search Keyword Highlighter safe to use in 2026?

Search Keyword Highlighter is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 1 month ago, and scores 62/100 on our health check.

How many websites use Search Keyword Highlighter?

Search Keyword Highlighter is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 677 times since it launched in July 2025. It was downloaded 71 times in the last 30 days.

Does Search Keyword Highlighter work with WordPress 7.1?

Yes. The developer has tested Search Keyword Highlighter up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 5.6 or newer.

What PHP version does Search Keyword Highlighter need?

Search Keyword Highlighter requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.

When was Search Keyword Highlighter last updated?

The latest version, 1.1, was released on August 25, 2026 (1 month ago).

Who makes Search Keyword Highlighter?

Search Keyword Highlighter is developed and maintained by samiur6688.

What are the best alternatives to Search Keyword Highlighter?

The most popular alternatives to Search Keyword Highlighter are String locator (100K+ installs), Highlighting Code Block (10K+ installs) and Highlight Search Terms (6K+ installs).

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