Spotlight Search – Search Assistant Plugin for WordPress
Spotlight-Search is a WordPress Search plugin, inspired from Spotlight from Apple computers. SPOTLIGHT-Search opens up the search bar, as soon as you type Ctrl + Shift + Space bar on your keyboard. For Mac type Command…
Consider an alternative
Spotlight Search shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. Is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 28/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (<10 active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 3 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.1 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Spotlight Search stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| ajax | >100 |
| assistant | >100 |
| helper | >100 |
| search | >100 |
| spotlight | >100 |
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
About Spotlight Search
From the official readme · v1.0.0Description
Spotlight-Search is a WordPress Search plugin, inspired from Spotlight from Apple computers. SPOTLIGHT-Search opens up the search bar, as soon as you type Ctrl + Shift + Space bar on your keyboard. For Mac type Command + Shift + Space bar You can input your keyword and it will start searching right away. The plugin is AJAX powered, that means you will see results without loading the page again.
Also, we have added an assistant at the right bottom corner of the webpage. Clicking the assistant icon will show up assistant.
Users will be able to search from the assistant search bar. The other option is to contact to the website admin or any other person whose email can be set from settings options.
🌟 Features
- Pop-up search box on typing
Ctrl + Shift + Space bar, for MACCommand + Shift + Space bar - AJAX powered popup search box
- Click bottom icon to open search results
- Built in AJAX bottom search bar
- Use plugin settings to set different post types
- Easy to use contact form
- Customize which post types to show results to
- Custom receiver email address
Installation
General Requirements
- PHP: 7.4 or newer
- WordPress: 5.0 or newer
Modern Way:
- Go to the WordPress Dashboard “Add New Plugin” section.
- Search For “Spotlight-Search”.
- Install, then Activate it.
Old Way:
- Upload
SPOTLIGHT-Searchto the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
PHP Notice
- The plugin doesn’t work with PHP 5.6 or older versions.
WordPress Notice
- The plugin should work with WordPress 4.4 to 4.9, but these versions are no longer used for testing, and they are no
longer supported.
Screenshots
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.
Best Spotlight Search alternatives
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FAQ
Spotlight Search: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 30, 2026
Is Spotlight Search free?
Yes. Spotlight Search is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Spotlight Search safe to use in 2026?
Spotlight Search shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. Is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 28/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Spotlight Search?
Spotlight Search is active on <10 WordPress websites and has been downloaded 1,218 times since it launched in November 2022. It was downloaded 67 times in the last 30 days.
Does Spotlight Search work with WordPress 7.1?
Spotlight Search is officially tested up to WordPress 6.1.14, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Spotlight Search need?
Spotlight Search requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Spotlight Search last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.0, was released on November 5, 2022 (4 years ago).
Who makes Spotlight Search?
Spotlight Search is developed and maintained by Md. Jwel Miah.
What are the best alternatives to Spotlight Search?
The most popular alternatives to Spotlight Search are zipaddr-jp (50K+ installs), SearchWP Live Ajax Search (50K+ installs) and WP-Polls (40K+ installs).
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