Fixing Shopify Search Results: Show 'Em What They Really Want

Picture this: It's a late night, you're sipping on a cup of hot cocoa, and you decide to dive into your favorite e-commerce site because a new set of coaster graphics you designed got you buzzing. You type 'coaster' into that search bar, and when the results roll in - instead of that gratifying vibe you were hunting for - you're hit with some confusion about exactly how many results you're getting. Sounds familiar, right? Maybe not, but stay with me.

It turns out there's a pretty common hurdle lurking in Shopify's search, especially if you've customized it to filter out specific tags like 'press' or dynamically adjust visibility based on user tags like 'wholesaler'. In our scenario, whether you're the proud owner or the savvy developer, understanding how to hack the search.liquid so it accurately counts results can be a game-changer.

Diagnose the Problem

To feel most like tech detectives, we need to understand what's going haywire. The issue here is with the search page displaying the number of results per page as the total count – um, ouch! This funky behavior is influenced by our smart tweaks that filter out certain tags.

We've got this snippet where products with 'press' tags, or 'wholesale' tags not meant for the tag-less commoners (unless you're a 'wholesaler') are being excluded:

{%- assign visible_results = 0 -%}
{%- for result in search.results -%}
  {%- if result.object_type == 'product' -%}
    {%- if result.tags contains 'press' -%}
      {% continue %}
    {%- endif -%}
    {%- if result.tags contains 'wholesale' or result.title contains 'Wholesale' -%}
      {%- unless customer and customer.tags contains 'wholesaler' -%}
        {% continue %}
      {%- endunless -%}
    {%- endif -%}
  {%- endif -%}
  {%- assign visible_results = visible_results | plus: 1 -%}
{%- endfor -%}

The solution? To implement a process that ensures our custom logic also updates the total count correctly.

Let's Get Crafty

Alright, it's fixing time! You're going to get your hands dirty within that search.liquid file. Here’s the step-by-step to right the wrongs:

Step 1: Understanding Context

Before jumping to fixes, ensure you grokked the existing logic. The code is filtering 'press' tagged products and 'wholesale' products conditionally. We're essentially double-checking - are you 'wholesaler' tagged or not?

Step 2: Update Result Count

Inside the same loop where you're filtering out those unwanted products, we'll tally up results to reflect the count that a user should actually see based on those conditions.

Step 3: Refresh the Header Logic

In the <header> chunk of your template file, where it's displaying results count, make sure it echoes our corrected number visible_results:

{%- if visible_results > 0 -%}
  {{- 'search.general.results_with_terms_count' | t: count: visible_results, terms: filtered_terms -}}
{%- else -%}
  {{ 'search.general.no_results' | t: terms: filtered_terms }}
{%- endif -%}

Magic happens when the numbers match.

Step 4: User Testing

Know that feeling when you solve a Rubik’s cube? Hit refresh on your store, throw in some terms, and see if the count plays ball. Test search with and without 'wholesaler' tag – it's gotta work like a charm for everyone!

Step 5: Celebrate, But Stay Vigilant

Now that you're the master of results counting, keep a wary eye on future Shopify updates or further theme customization that might sneak in incompatibility gremlins.

In the grand scheme of things, this classic 'count conundrum' leaves us with a crucial lesson: E-commerce logic needs as much love and attention as our product catalogs. The better we get at fine-tuning search mechanics, the smoother the shopping experience our customers will enjoy – bringing us that fuzzy cocoa-warmed feeling of success.

So when future you is sipping that theoretical hot cocoa once more, it'll be in peaceful joy knowing your search is fully functional and not leaving any mugs or coasters – virtual or real – behind!

Happy coding, friends! ☕