TYPO3 KeSearch
TYPO3 is a content management system (CMS) that allows users to create and manage content for their website. One of the most important features that TYPO3 offers is the ability to implement a search function that makes it easier for website visitors to search for specific content.
TYPO3 comes with the so-called "Indexed Search" out of the box. As the name suggests, an index is created from the website content for the search function. However, modern web applications increasingly demand more than this index-based full-text search can offer.
For years, we have therefore been using one of the best-known search applications "KeSearch" for TYPO3 with its extensive functions. Here, too, an index is generated, but in contrast to "Indexed Search", this is additionally enriched with keywords, the so-called facets. KeSearch is easy to install and configure and offers many advanced features. For example, KeSearch can be used to increase the relevance of search results by weighting and filtering certain criteria. Synonyms can also be added to ensure that visitors always get the results they want.
KeSearch search works with so-called facets to improve the search experience. Facets means that visitors can gradually narrow down their search results by using filters. By using facets, it is also possible to create applications that do not directly correspond to the character of a full-text search: Good examples would be a publication directory for institutions, the product filter of a corporate website, or a study advisor for universities.
"KeSearch" does not use front-end crawling, but extracts the content elements and data records directly from the database. This approach has the advantage that content is stored only once in the index, even if it appears on multiple pages of the website. For each type of content (pages, news, files ...) a dedicated indexer must be available. Standard content is supported directly, for special cases custom indexers can be programmed.
Features & benefits
- ready to use for standard content and important extensions
- high speed
- faceted search
- individual customizability
- very easy setup
- many entry points (hooks) for individual modifications
- full control over the index
- easy integration of own indexers
- comprehensive documentation
- downloaded over 50.000 times in the TYPO3 Extension Repository (TER)
Features of the Premium Version
- Perimeter search and map display Search results can be geocoded anddisplayed based on the distance to a postal code or a city.
- Sphinx - the performance boost With the help of the search technology Sphinx(Sphinx | Open Source Search Engine ), which is based on MySQL, you can search your content even faster.
- Autocompletion With the help of autocompletion, users get matching words suggested already while entering a search term.
- "Did you mean?" function With the help of the OpenThesaurus database (German language only), similar words are determined and suggested to the user in case of a search entry that did not result in a hit. This way, typing errors can be detected.
- Synonyms Synonyms for search terms can be entered in the TYPO3 backend. If a synonym term is searched for, the original term is searched for at the same time and vice versa. This procedure is helpful if a website frequently uses technical terms, but users are more likely to search for a colloquial expression, or vice versa.
- Remote-Indexer With the so called Remote-Indexer it is possible to transfer search results from one TYPO3 instance to another. This makes it possible to search multiple TYPO3 websites with one search form.
- Custom Rank ing With the "Custom Ranking" feature, custom values for sorting can be assigned for pages and per indexer. This makes it possible to sort specific entries to the top (or also to the bottom) of the result list.
- Keyword Boost This feature makes it possible to use keywords for pages or news entries in order to then weight these results higher in the results list. If a user searches for a keyword that has been assigned as a keyword, the corresponding result is displayed higher up in the results list.
- Headless With the headless feature, the output of the search can be in JSON format. Use cases include an AJAX-based search or a headless application.
- In-Word Search In-word search can be used to find terms that are within another word. For example, you can search for "tires" and find content that includes the word "car tires".
TYPO3 News extension
Besides KeSearch, the News extension for TYPO3 is also very useful. The News extension is a special feature within TYPO3 that allows website administrators to quickly and easily publish new articles and news on the website. Different categories and subcategories can be created and articles can be sorted by date to ensure that navigation and search for relevant information is easier for readers and visitors are always up to date.
With the News extension, images, videos and documents can also be embedded directly into articles to make the content more visually appealing. Readers can also leave comments on articles to provide feedback or start discussions.
If you run a website and want to share news and updates regularly, TYPO3's News extension is a useful tool to do this effectively and easily.
KeSearch & News extension TYPO3
When you use KeSearch and News together, you can create a truly comprehensive search function on your website. Your visitors can search for content across the entire site and filter specifically for news articles. This makes it easy to find relevant information and makes your website even more user-friendly.
Overall, TYPO3 offers a variety of useful features that allow users to easily create and manage their websites. If you need a search function on your website, KeSearch is a great option, if you also want to publish news articles, the News extension is a great addition.
The aforementioned publication directory will serve as an example for a search application:
Publications can ideally be mapped as a TYPO3 data set that contains all properties of a publication. Among others, these could be the following properties:
- Title
- Tear-off / Introduction
- Description
- Categories
- Publication dates
- Authors
- Bibliography
- related files
- parent study
Whenever structured data is needed, the question of how to implement it quickly arises. Often the requirements are very individual and quickly the development of an own Extbase extension is brought into play.
A quick look at the above characteristics quickly reveals an alternative: What are the actual characteristics of a publication? Is it not simply an article? And if it is an article, couldn't a publication simply be a kind of news?
This consideration led to the default extension "News". The Versatile News System rightly deserves its name, as it can be used to implement all kinds of article records. News, events and blog entries have common intersections in their characteristics and functional requirements. The same applies to course offers or publications.
Not all features of the mentioned types are directly available in the news system. If adaptations are required, a so-called single-purpose extension is created just for this purpose. The well thought-out structure of the "News" offers an easy extensibility, which is implemented via the individual extension. Creation of a new news type "Publication" next to the actual "News" is thus quasi system-conform realizable. The news system remains updateable and will not be changed itself.
KeSearch already has a so-called indexer for news records. In order for visitors to have full access to the publications, additional filter features, the facets, are needed.
For this purpose, too, a single-purpose extension is designed that adds the desired facets to the news indexer:
- Publication year derived from the publication dates of the publication.
- Authors
- Literature references
- parent study
If the additional properties of the publication are known to KeSearch and stored in the index, the actual application or the filtering options for the visitors can be implemented.
Depending on the use case, powerful filters/pages can be created to provide visitors with efficient access to essential offers of the website.
Beispiele:
- IFM Bonn, Alle Veröffentlichungen
- Erweiterung des News-Systems für "Studien", die wiederum verschiedene "Publikationen" und Ansprechpartner beinhalten
- Einsatz der KeSearch für die Listendarstellung der Studien und Publikationen samt Filtermöglichkeiten
- Vordefinierte Unterseiten nach Themen, wiederum mit der KeSearch nur für diesen Bereich
- Alzheimer Stiftung, Demenz-Partner, Kostenlose Demenz-Kurse in Ihrer Nähe und Demenz-Kurse – Veranstalter in Ihrer Nähe
- Erweiterung des News-Systems für Demenz-Kurse, die von Veranstaltern direkt über den internen Bereich angelegt werden können
- Filterung der Kurse "on the fly" nach verschiedenen Merkmalen
- Erweiterung des KeSearch für die Veranstaltersuche, d.h. Nutzung der TYPO3 Frontend User
- DIHK Veranstaltungen Erfolgsfaktor Familie, Suche
- Erweiterung des News-Systems als ein- und mehrtägiges Veranstaltungssystem samt Platzreservierung und Dokumentation
- Filterung der Veranstaltungen "on the fly" nach verschiedenen Merkmalen
We are happy to support you in making your online presence competitive and future-oriented:
- How does your website compare to your strongest competitors? We would be happy to conduct a free TYPO3 upgrade check for you and define a success-oriented target alignment together with you.
- In this context, we will advise you with our extensive know-how on the topics of user experience and user guidance on your website and help you to deliver an optimal experience to your customers.
- Our experienced web developers will be happy to implement your individual wishes - be it the development of extensions, responsive websites, apps orinterface connections.
- Need a new website? No problem. Together we will find the right content management system for you and start from scratch.
- Our support team is always available for technical and editorial support as well as regular training.
For a successful and comprehensive online strategy, we are also happy to advise you on the following topics:
Oliver Parrizas will be happy to answer any questions you may have on the subject. 
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