Learn the complete onboarding workflow for Site Search. Site Search helps you add powerful, customizable search functionality to your website without managing search infrastructure yourself.
Whether you're migrating from another search platform or building search for the first time, this workflow takes you from initial setup to a fully functional search experience on your website.
The Site Search onboarding process consists of four main steps. Each step builds on the previous one.
| Step | Task | What you'll accomplish |
| Setup | Create your first search app | Set up the container that will hold your data and search configurations |
| Step 1 | Ingest your data | Get your content into Site Search using connectors, a crawler, or the Ingest API |
| Step 2 | Configure the search experience | Set up how results appear, including ranking, filters, and other search features |
| Step 3 | Add search to your website | Implement a search UI using the Hosted Search Experience, UI Kits in popular JS frameworks, or custom APIs |
You'll need a Search App before you can add data. You'll also need configured search settings before implementing your UI.
Step 1: Ingest Your Data
Before users can search your content, you need to get that content into Site Search. Site Search offers three main methods:
- CMS/DXP connectors for Sitecore or Drupal sites (including Acquia sites)
- Web crawlers for public websites
- The Search API for custom applications
Your choice depends on your content source and technical setup. After ingestion, use the search preview tool to verify your content is indexed correctly.
Step 2: Configure the Search Experience
With your data indexed, you can now configure how Site Search returns and displays results. You'll complete three main tasks:
- Configure the results display (which fields appear in search results)
- Add search navigation (filters, facets, and sorting options)
- Tune relevance (boost important content and improve search accuracy)
Test all changes using the Preview tool in Site Search before publishing them to your live search.
Step 3: Add Search to Your Website
This step brings search to your users by implementing the search interface on your website. Site Search offers three approaches:
- Hosted Search Experience: Fastest implementation with copy-and-paste code
- UI Kits: JavaScript components for frameworks like React and Angular
- Search APIs: Complete customization with REST APIs
You can start with Hosted Search or UI kits and migrate to more customized approaches later.
Step 4: Launch and Troubleshoot
Before going live, verify that everything works as expected. Confirm your data is indexed correctly. Test your search configurations. Make sure your UI implementation functions properly across different browsers and devices.
Site Search provides troubleshooting guides for common issues you might encounter during setup. These cover everything from data ingestion problems to UI integration challenges.
The platform also includes analytics and monitoring tools. These help you understand how users interact with search and identify areas for improvement after launch.
What's Next
You're ready to begin your Site Search implementation! Start by creating your first search app, which will serve as the foundation for everything that follows.
After completing onboarding, if you need to replicate this configuration to other Apps or environments, see Copying a Search App.