What Are People Using Other Than Searchanise On Cs4?

We found that the default “search” on CS4 is totally awful so we installed Searchanise on one of our sites and while it works okay, I am not impressed. The part I HATE the most is the link going to their website! I know they offer the SAS part for $9 a month, but I have never been a fan of all the different companies thinking I can pay a hundred different ones the $10-$50 a month and it has no effect on the bottom line. There are some things that the SAS part works great, search for my site is just not one of them! To me this is one of those simple things that should NOT rely on an outside website to search on my site. The bad part then is how bad the new search is! On CS2 we used the search feature from shippingkit.com but they have not updated their website in a year and they no longer respond to tickets (or at least they haven't for the past 2 months). So my guess is they have given up.



So I am wondering what search programs different people are using that do not require a monthly SAS fee? Likewise, if you know of any, what makes it better?

Just figure out that Searchanise will also slow down your site too.

Hello,



Searchanise team member here, I'd be happy to help you out with the Searchanise add-on.


[quote]There are some things that the SAS part works great, search for my site is just not one of them! To me this is one of those simple things that should NOT rely on an outside website to search on my site.[/quote]



By handling the search remotely, we can significantly lower the load on your server since all the processing happens outside your store server. Also, cloud-powered search is proved to be very fast and relevant. With that said, we believe that the SaaS model actually plays really well with e-commerce search.


[quote]The part I HATE the most is the link going to their website![/quote]



We are sorry that this link bothers you so much. We tried to keep it as subtle as possible by avoiding bright colors and using your store's native font.


[quote]I know they offer the SAS part for $9 a month, but I have never been a fan of all the different companies thinking I can pay a hundred different ones the $10-$50 a month and it has no effect on the bottom line.[/quote]



Searchanise's search and autocomplete service is totally free, so it's really up to you to decide whether you need the advanced features like Google Shopping integration or custom HTML content in the search widget.


[quote]The bad part then is how bad the new search is![/quote]



We are keen to improve our search. Could you please provide some examples of false or irrelevant search results? We will accurately review and try to resolve all the reported issues.


[quote]Just figure out that Searchanise will also slow down your site too.[/quote]



Searchanise should actually make your store work faster since it takes a lot of server load to the cloud. Page loading time should also not be affected by Searchanise because all its resources are loaded asynchronously.



Thanks!

On the standard search for CS-Cart (not Searchanise) I have a product called, “Green Double 6 Mini Dominoes” but if I just search “green dominoes” it will not work. With the auto suggest from shippingkit.com it worked perfect and I did not have to use or rely on a search from a 3rd party. Not to mention it did not slow down the page load from the get go.



Here is the report on the speed WITH Searchanise:

[attachment=7667:2014-02-07 09_54_32-Latest Performance Report for_ http_GTmetrix.jpg]



One items that is not optimized is a simple image from Searchanise:

[attachment=7669:image-not-optimized.jpg]



Here is the same report a few minutes later WITHOUT Searchanise turned on:

[attachment=7668:2014-02-07 09_58_03-Latest Performance Report GTmetrix without searchanise.jpg]



We've still got a ways to go on getting the site/server tweaked, but one thing is for sure, Searchanise is not helping when a customer first comes to the site.



On the topic of alternative search solutions that work has anyone tried the one found here:

Search results

I just found that one for CS4. I'm not for sure on any other ones. It seems strange to me that others can create these solutions for search that work so well on my server but for some reason CS-Cart wants to push me to use basically a 3rd party solution for search (and other things) that does not reside on my server.

2014-02-07 09_54_32-Latest Performance Report for_ http_GTmetrix.jpg

2014-02-07 09_58_03-Latest Performance Report GTmetrix without searchanise.jpg

image-not-optimized.jpg

Well, Searchanise didn't last long anyway. After this short time it already stopped working.

I am also disappointed with searchanise. Maybe they are just bugs, but still not a good first impression. The biggest issue is being able to search for multiple words in a title, such as clips' (OP) “green dominoes” example above, without resulting in every products that contain “green” & “dominoes” separately.



Searchanise used to work (sorta) before we upgraded to 4.1.2, but now even if I activate it and activate “instant search widget”, nothing works. even after having reinstalled it.



I would love to hear if there's an alternative.



In the meantime, I will try to contact someone on the searchanise team to look into my issue and see if anything can be done.

Do you remember the “Quick search” add-on which was in version 2.2.4 and then wad deprecated? Why did Cs-cart team removed it in version 3 and instead of it added Searchanise?

[quote name='tmv' timestamp='1393316246' post='178172']

Do you remember the “Quick search” add-on which was in version 2.2.4 and then wad deprecated? Why did Cs-cart team removed it in version 3 and instead of it added Searchanise?

[/quote]

They probably did it because they knew they were going to do away with the “free” version of Searchanise and they were again trying to force you to use their “paid” search.

Here is Dynamic Search addon from WebGraphiq for CS-Cart 2 and 3 versions…any use this before?

Since Searchanise is going to force a monthly payment if you want to use them then this one-time cost add-on might be a better solution.



[url=“Addon: Old Src - Third-Party Add-ons - CS-Cart Community Forums”]Addon: Old Src - Third-Party Add-ons - CS-Cart Community Forums

Webgraphic has some nice software, it is the callbacks they use to verify the software you are using is licensed that worries me. I know that protecting their software is important to them, but so is the fact that I want customers to be able to use our website. So I have been holding out for a better solution that doesn't require a call back. Too many times people have posted different things here on the forums about how callbacks to a developers website have stopped part of their site to stop working.

I have elasticsearch installed on my server which I use very very effectively with Xenforo forums…if anyone can advise how I could make use of that in CS-Cart v4.1.2 I would be extremely grateful…if so it sounds like it may be an option for others as well

[quote name=‘clips’ timestamp=‘1393344021’ post=‘178221’]

Webgraphic has some nice software, it is the callbacks they use to verify the software you are using is licensed that worries me. I know that protecting their software is important to them, but so is the fact that I want customers to be able to use our website. So I have been holding out for a better solution that doesn’t require a call back. Too many times people have posted different things here on the forums about how callbacks to a developers website have stopped part of their site to stop working.

[/quote]



The major part of developers (in this forum) are using callbacks, also CS-Cart. We never blocked sites, part of sites, etc…

If you do not intend to make tricks have nothing to worry…

Fortunately our add-ons are very popular and the number of our customers is increasing day by day. :)

ThomH, I understand that many of the developers use the call backs. Something that again I said I understand why. The problem is I have had issues with them myself, including some annoying ones from CS-Cart like the ones in their Searchanise. While the Searchanise does not appear to stop a website like it did when I first was using it, it does still slow down our website. That is the biggest part that I worry about with even more add ons that may not shut down our site, but they do slow down our site. Not just because of a call back, but how often that call back is made.



BTW, did you ever start accepting something other than Alertpay yet? That was all you took last time I tried to order. Because of that and some not so flattering post in the forum I have been somewhat nervous about ordering anything from you for a few years now. You offered for me to wire you money to buy a mod from you, but that only made me more nervous.

[quote name='clips' timestamp='1397259944' post='181588']

ThomH, I understand that …

[/quote]



Our add-ons are not slowing down the sites, if you experienced this with them let me know the add-on name and version.

We are sorry hearing that the accepted payment methods on our page made you nervous…

Is not clear for us why…there are only a few payment methods for EU with acceptable conditions.

Alertpay was changed back to Paypal long time ago.



You need to refresh your info…also on the other post which you made on the dynamic search topic.

You don't know anything about our conversation with that guy, his communication style, issue, etc…

so, please edit it or move to the webgraphiq reviews topic.

If you have real problems with our add-ons contact us on our webpage (see my signature) and our helpdesk will solve it,

if not, STOP blaming us, as you are doing this for years. Thank you.

I read the other post as well and got the impression that you were advertising your stuff but questions that had been put forward earlier had been ignored. Although you may have answered him it would have been nice to see a message in the post from you that you had answered him in a PM. Perception seems to be the problem.

I also saw another post that you had banned someones licenses because he had a complaint. As a potential customer on here I do not want to be seeing type of this. There had seemed to be no reply to his messages left on the forum.

I've had a addon form you and it was fine and have no complaints about you in that department, but sometimes your manner is a bit off putting for me to buy again when other companies don't seem to have this problem. I know customers are the biggest bane of our live and create problems but you do need to be a bit more tactful in responding. Long run it will be better for your business.

Why fuck around when old CS-Cart developers make the same thing?

CS-Cart Quick search add-on



$49 - Does the job for everything but the first combination image (my issue only).

ThomH, you are the one who chose to post in this thread. I was only responding to what someone had asked and explained why I didn't buy yours. It is your ongoing response to things that keeps my nervous about buying anything from you. If you ban “anyone” and you do not refund their money then you do have an issue.



mrfoameruk, yes, that is my point exactly. I do like the addons that ThomH has but I do not like his responses. I know I don't know both sides of the story and that is why I cannot draw a conclusion. I do know that with the way he responds it is a sure way to keep me away.



JesseLeeStringer, that is the add-on that I am testing right now. The Alt-Team just sent me an update because of a few bugs. I plan on installing it again later tonight. If it works well I will be getting another copy for another site. Personally, I like the way the Alt-Team not only designs things and fixes them if there is a bug, but they have always remained calm and have never freaked out on me. There are many others who have excellent customer service and ThomH, you may have too. I have not bought from you in quite a few years. You have never been rude to me. It is your responses to people on the forums that keeps me away the most…and then of course the call backs that you may or may not block and shut down a website.

[quote name='ThomH' timestamp='1397281275' post='181595']

You need to refresh your info…also on the other post which you made on the dynamic search topic.

You don't know anything about our conversation with that guy, his communication style, issue, etc…

so, please edit it or move to the webgraphiq reviews topic.

If you have real problems with our add-ons contact us on our webpage (see my signature) and our helpdesk will solve it,

if not, STOP blaming us, as you are doing this for years. Thank you.

[/quote]

Not for sure what I have said about you for “years” on the forum. I just have not bought any of your mods because of these exact responses.

Are you on a shared server or dedicated server, the reason if you are on a shared maybe they need to upgrade I use a dedicated and it always super fast no matter what I toss at it

Cart Power also have a fixed price ($59) live search add on - see https://www.cart-power.com/cs-cart-live-search-add-on.html