RapidSearch 3
Features
RapidSearch is the easiest way to add powerful Google™ search to any RapidWeaver website. You can purchase RapidSearch now for only USD $15.00. RapidSearch provides:
- Integrated Google™ search
- Search one or many websites
- Highlight search terms in results
- Customizable search form button
- UTF8 and URL-encode support
- Drag-and-drop to sort websites
- Custom header and footer
- Serial number deactivation
Powered by Google™
RapidSearch leverages the Google™ search engine to provide the best search solution for your RapidWeaver website. RapidSearch can even accept advanced search queries!
Search Engine Optimization
Prepare your website to be indexed by the Google™ search engine.
- Assign each page a unique and meaningful title.
- Ensure each page contains unique and meaningful content & keywords.
- Submit your website to Google™ to be indexed by its search engine.
Screenshots
Here are a few screenshots of RapidSearch. You can also view the live preview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Google™ account to use RapidSearch?
No. RapidSearch works out of the box. No account is required.
Can RapidSearch search password protected pages?
No. RapidSearch only sees what Google™ sees. If your website is inaccessible to Google™, RapidSearch will not work with your website.
RapidSearch does not show a certain page from my website.
The page in question may be inaccessible to Google™, or Google™ may not know about the page. I recommend you read my SEO tips to improve your rank and indexing with the Google™ search engine.
RapidSearch does not return any results. Why not?
Ensure your website has been indexed by Google™. If your site has been indexed, you may need to alter the URL that you typed into the RapidSearch page within RapidWeaver. For example, if you originally typed “http://www.joshlockhart.com”, you might try “http://joshlockhart.com” or “joshlockhart.com”.
I have 3,000 documents that I need indexed and searchable.
RapidSearch is the easiest way to add powerful Google™ search to your RapidWeaver website. But RapidSearch does not pretend to be equivalent to Apache Lucene. You should invest in an enterprise-class search solution like Apache Lucene if you need enterprise or comprehensive search over a large number of discrete documents.
Can RapidSearch search PDFs, Word documents, or images?
It depends. If Google is able to index these files, then RapidSearch will return these files in search results.
Documentation
Installation
- Download your purchase to your computer. This will be a ZIP file.
- Double-click the downloaded ZIP file to expand its contents.
- Double-click the .rwtheme or .rwplugin file that was in the ZIP file.
- Restart RapidWeaver.
System Requirements
- RapidWeaver 4.0+
- Mac OS X 10.5+
- Javascript-enabled web browser
An Internet connection is required for activation.
Activation
RapidSearch requires product activation to remove the demo version limitations. You can activate RapidSearch on two computers. If you need to activate RapidSearch on more than two computers, you must purchase a new RapidSearch license. You will receive a serial number with your RapidSearch purchase. To activate RapidSearch:
- Install the RapidSearch plugin
- Start RapidWeaver.
- Create a RapidSearch page, and ensure you are in Edit Mode.
- Click the ‘Product Activation’ button located at the bottom left of the RapidSearch page.
- When prompted, enter your serial number and click ‘Activate’.
Deactivation
Before you move your RapidSearch plugin to a new computer, you must first deactivate it on your current computer. To deactivate RapidSearch:
- Start RapidWeaver and open your site file.
- View your RapidSearch page, and ensure you are in Edit Mode.
- Click the ‘Product Activation’ button located at the bottom left of the RapidSearch page.
- When prompted, enter your serial number and click ‘Deactivate’.
Search Engine Optimization
RapidSearch is already a powerful tool that can easily implement Google™ search into your RapidWeaver website. However, you can help RapidSearch become even better by implementing good search engine optimization (SEO) in your website.
What is SEO?
SEO is the process of editing your website’s content to improve your visibility, accessibility, and rank with search engines. Good SEO will normally rank your website higher in search engine results and help search engines better index your website.
How do I add SEO to my website?
This is a very popular and highly contested subject. A quick Google™ search (perhaps with your new RapidSearch plugin) will provide far more instructions than I do here. However, the following instructions are a good way to start implementing SEO on your RapidWeaver website.
- Give each page on your website a unique and meaningful title.
- Ensure each page on your website has meaningful content and keywords.
- Submit your website to Google™ to be indexed by its search engine.
Additional resources
The following links will help you further explore SEO. This list is by no means exhaustive, so I encourage you to explore the Internet to find more information on this subject.
- Submit your website to Google™
This is where you can tell Google™ about your RapidWeaver website. - Google™ Webmasters
Create an account to manage how your website is viewed by Google™. - Google™ SEO Suggestions
Read this page for suggestions and tips about SEO directly from Google™ - SiteMap Plugin for RapidWeaver
I use this on my own website. It works if used correctly. Buy it. - Google™ Analytics
Create an account to track statistics for your RapidWeaver website.
Customize RapidSearch with CSS
You may use the following CSS selectors to customize your RapidSearch page. It is important to use the !important syntax with the CSS properties below. This will ensure your custom CSS will not be overridden by the the default RapidSearch style sheet.
/* Container around search form and search results */
.rapidSearch{}
/* Container around search form */
.rapidSearchForm{}
/* Search form */
.rapidSearchForm form{}
/* Search form text input */
.rapidSearchForm form input.gsc-input{}
/* Search form submit button */
.rapidSearchForm form input.gsc-search-button{}
/* Search form reset X link */
.rapidSearchForm form div.gsc-clear-button{}
/* Google branding */
.rapidSearchForm .gsc-branding{}
/* Container around search results */
.rapidSearchResults{}
/* Individual search result */
.gs-result{}
/* Search result <a> link */
a.gs-title{}
/* Search result body text */
.gs-snippet{}
/* Search result URL beneath body text */
.gs-visibleUrl{}
/* Container around pagination links */
.gsc-cursor-box{}
/* Pagination numbers */
.gsc-cursor-page{}
/* Current pagination number */
.gsc-cursor-current-page{}
/* "More results" link in pagination links */
.gsc-trailing-more-results{}
Release Notes
Version 3 - Released on June 24, 2009
- Added support for UTF8 and URL-encoded characters
- Added ability to customize Search button text
- Added ability to deactivate a serial number
Version 2.0
RapidSearch 2.0 is wildly different from version 1.0. These are the differences between version 1.0 and version 2.0.
- RapidSearch 2.0 uses the Google™ search engine — not Yahoo™.
- RapidSearch 2.0 can search an unlimited number of websites.
- RapidSearch 2.0 provides customizable search results highlighting.
- RapidSearch 2.0 only requires a javascript-enabled web browser.
- You do not need PHP or Curl for RapidSearch 2.0 to work.
How to upgrade from version 1.0
You must remove the old RapidSearch 1.0 plugin and delete your existing RapidSearch pages from both your RapidWeaver file and your web server. You must complete these steps before you install RapidSearch 2.0.
- Backup all relevant files.
- Delete your RapidSearch 1.0 page, and save your RapidWeaver file.
- Remove the old RapidSearch.rwplugin file from the directory “~/Library/Application Support/RapidWeaver/”.
- Ensure the published RapidSearch 1.0 PHP file is removed from your web server.
- Follow the installation instructions located on the Getting Started page.