RapidSearch

$10.00 USD Buy Now

Rapidsearch in RapidWeaver

Overview

My best-selling RapidSearch plugin for RapidWeaver is the easiest way to add Google search to any RapidWeaver website. RapidSearch provides many useful features, including but not limited to:

  • RapidSearch uses the full power of the Google search engine
  • Immediate Google search results on your own website with your own branding
  • Search an unlimited number of websites at once with RapidSearch
  • Highlight search terms on the Google search results page
  • RapidSearch can search for web pages, news articles, blog entries, and images
  • Add a custom header and footer on your RapidSearch page
  • Customize the “Search” button label on the RapidSearch page
  • RapidSearch will work with external search forms in your header, sidebar, etc.

Purchase a bundle and save 50%

Purchase RapidSearch with my Envision or Flex RapidWeaver themes and save 50% off the price of RapidSearch. See individual product pages for details.

Search Safely with RapidSearch

The Internet can be a scary place! RapidSearch provides safe search filters for web and image searches.

Advanced Image Search

RapidSearch provides advanced tools to fine-tune your image search. You can filter search results by file type (JPG, PNG, GIF, and BMP), by image type (Photos, Faces, Clip Art, and Line Art), or by image resolution (Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large).

Blog and News Search

RapidSearch can search blogs like Daring Fireball or news organizations like The New York Times or CNN.

System Requirements

Because RapidSearch uses the Google web search API, your website must be indexed by Google before RapidSearch will return search results. Other requirements are:

  • RapidWeaver 4.0+
  • Mac OS X 10.5+
  • Javascript-enabled web browser

By purchasing this product you agree to its license agreement.

Screenshots

Live Preview

Magnifying glass View a real, live website that uses the RapidSearch RapidWeaver theme.
Launch Preview Website

Frequently Asked Questions

What is wrong if RapidSearch does not return any results?

First, ensure you spelled the URL correctly when you added the website to the RapidSearch page (in RapidWeaver Edit Mode). If RapidSearch still does not return results, change the prefix of the appropriate URL to http:// or http://www; sometimes Google will index a website with the leading www and sometimes without the leading www. If RapidSearch still does not return results, your website may not be indexed by the Google search engine. You can submit your website to the Google search engine at http://www.google.com/addurl/.

What is wrong if RapidSearch will not activate?

Ensure you entered your serial number into the activation text field correctly before you activate RapidSearch. Also ensure you are not behind a firewall that prevents outgoing HTTP requests. If RapidSearch still will not activate, contact me for further assistance.

Do I need to purchase a new RapidSearch license for each computer I use?

A single RapidSearch serial number will work on two (2) computers. If you install RapidSearch on three (3) or more computers, you will need to purchase a new license for every additional two (2) computers that you use. For example, if you have four (4) computers, you need two (2) licenses; the first license will work on the first and second computer, and the second license will work on the third and fourth computer.

Do I need a Google account to use RapidSearch?

No. You do not need a Google account to use RapidSearch.

Can RapidSearch search password-protected pages?

No. RapidSearch only sees what the Google search engine can index. If pages are inaccessible to the Google search engine, they are inaccessible to RapidSearch.

Why does RapidSearch not show search results for every page on my website?

RapidSearch only sees the pages that have been indexed by the Google search engine. Some pages on your website may not be indexed by Google. If you recently added a new page, it may take several days for Google to index the new page. I encourage you to read my SEO Guide (see above) to learn how to optimize your website for the Google search engine.

Can RapidSearch search MP3s, PDFs, Word documents, or other non-HTML files?

It depends. If the Google search engine can index these files, then RapidSearch will include them in search results. RapidSearch, by default, can search for website pages, blog entries, images, and news articles.

SEO Guide for RapidSearch

Because RapidSearch uses the Google web search API, your website must be indexed by the Google search engine before RapidSearch will return search results. Therefore, it is in your best interest to use search engine optimizations in your RapidWeaver website.

This is a brief guide that explains how you can optimize your RapidWeaver website for the Google search engine, and how to submit your website to Google for indexing.

Submit Your Website to Google

If you do nothing else, you should submit your website to Google for indexing. Go to http://www.google.com/addurl/ and submit your RapidWeaver website's URL using the provided form.

Basic Search Engine Optimization

Page Titles

Each page in your RapidWeaver website should have a unique and descriptive page title. This is the <title> element in the <head> portion of the HTML document. This is also the title that will appear at the top of a Web browser window and at the top of a Google search result. The page title should be no longer than 64 characters. To set the title of a RapidWeaver page:

  1. Open your website file in RapidWeaver
  2. Open the Page Inspector → General tab for a given page
  3. Enter your title into the Browser Title field

Page META Descriptions

Each page in your RapidWeaver website should have a unique and descriptive META description. This description should summarize what the page is about while prudently incorporating select keywords. This description is used by Google when your website is indexed. This description will also appear below the page title in a Google search result. The META description should be no longer than 170 characters. To set the META description of a RapidWeaver page:

  1. Open your website file in RapidWeaver
  2. Open the Page Inspector → Header tab for a given page
  3. Click the + icon beneath the Meta Tags list
  4. The new meta tag's Name is “description”
  5. The new meta tag's Content should be your page's description

Advanced Search Engine Optimization

Create a Google Webmasters account

Google Webmasters is an online web application provided by Google that allows you to view and manage how the Google search engine indexes your website. You can see which pages on your website have been indexed, which pages have not be indexed, and which pages have duplicate titles or descriptions. Google Webmasters also shows you which pages could not be indexed due to HTTP errors, like 404 Not Found. Go to http://www.google.com/webmasters/ to create your account.

Create a “sitemap.xml” file

Wouldn't it be nice if you could tell Google about every page on your website? You can with a sitemap file. A sitemap file is an XML file that contains information about every page on your website, including the URL, when the page was last changed, how often the page changes, and the importance of the page.

LogHound Software provides a RapidWeaver plugin called SiteMap that automatically generates a sitemap.xml file for your RapidWeaver website and submits it to Google on your behalf. LogHound's SiteMap plugin also provides a convenient single interface to modify titles and descriptions for every page on your RapidWeaver website. I strongly encourage you to purchase and use the SiteMap plugin if you are serious about RapidWeaver search engine optimization.

User Guide

How to activate RapidSearch

If you upgraded to RapidSearch 4 from a previous version, your previous serial number will remain valid, RapidSearch 4 will remain activated, and you may skip this section. If you purchased a new copy of RapidSearch 4, you will need to activate the plugin before you can use it for production. Your serial number will be sent to you by email after your purchase.

  1. Start the RapidWeaver application.
  2. Create a new project or open an existing project.
  3. Add a RapidSearch page to your project (see How to create a RapidSearch page… below).
  4. Select and view the RapidSearch page while in Edit Mode.
  5. Click the “Activate” button located in the bottom right corner of the RapidSearch interface.
  6. When the Page Inspector > Activation tab appears, enter your serial number into the text field and click “Activate”.
  7. If a green check mark appears, RapidSearch is activated. If a green check mark does not appear, RapidSearch is not activated.
  8. If RapidSearch will not activate, please read the FAQs on the RapidSearch product web page before you contact me for assistance.

How to deactivate RapidSearch

You should deactivate RapidSearch before re-installing Mac OS X or transferring RapidWeaver to a new computer. Deactivating your RapidSearch serial number allows you to transfer your existing RapidSearch license to another computer without purchasing a new license.

  1. Start the RapidWeaver application.
  2. Create a new project or open an existing project.
  3. Add a RapidSearch page to your project (see How to create a RapidSearch page… below).
  4. Select and view the RapidSearch page while in Edit Mode.
  5. Click the “Options” button located in the bottom right corner of the RapidSearch interface.
  6. When the Page Inspector > Options panel appears, click the “Activation” tab.
  7. Enter your serial number into the text field and click “Deactivate”.
  8. If a red “x” appears, RapidSearch is deactivated. If a red “x” does not appear, RapidSearch is still activated.

How to create a RapidSearch page

  1. Start the RapidWeaver application.
  2. Create a new project or open an existing project.
  3. Click the “Add Page” button located at the top left of the RapidWeaver interface.
  4. Double-click the “RapidSearch” icon when prompted to “choose a page to add to your website”. You may need to scroll down to see the RapidSearch icon.
  5. After you create the RapidSearch page, click the ”+” icon located at the lower left corner of the RapidSearch interface to add a new website to search. You can search any website (not just your own).
  6. Assign a label and URL to the new website line-item shown in the website list.
  7. Select “Web”, “Image”, “News”, or “Blog” in the website line-item’s Search Type drop-down to define what content you want to search (See How to search different content below).
  8. Publish or preview your RapidSearch page.

How to search for web pages

Like previous versions of RapidSearch, the Web Search Type will return search results for normal website pages. This is the default Search Type setting and will likely be used most of the time.

Website Safe Search

You can set the Web Safe Search setting in the Page Inspector → Options → Advanced tab to control what kind of website pages are returned by RapidSearch.

  • Off will not filter explicit pages from search results.
  • Moderate will filter explicit pages from search results.
  • Strict will filter all potentially objectionable pages from search results.

How to search for images

The Images Search Type will return search results for images that are found on the searched website.

Image Safe Search

You can set the Image Safe Search setting in the Page Inspector → Options → Advanced tab to control the kind of images returned by RapidSearch.

  • Off will not filter explicit images from search results.
  • Moderate will filter explicit images from search results.
  • Strict will filter all potentially objectionable images from search results.

Image File Type

You can set the Image File Type setting in the Page Inspector → Options → Advanced tab to control the image file types returned by RapidSearch.

  • Any will return all images regardless of file type
  • JPG will return only JPG images
  • PNG will return only PNG images
  • GIF will return only GIF images
  • BMP will return only BMP images

Image Type

You can set the Image Type setting Page Inspector → Options → Advanced tab to control the kind of images returned by RapidSearch.

  • Any will return all images
  • Faces will return only images with faces
  • Photos will return only images that are photos (ie. not faces, line art, or clip art)
  • Clip Art will return only images that are clip art
  • Line Art will return only images that are line art

Image Size

You can set the Image Size setting in the Page Inspector → Options → Advanced tab to filter search results by image resolution. The actual search results on the RapidSearch page will show a thumbnail image that will link to the full resolution image in context on the searched website.

  • Any will return all images of any size
  • Small will return only small-sized images
  • Medium will return only medium-sized images
  • Large will return only large-sized images
  • Extra Large will return only extra-large-sized images

Search for blog entries

RapidSearch can also search for blog entries that are indexed and available through Google Blog Search. If you need RapidSearch to search your own blog, be sure you submit your website to Google Blog Search at http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/.

  1. Create a new RapidSearch page.
  2. After you create the RapidSearch page, click the + icon located at the lower left corner of the RapidSearch interface to add a new website to search.
  3. Assign a label (ie. Daring Fireball) and URL (ie. http://daringfireball.net) to the new website line-item shown in the website list.
  4. Select Blog in the website line-item's Search Type drop-down.
  5. Publish or preview your RapidSearch page.

Search for news articles

RapidSearch can also search for news articles released by news websites and networks. To search for news articles:

  1. Create a new RapidSearch page.
  2. After you create the RapidSearch page, click the + icon located at the lower left corner of the RapidSearch interface to add a new website to search.
  3. Assign a label (ie. New York Times) and URL (ie. http://www.nytimes.com or New York Times) to the new website line-item shown in the website list.
  4. Select News in the website line-item's Search Type drop-down.
  5. Publish or preview your RapidSearch page.

How to customize RapidSearch

You can customize the layout style, colors, and more of search results returned by RapidSearch.

Customize the search button text

To customize the text in the Search form button (ie. Search, Go, Find), open the Page Inspector → Options → General tab. Enter your custom text in the Search Button Text text field. If no text is specified, Search will be used as the default text.

Customize search result colors

Open the Page Inspector → Options → Colors tab. Click the appropriate color picker to select a color.

Customize search results presentation

You can display search results for different websites in a linear style (search results for different websites appear vertically, one on top of the other) or in a tabbed style (search results for different websites appear in separate tabs). Open the Page Inspector → Options → Advanced tab. Select Linear or Tabbed beneath Search Results Presentation.

Hightlight search results

You can optionally highlight matching terms in search results with a custom text and background color. Open the Page Inspector → Options → Advanced tab. Beneath Search Result Highlighting, check Highlight matching terms to enable highlighting. You may also choose a custom text and bakground color for highlighted terms.

Open search results in new window

You can optionally have search result links open in the same window or in a new window. Open the Page Inspector → Options → General tab. Choose either Open in new window or Open in same window beneath Search Result Links.

Insert a custom header or footer

You can optionally insert custom text above and below the RapidSearch form. Open the Page Inspector → Options → General tab. Insert your custom text or HTML markup into the Header Text and Footer Text fields.