WordPress Search, AI & Plugin Business

In WP Legends Episode 170, Ross Morsali shares how Search & Filter grew from a free plugin he built to scratch his own itch while running a London agency into a business with tens of thousands of active installs.

They dig into what faceted search actually means, why he rebuilt the search engine again for version 3.2 and how AI deep research helped him roughly double its performance, how many posts WordPress search can realistically handle, and why he believes AI search won't remove the need for on-site filtering. They also cover the plugin's roadmap, whether new plugins should still launch with a free tier, and his advice for anyone starting out in WordPress today.

Visit Us: https://seahawkmedia.com
Learn more about Search & Filter: https://searchandfilter.com/
Follow Ross Morsali on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossmorsali/

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro 
0:57 Guest Introduction: Ross Morsali & Search & Filter
3:01 Welcome to WP Legends & Ross's Story
7:18 Will AI Search Replace Search Plugins?
10:14 What Is Faceted Search?
11:20 Rebuilding the Search Engine for Version 3.2
16:07 The Roadmap: Analytics & Semantic Search
18:27 How Many Posts Can WordPress Search Handle?
20:13 Starting a WordPress Plugin Business Today
22:44 WordPress Admin & the FSE Limbo
26:33 Why Search Support Tickets Get Complicated
29:40 WordCamps & Community
32:18 Fun Questions: Should New Plugins Launch With a Free Tier?
34:11 Ross's Favorite WordPress Blog Stack
38:10 Closing Thoughts

Music Credits
Live Like Legends (Nightcore Remix) by Ruelle

#WPLegends #SearchAndFilter #WordPress #AI #WordPressPlugins #Gutenberg