VirtueMart Ajax Search

If you’re looking to add the power of Ajax to your VirtueMart search, there are a few modules available for download. Using one of these ajax search tools, you can allow your customers to dynamically interact with your site without leaving the current page to look for products!

Ajax Search Explained

An asynchronous javascript and xml (AJAX) search sends the user’s query from their browser to your server through a JavaScript XML HttpRequest object. This means that your user’s browser is exchanging data with your VirtueMart store without reloading the current page (which can make finding products faster).

Ajax is not a programming language, it is a new method for using technologies that already exist. An easy way to understand Ajax is by looking at the auto suggest results below. We started to type virtuemart aj and the search engine, using Ajax, began suggesting phrases such as ajax cart and ajax search.

If you were selling outdoor equiment with VirtueMart and the user typed in sho, the ajax search would most likely return shoes and shovels. Again, the client (your web browser, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox) is sending data (the characters you are typing in) to the server asynchronously.

VirtueMart Ajax Search Modules

You can find the following VirtueMart Ajax search modules in either the the Joomla Extension Directory or in the VirtueMart Extensions Directory.

VirtueMart Ajax Search module
The VirtueMart Ajax Search module is a PrestaShop search module that allows you to show product search results by using Ajax. You can use CSS to style the results, show thumbnails for each product, and even speed up the ajax search by using cache.

VM Live Product Search
You can incorporate AJAX search within VirtueMart using the VM Live Product Search. Based upon this modules description, it uses AJAX to call the normal VirtueMart search result page, parses the data, and then returns in back to the user without actually redirecting the user to the newer page. Because this ajax search module still calls the result page, don’t expect increases in page load time.

JXTC VirtueMart Advanced Ajax Search Module
This is another VirtueMart Ajax Search Module, which includes the ability to narrow down results based upon category, manufacturer, and product.