How to Make a Simple Search Engine in PHP: A Step-by-Step Guide
1 min read
Introduction to PHP Search Engines
Creating a search engine in PHP involves developing a system that scans, indexes, and retrieves specific information from web pages. This guide will outline the basic steps to construct a simple PHP search engine.
Step 1: Create the HTML Form
Start by creating an HTML file with a basic form. This form will serve as the user interface for entering search queries.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang=”en”>
<head>
<meta charset=”UTF-8″>
<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0″>
<title>PHP Search Engine</title>
</head>
<body>
<form action=”search.php” method=”get”>
<input type=”text” name=”query” placeholder=”Search…”>
<button type=”submit”>Search</button>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Step 2: Building the PHP Search Logic
Create a PHP file named search.php
to handle the search logic.
<?php
// Check if a search query is submitted
if (isset($_GET[‘query’])) {
$search_query = $_GET[‘query’];
// Simple search function (modify based on your requirements)
$results = searchFunction($search_query);
// Display search results
foreach ($results as $result) {
echo “<p>{$result}</p>”;
}
}
// Sample search function
function searchFunction($query) {
$data = [“Result 1”, “Result 2”, “Result 3”]; // Sample data
$results = [];
foreach ($data as $item) {
if (stripos($item, $query) !== false) {
$results[] = $item;
}
}
return $results;
}
?>