The on-site search experience is an integral part of nearly all websites, and often one that gets taken for granted. But tailoring a great search experience requires planning, development time, and iteration. In this talk, we’ll discuss different approaches to handling on-site search, comparing Craft CMS’s built-in search functionality with popular third-party options like Algolia. We’ll dive into how Craft actually determines and scores results behind the scenes, as well as ways you can extend and customize that functionality via a custom module or plugin. We’ll also briefly discuss how you can use GA4 to track the search queries real-world users are making on your site, and how that data can be used to inform and improve your site’s search experience.