In today’s digital landscape, the ability to search efficiently across multiple websites is a game-changer. Whether you’re managing content for an organization with diverse web properties or simply want to unify access to different data sources, creating a multi-site search experience can significantly enhance user engagement and content discoverability. 

Unifying Digital Search may sound so easy, but reality are that companies and institutions often have a myriad of different data silos. Multiple websites, directories, google drives, database, Excel sheets etc. 

The problem is that while this works fine in small departments, a lot of good and relevant information is never really shared - with other departments, employee's students, staff etc. Furthermore, there might be a lot of redundant information saved on these silos as well. 

The solution is simple: Use a strong, easy to use Search Platform like Squiz Funnelback. 

There are, to no surprise, a lot of search platforms and ways to solve a problem like this, but as you will see in this article, and video - it's really, really easy to solve.

Often different websites withing the organization will be using different platforms like Wordpress, Drupal, Adobe etc. That's no problem content from all sources, no matter the technology can be handled and indexed by Funnelback. What's more, as you will see, building a single search component that can be used across all different web sites is simple as well. 

NOTE: Tired of reading? Take the easy path: Watch our video above.

Alert: The rest of this article is more technical and shows how to do the actual setup.

Search Packages

Search packages are the core units that define what content gets crawled and how it is presented. Each package can include one or more data sources, allowing you to combine content from multiple websites or repositories. For example, in this setup, we have a package named Educational Websites Crawler that initially crawls content from the Department of Education’s website.

This modular approach means you can easily add or remove sources without rebuilding your entire search experience

To expand your search to include additional websites, you simply add new data sources to your existing search package. 

Fine-Tuning Crawl Settings

There’s a lot of different configurations that can be controlled regarding the crawl settings:

• Autocomplete Settings: These control when search suggestions appear as users type queries. For example, you can set a minimum query length before triggering suggestions to optimize performance and relevance.

• Link Depth: This determines how many levels deep the crawler will follow links within the site.

Once adjusted you’ll need to re-index as most settings influence how date is crawled or ingested into the search index.

Previewing and Testing Your Search Results

It’s important to verify that your search experience is working as expected. Navigate to the Results Page tab within your search package to preview the search interface.

Try entering a test query, such as education. You should see results aggregated from both the Department of Education and Alpha Solutions websites. This unified view confirms that your multi-site search is functioning correctly.

See all this in the video.

Generating API Keys for External Integration

To surface your search functionality on an external website or application, you’ll need an API key with appropriate permissions. From the DXP dashboard you can the API Keys section.

Here, you can view existing keys or create new ones. Make sure to assign basic permissions that allow the API to access your search package and retrieve results.

Embedding Search in an External Website

With your API key ready, you can integrate the multi-site search into any external site using a simple combination of HTML and JavaScript. The code snippet I used - connects to the Funnelback API, sends user queries, and displays results dynamically.

As users type in the search box, autocomplete suggestions appear, and hitting enter fetches results from both crawled sources. This seamless integration provides a consistent search experience without users needing to leave your external site.

Enhancing Search with Filters

To improve usability further, I added a filter feature that allows users to refine results by site. For example, users can choose to view results only from Alpha Solutions or only from the Department of Education, depending on their interests.

This filtering capability is straightforward to implement and adds significant value by tailoring search results to user preferences.

Benefits of Multi-Site Search with Squiz Funnelback

• Unified Access: Users can search across multiple websites from a single interface, saving time and reducing frustration.

• Customizable Crawling: Control over URL exclusions, link depth, and file types ensures the search index is relevant and comprehensive.

• Flexible Integration: API keys and simple code snippets allow easy embedding into any external site or application.

• Improved User Experience: Features like autocomplete and filtering help users find exactly what they need quickly and efficiently.

Take-away: Simplifying Multi-Site Search Setup

Setting up a multi-site search experience might sound complex, but Squiz Funnelback’s intuitive interface and powerful configuration options make it surprisingly straightforward.

Whether your goal is to unify educational resources, corporate content, or any other digital assets spread across different domains, this approach provides a scalable, customizable solution that enhances content discoverability and user engagement.

Reach out with questions, or challenges - search or not. We are always up for a challenge - especially if it can make an positive impact on your business.