On Wednesday, May 4, 2022, VIP’s Enterprise Search will be the default search solution for WordPress VIP customers. Enterprise Search utilizes Elasticsearch as a custom performance-enhancing layer, boosting the speed of WordPress searches and queries for the front end, API, and the WordPress admin area.
For sites that do not need to offload slow MySQL queries or backend searches, Jetpack Instant Search provides a built-in UI for front-end searches. See the table below for a side-by-side feature comparison.
Some WordPress VIP customer sites are using custom indexes for Jetpack Search via the legacy Jetpack Professional plan. If this includes you, you will need to upgrade to Enterprise Search by activating Enterprise Search on your sites. Support for custom Jetpack Search indexes on the VIP Platform will cease on May 4. At that point, Jetpack Search will only be available as Instant Search via the Jetpack Complete plan that includes 100,000 records on all VIP sites. If you believe your usage may be over this threshold or have questions, please reach out to your account team to discuss additional costs considerations.
Do I have to upgrade to Enterprise Search?
Yes, if you are using custom Jetpack Search indexes. Custom Jetpack Search indexes will no longer be supported on the VIP platform as of May 4. You should activate Enterprise Search in your Develop environment first to test the features in a non-production environment before activating it in a production environment. Enabling Enterprise Search will, by default, disable the Jetpack Search module.
How do I know if I’m using custom Jetpack Search indexes?
In your GitHub repository, search for the constant JETPACK_SEARCH_VIP_INDEX. If it is defined as true in your codebase, you are using custom Jetpack Search indexes.
What do I have to do?
If you are using custom Jetpack Search indexes on your site, you will need to activate Enterprise Search by May 4. To get started, please follow our guide to getting started.
If you would like to use Jetpack Instant Search instead, please open a ticket with us.
How do I know which Elasticsearch solution is right for me?
Use the table below to see a comparison of the features offered by both solutions:
| Feature | Enterprise Search | Jetpack Instant Search |
| Offloading of MySQL queries to Elasticsearch | Yes | No |
| Custom Elasticsearch queries | Yes | No |
| Customization of what to index | Yes | No |
| Unlimited records | Yes | No* |
| Backend search | Yes | No |
| Powerful built-in front-end search UI | No | Yes |
| Automatically highlighted search terms on comments and post content | No | Yes |
| Search as you type | No | Yes |
| Boosted and prioritized results based on your Jetpack site stats | No | Yes |
| Real-time indexing | Yes | Yes |
| Searching across subsites in a multi-site network | Yes | Yes** |
| Faceted search | Yes | Yes |
**This feature will be available at the end of March.
Can I use both Enterprise Search and Jetpack Instant Search?
We recommend using only one search solution to avoid any potential conflicts. Additionally, enabling Enterprise Search will by default disable the Jetpack Search module.
Who can I reach out to if I want more information on this?
Customers can open a support ticket with VIP if they have further questions.
WordPress VIP Lobby 