Limit the WordPress Search to Specific Post Types

By default, WordPress will return all post types in its search results. If you need to limit the search results to specific post types, you can use the follwoing snippet:

add_filter( 'pre_get_posts', 'snippetpress_search_post_type' );
function snippetpress_search_post_type( $query ) {
	$post_types = array(
		'post',
		'page',
	);
    if ($query->is_search && !is_admin() ) {
        $query->set( 'post_type', $post_types );
    } 
	return $query;
}

The above snippet will limit the WordPress search results to Posts and Pages. Just change the $post_types array to include the post types that you need in your search results.

Where to add the snippet?

The snippet should be placed at the bottom of the functions.php file of your child theme. Make sure you know what you’re doing when editing this file. Alternatively, you can use a plugin such as Code Snippets to add the custom code to your WordPress site. If you need further guidance on how to add the code, check out our post on How to Add WordPress Snippets.