Using Date for Search, etc.

[Carl Wilson]

Two different date-related issues.

1. Client wants users to be able to search sermons by date. I’ve tried a few different search plugins (Relevanssi + Swiftype) but not getting results from either. Looks like date isn’t registering as a valid taxonomy. Any suggestions for how to make the sermon date searchable?

2. Want to list the full sermon date on the “Series” page. Currently only displays the month and day, not year. (See attached.)

*I’d also like to add a brief summary or blurb below each sermon, providing some more context before user clicks. Suggestions?

Thanks for the help. Any tips are appreciated!

Attachments:

1. 

   Screen-Shot-2016-01-21-at-6.21.58-PM.png
   

[Bill Robbins]

Hi Carl,

Let’s see what we can do here. For search, the post date is meta data kind of like a custom field vs a taxonomy. Searching by date might be tricky too since unless you search for an exact date that has an exact match, noting might turn up. That’s one reason why browsing date archives is generally the preferred method.

You might look at the Search & Filter plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/search-filter/). I’ve never used it — didn’t even know it existed until just now — but it looks like it may be promising. You might also look at SearchWP (https://searchwp.com/).

---

You can add in the year to the podcast date and also a short excerpt. Here’ how:

1. In your WordPress dashboard click on the Appearance section and then Edit.
2. From the list of files on your right, choose podcast-item.php
3. Replace all the code there with this:
   
   (Visit the support site to view code)
4. Save your changes.

That will add in the excerpt for the short text below the speaker/series line and the year. You can enter a custom excerpt for each message, or the first 55 words will be displayed.

Let me know if you have any questions or trouble.

Take care,
Bill

[Carl Wilson]

That’s awesome. Worked perfectly. Thanks Bill!

I get what you’re saying about the searchability. I think the archives could be a great solution, but sermons (podcasts) aren’t showing up in my archives widget. How can I configure the archive settings to include them?

[Bill Robbins]

Hi Carl,

Try searching for a plugin that has a archive widget for custom post types. That’s what you’d really be needing. I haven’t tried https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-post-type-widgets/ but it might be what you’re looking for.

Bill

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