WPBeginner

Beginner's Guide for WordPress

  • Blog
    • Beginners Guide
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Showcase
    • Themes
    • Tutorials
    • WordPress Plugins
  • Start Here
    • How to Start a Blog
    • Create a Website
    • Start an Online Store
    • Best Website Builder
    • Email Marketing
    • WordPress Hosting
    • Business Name Ideas
  • Deals
    • Bluehost Coupon
    • SiteGround Coupon
    • WP Engine Coupon
    • HostGator Coupon
    • Domain.com Coupon
    • Constant Contact
    • View All Deals »
  • Glossary
  • Videos
  • Products
X
☰
Beginner's Guide for WordPress / Start your WordPress Blog in minutes
Choosing the Best
WordPress Hosting
How to Easily
Install WordPress
Recommended
WordPress Plugins
View all Guides

WPBeginner» Blog» Tutorials» Auto-Redirect when WordPress Search Query Only Returns One Match

Auto-Redirect when WordPress Search Query Only Returns One Match

Last updated on June 22nd, 2012 by Editorial Staff
153 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Free WordPress Video Tutorials on YouTube by WPBeginner
Auto-Redirect when WordPress Search Query Only Returns One Match

There are times when searching a WordPress blog, you only get one item in the result. Depending on how organized your site is, this should be the item the user was looking for anyways. One of our users asked if there was a way to redirect to the post if the search query results only one match. In this article, we are going to show you how to redirect users to the post when the search query only returns one match.

All you have to do is open your theme’s functions.php file and paste the following snippet.

add_action('template_redirect', 'one_match_redirect');
function one_match_redirect() {
    if (is_search()) {
        global $wp_query;
        if ($wp_query->post_count == 1) {
            wp_redirect( get_permalink( $wp_query->posts['0']->ID ) );
        }
    }
}

Now you must beware that some users will not expect this functionality. So it may freak them out.

153 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Popular on WPBeginner Right Now!
  • How to Start Your Own Podcast (Step by Step)

    How to Start Your Own Podcast (Step by Step)

  • How to Properly Move Your Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org

  • How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress

    How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress

  • Checklist

    Checklist: 15 Things You MUST DO Before Changing WordPress Themes

About the Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi. Trusted by over 1.3 million readers worldwide.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

6 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. Casey Lessard says:
    Jul 13, 2018 at 10:37 pm

    Worked for me. I run a local search engine using WordPress and I have been trying to find this solution for some time. Does exactly as described. Thank you so much!

    Reply
  2. Eric says:
    Sep 13, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    I want to make it so when some searches a specific phrase it redirects to an easter egg, like if someone searches “I see dead people” specifically it’ll redirect them to a URL I can define.

    Reply
  3. Nebulas Website Design says:
    Oct 3, 2014 at 9:04 am

    Thanks for this piece of code it made my client very happy and I didn’t thnk it could be done. However it’s not working for us we are using the Relevanssi search plugin should it work with this?

    Reply
  4. carlos says:
    Mar 16, 2013 at 11:42 pm

    What if I want to redirect any search query to the most relevant post no matter what the number of posts the search returns? I’d really like to be able to do that.

    Reply
    • Editorial Staff says:
      Mar 17, 2013 at 11:42 pm

      Get rid of the if conditional from the code above, and it should do it.

      Reply
  5. CalebZahnd says:
    Nov 9, 2011 at 10:21 am

    This is handy. Thanks!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.

Over 1,320,000+ Readers

Get fresh content from WPBeginner

Featured WordPress Plugin
RafflePress - WordPress Giveaway and Contest Plugin
RafflePress
Giveaway and Contest Plugin for WordPress. Learn More »
How to Start a Blog How to Start a Blog
I need help with ...
Starting a
Blog
WordPress
Performance
WordPress
Security
WordPress
SEO
WordPress
Errors
Building an
Online Store
Useful WordPress Guides
    • 7 Best WordPress Backup Plugins Compared (Pros and Cons)
    • How to Fix the Error Establishing a Database Connection in WordPress
    • Why You Need a CDN for your WordPress Blog? [Infographic]
    • 30 Legit Ways to Make Money Online Blogging with WordPress
    • Self Hosted WordPress.org vs. Free WordPress.com [Infograph]
    • Free Recording: WordPress Workshop for Beginners
    • 24 Must Have WordPress Plugins for Business Websites
    • How to Properly Move Your Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
    • 5 Best Contact Form Plugins for WordPress Compared
    • Which is the Best WordPress Popup Plugin? (Comparison)
    • Best WooCommerce Hosting in 2021 (Comparison)
    • How to Fix the Internal Server Error in WordPress
    • How to Install WordPress - Complete WordPress Installation Tutorial
    • Why You Should Start Building an Email List Right Away
    • How to Properly Move WordPress to a New Domain Without Losing SEO
    • How to Choose the Best WordPress Hosting for Your Website
    • How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform (Comparison)
    • WordPress Tutorials - 200+ Step by Step WordPress Tutorials
    • 5 Best WordPress Ecommerce Plugins Compared
    • 5 Best WordPress Membership Plugins (Compared)
    • 7 Best Email Marketing Services for Small Business (2021)
    • How to Choose the Best Domain Registrar (Compared)
    • The Truth About Shared WordPress Web Hosting
    • When Do You Really Need Managed WordPress Hosting?
    • 5 Best Drag and Drop WordPress Page Builders Compared
    • How to Switch from Blogger to WordPress without Losing Google Rankings
    • How to Properly Switch From Wix to WordPress (Step by Step)
    • How to Properly Move from Weebly to WordPress (Step by Step)
    • Do You Really Need a VPS? Best WordPress VPS Hosting Compared
    • How to Properly Move from Squarespace to WordPress
    • How to Register a Domain Name (+ tip to get it for FREE)
    • HostGator Review - An Honest Look at Speed & Uptime (2021)
    • SiteGround Reviews from 4464 Users & Our Experts (2021)
    • Bluehost Review from Real Users + Performance Stats (2021)
    • How Much Does It Really Cost to Build a WordPress Website?
    • How to Create an Email Newsletter the RIGHT WAY (Step by Step)
    • Free Business Name Generator (A.I Powered)
    • How to Create a Free Business Email Address in 5 Minutes (Step by Step)
    • How to Install Google Analytics in WordPress for Beginners
    • How to Move WordPress to a New Host or Server With No Downtime
    • Why is WordPress Free? What are the Costs? What is the Catch?
    • How to Make a Website in 2021 – Step by Step Guide
Deals & Coupons (view all)
OIO Publisher
OIO Publisher Coupon
Get $10 off on OIO Publisher, a robust ad management plugin for WordPress.
SEMRush
SEMrush Coupon
Get a 30-day FREE trial on SEMrush online visibility management tool.
Featured In
About WPBeginner®

WPBeginner is a free WordPress resource site for Beginners. WPBeginner was founded in July 2009 by Syed Balkhi. The main goal of this site is to provide quality tips, tricks, hacks, and other WordPress resources that allows WordPress beginners to improve their site(s).

Join our team: We are Hiring!

Site Links
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • FTC Disclosure
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Free Blog Setup
  • Free Business Tools
  • Growth Fund
Our Sites
  • OptinMonster
  • MonsterInsights
  • WPForms
  • SeedProd
  • Nameboy
  • RafflePress
  • Smash Balloon
  • AIOSEO

Copyright © 2009 - 2021 WPBeginner LLC. All Rights Reserved. WPBeginner® is a registered trademark.

Managed by Awesome Motive | WordPress hosting by SiteGround | WordPress Security by Sucuri.