Search & Filters
ProductBay includes built-in frontend search, filtering, and pagination — all powered by AJAX for a seamless, no-reload experience.
Search
When search is enabled, a search bar appears in the main toolbar above the table. Customers can type to search products by:
- Product name — Partial or full match
- Results update instantly as the user types (with a debounce delay)
- Search is case-insensitive
INFO
Search operates on the products loaded by the table's product source. It does not search your entire WooCommerce catalog — only the products that match the table's source configuration.
Category Filter
When enabled, a category filter dropdown appears in the dedicated Filter Bar above the main table tools.
- Select a product category to filter the table
- Clear the filter to show all products again
- Combine filtering with search for precise results
Configuration
Enable the category filter in the Options step of the Creation Wizard:
- Under Taxonomy & Type Filters, toggle Enable Categories Filter to on
Product Type Filter Since v1.2.0
A separate toggle adds a Product Type dropdown to the frontend Filter Bar, allowing customers to filter by WooCommerce product type:
- Simple — Standard products
- Variable — Products with attribute variations
- Grouped — Products containing child items
- External — Affiliate or external products
Configuration
Enable the product type filter in the Options step:
- Under Taxonomy & Type Filters, toggle Enable Product Type Filter to on
What the Dropdowns Offer Since v1.3.4
Both dropdowns are built from the table's own products, not from your whole store. A table scoped to one category offers only the categories its products actually carry, and only the product types it actually contains — so every choice returns rows, and none of them can render an empty table.
Resolving those choices costs one ID-only product query plus two term queries, so the result is cached per table for 12 hours. Editing a table's source takes effect immediately; a product gaining a new category elsewhere in the catalog is picked up when the cache expires.
Developers
Adjust the choices with productbay_filter_options, or change or disable the cache with productbay_filter_options_cache_ttl.
Pagination
When pagination is enabled, products are split across multiple pages with navigation controls at the bottom of the table.
Configuration
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Pagination | On / Off | On |
| Products per page | Any number (1–500) | 10 |
| Pagination Style | Standard, Load More PRO, Infinite Scroll PRO | Standard |
Pagination Styles
Standard (Numbers)
The default mode. Numbered page buttons appear at the bottom of the table, allowing customers to jump between pages.
Load More Button PRO
Replaces page numbers with a single "Load More" button. Clicking it appends the next batch of products below the existing rows without replacing them.
Infinite Scroll PRO
Products load automatically as the customer scrolls down, creating a seamless, never-ending browsing experience. No buttons or page numbers needed.
Image Lightbox
When enabled, clicking a product's thumbnail image opens a full-size popup of the image with a smooth zoom animation. This lets customers inspect product photos without leaving the table.
Configuration
Toggle Enable Image Lightbox in the Options step under Table Controls. Enabled by default.
Price Range Filter PRO Since v1.2.0
ProductBay Pro includes a powerful price filter that allows customers to refine products by an exact price range. It can display as a dual-handle slider, number inputs, or both. The filter auto-detects the minimum and maximum prices of the products in your table.
Read the full Price Filter guide →
Feature Toggles
All frontend features can be individually enabled or disabled in the Options step:
| Feature | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Search | ✅ On | AJAX search bar |
| Pagination | ✅ On | Paginated results |
| Image Lightbox | ✅ On | Full-size image popup on click |
| Categories Filter | ✅ On | Category dropdown filter |
| Product Type Filter | ✅ On | Product type dropdown filter |
| Price Filter PRO | ❌ Off | Price range slider and inputs |
Configure these in the Options step of the Creation Wizard.