How to Add Voice Search in a Website

Ever used voice search on your phone or other device? Did you know you can add voice search in a website? In this article, you’ll learn how to do this using WordPress.

Voice search is a technology that allows you to use your voice to search the internet, a website, or an application.

How voice search works:

1. You speak your search query into a device (like a smartphone, smart speaker, or even your car).
2. The device uses speech recognition technology to convert your spoken words into text.
3. The search engine then processes the text query and provides relevant results.

Examples of voice search assistants:

• Siri (Apple)

• Google Assistant

• Alexa (Amazon)

Voice search is becoming increasingly popular and is expected to continue to grow in importance as the technology improves. In fact, in 2024, over 50% of adults used voice search on their mobile phones daily.

Here are 9 benefits of adding voice search capabilities to a website:

1. Enhanced Accessibility
2. Improved User Experience
3. Increased Engagement
4. Greater Inclusivity
5. New Revenue Streams
6. Competitive Advantage
7. Data Collection
8. Future-Proofing
9. Brand Differentiation

Enhanced Accessibility

Voice search makes websites more accessible to people with disabilities, such as motor impairments or visual impairments, who may find typing difficult.

Improved User Experience

Voice search can be faster and more intuitive than typing, especially for complex queries or when users are multitasking.

Increased Engagement

The conversational nature of voice search can create a more engaging user experience, making it feel more like a dialogue with the website.

Greater Inclusivity

Voice search can help to break down language barriers, making websites more accessible to people who are not fluent in the written language.

New Revenue Streams

Voice search can open up new opportunities for businesses to monetize their websites, such as through voice-activated advertising or personalized recommendations.

Competitive Advantage

Websites with voice search capabilities can gain a competitive edge over those that do not, as they can provide a more convenient and user-friendly experience.

Data Collection

Voice search can provide valuable data about user behavior and preferences, which can be used to improve the website and target marketing efforts.

Future-Proofing

As voice technology continues to evolve, websites with voice search capabilities will be better positioned to take advantage of future innovations.

Brand Differentiation

Offering voice search can help a website stand out from the competition and create a strong brand identity.

While you could implement voice search in other content management systems like Joomla and Drupal, here's why WordPress often makes for a strong platform to handle this technology:

• Plugins
• Flexibility
• Large Community
• SEO Friendliness
• Accessibility

Plugins

A vast ecosystem of plugins caters specifically to voice search integration. These offer varying levels of functionality, from basic voice input to more advanced features like voice-activated navigation.

Flexibility

WordPress's core and theme structure provide flexibility to customize how voice search is implemented and integrated into your website's design.

Large Community

A large and active community means readily available support, tutorials, and troubleshooting resources related to voice search integration.

SEO Friendliness

WordPress inherently supports many SEO best practices, which can be further optimized for voice search by using relevant plugins and techniques.

Accessibility

Many WordPress themes and plugins prioritize accessibility features, making it easier to ensure your voice search implementation is usable by a wider range of users.

While WordPress offers advantages, the best platform ultimately depends on your specific needs and technical expertise. A few tips in case you’re still shopping for the right CMS for you:

• Start with your needs: Define your specific requirements for voice search functionality and the technical expertise of your team.

• Research and compare: Explore the features, documentation, and community support of the CMS options that align with your needs.

• Consider a trial: Many CMS platforms offer free trials or demos, allowing you to test them firsthand.

By carefully evaluating these factors, you can choose the CMS that best suits your website and provides the foundation for a successful voice search integration.

So, essentially, WordPress has a content block for search that looks like:

With the Voice Search plugin, it adds the microphone to the search box, like the image below:

Here’s how to add voice search in WordPress using the Voice Search plugin:

1. Install the "Voice Search" Plugin
2. (Optional) Customize Look of Search Form
3. Test Voice Search

As a note, this plugin is only compatible in Chrome for desktop and mobile. There are some other voice search plugins, but this one is super easy to install. However, you’re welcome to try the other WordPress voice search related plugins that may better suit your needs.

Install the "Voice Search" Plugin

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Go to Plugins > Add New.
3. Search for "Voice Search".
4. Install and activate the plugin (usually the first result).

(Optional) Customize Look of Search Form

The Voice Search plugin has no settings. If you aren’t happy with the look of your search form on the front of your website, you can always add some CSS styling to customize the look.

Test Voice Search

1. Visit your website's frontend.
2. Locate the search bar (often in the header or sidebar).
3. Click the microphone icon.
4. Speak your search query clearly.
5. The plugin should process your voice input and display search results.

A few things you need to know when you add voice search in a website:

• Browser Compatibility: Voice search relies on browser support for the Web Speech API. It generally works best in modern browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

• User Experience: Consider how the voice search feature integrates with your website's overall design and user experience.

• Accessibility: Ensure the voice search feature is accessible to users with disabilities.

By following these steps, you can easily add voice search capabilities to your WordPress website, enhancing user experience and accessibility. You can further combine and enhance your voice search by using WordPress search plugins like Relevanssi, which provides more accurate results.

Now that you know a bit about voice search and even how to add voice search in a website, is it something that you might consider for your own site? Hopefully this tutorial has helped you achieve adding voice search to your WordPress website.