← DictionarySite Search
also called internal search
A search function that queries only the content of one site.
Search that looks inside your site only.
What It Is
Site Search is a Website item, filed under Structure. In practice it means this: a search function that queries only the content of one site.
It is a label with a settled working definition, so the value is in using it the same way every time. That definition is deliberately narrow — the narrowness is what makes it usable.
How It's Used
You will usually meet Site Search in site builds, page structure and the technical decisions underneath them. In real work it sits close to Search Bar, Filter and Information Architecture. The practical test is whether everyone in the room means the same thing by it.
Why It Matters
Site Search is cheap to get right early and awkward to fix late. When it is unclear, the site still launches — it just quietly underperforms. Deciding it deliberately costs one conversation. Leaving it undecided costs several.
It is the short word for a longer explanation. Search that looks inside your site only.
Termshift™
How the meaning shifts depending on who is using it, and where.
Inside the industry, Site Search is used tightly and assumed to be understood: a search function that queries only the content of one site.
Away from the jargon, it is search that looks inside your site only.
The Bottom Line
Site Search pays off when it is specific and costs you when it is not. Search that looks inside your site only.