Mastering WordPress: Step-by-Step Guide to Build a Powerful Searchable Database

A searchable database simplifies the storage, management, and updating of all your website’s data in one centralized location. This enables you to quickly locate and modify information as needed, significantly saving time and effort.

This is particularly beneficial when dealing with large volumes of data, such as submissions from contact forms, user registrations, or various types of user-generated content.

Additionally, it streamlines the process of responding to specific inquiries or requests. Whether you need to access a customer’s contact details, find past orders, or review feedback for a specific product, a well-structured database enables you to accomplish this swiftly and accurately.

In this article, we will guide you through the process of creating a searchable database in WordPress with ease.

What Is a Searchable Database?

A searchable database is a comprehensive collection of all the data on your website that can be filtered to retrieve the information you require. It helps you organize and view all incoming data on your WordPress blog.

For instance, you can utilize a searchable database to efficiently sort and access user information submitted through your contact form.

This feature saves you time by eliminating the need to manually sift through pages or posts to find the information you require. Additionally, having all your data in one central location allows you to identify trends and leverage them to increase your lead generation.

Searchable databases offer an intuitive interface that simplifies navigation and interaction with the backend of your WordPress site, making it accessible even for beginners.

Now, let’s explore how to easily integrate a searchable database into WordPress, step by step. You can use the quick links below to navigate to different sections of the tutorial:

• How to Integrate a Searchable Database into WordPress
• Step 1: Create a Form Using the Plugin
• Step 2: View and Edit Data with a Searchable Database
• Step 3: Visualize the Searchable Database as a Table
• Step 4: Export the Searchable Database to Your Computer (Optional)
• Bonus: Create a Backup of Your Database in WordPress

How to Integrate a Searchable Database into WordPress

You can easily set up a searchable database in WordPress using Formidable Forms.

This comprehensive WordPress form builder plugin features a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, allowing you to create various forms, including quizzes, contact forms, surveys, payment forms, and more.

The plugin includes a built-in searchable database feature that allows you to easily search, edit, add, display, hide, sort, and view all your WordPress form data in one central location.

To get started, install and activate the Formidable Forms plugin. For detailed guidance, refer to our beginner’s guide on installing a WordPress plugin.

Step 1: Create a Form with the Plugin

After activation, navigate to theFormidable » Formssection in the WordPress admin sidebar.

Click the ‘Add New Form’ button to begin creating a form for your WordPress site.

This will prompt a ‘Create new form’ window where you can choose a form template.

In this tutorial, we will create and add a contact form to our website.

After selecting the template, you will need to name your form.

Then, simply click the ‘Create’ button to open the form builder.

This will launch the drag-and-drop builder interface, allowing you to select and place form fields from the left column onto your form.

You can personalize your form by navigating to the ‘Style’ tab at the top and selecting a theme that suits your preferences.

When you are finished, simply click the ‘Update’ button at the top to save your changes.

To add the form to your WordPress website, go to an existing page or create a new one from the WordPress admin sidebar.

Once there, click the ‘+’ button in the top left corner of the screen to access the block menu.

From the block menu, locate and add the Formidable Forms block to your page.

Next, click the ‘Select a form’ dropdown menu within the block and choose the form you wish to add to the page.

After making your selections, click the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button at the top to save your settings.

With the form added to a page, a searchable database will be automatically generated for it.

Step 2: Access and Manage Data Through a Searchable Database

As users submit their information through the form, all data will be collected and stored in the database.

You can easily view this data by visiting the Formidable » EntriesThis section can be accessed from the admin sidebar, where all entries for the form will be displayed.

To view an entry, simply click the ‘View’ link located beneath the entry name.

If you wish to modify the form entry, you can click the ‘Edit’ link found below it.

This action will direct you to a new screen where you can see all user information, including entry ID, entry key, submission data, and additional details.

You will also have the option to edit and update the form details.

Step 3: Visualizing Your Searchable Database as a Table

Formidable Forms is one of the top WordPress table plugins for displaying data, making it incredibly easy to create a database table.

To visualize all your form data as tables, grids, or calendars, be sure to visit theFormidable » Viewssection in the admin sidebar.

Please note that the Views feature is exclusive to the Pro version of the plugin.

From this point, click the ‘+Add New’ button located in the top right corner of the screen.

This will prompt you to choose a view type, such as grid, table, calendar, or a pre-designed solution.

For this tutorial, we will select ‘Table’ as the type of data view.

First, you need to assign a name to your view type. This name is for your reference only and will not be visible to users on the front end.

Next, choose your form from the ‘Select Datasource’ dropdown menu. The plugin will retrieve data entries based on the selected form.

Once you’ve made your selections, simply click the ‘Create a view’ button to proceed.

Now, you will customize the view. Here, select all the columns you want to display in the database table.

For instance, if you want a column that shows the email addresses of all users who submitted the form, make sure to select the ‘Email’ option.

You can also utilize the search bar at the top to locate a form field that isn’t currently visible. Remember, the plugin can only retrieve data for fields that are already included in the form.

After that, click the ‘Create a view’ button to proceed.

This will direct you to the ‘Views’ page, where you can view and search through all the data from your form entries.

From this page, you can also search for a specific entry using the ‘Filter entries’ and ‘Sort entries’ options at the top.

You can edit each column in the table individually by clicking on it, which will open the ‘Edit Listing Page Content’ prompt on your screen.

For instance, if you want to update the entry date for all users to the current date, click on the ‘Entry Updated Date’ field in the user table and input the new value.

Once you have made your changes, simply click the ‘Update’ button at the top to save your updates.

You can now easily view and search through your form database.

Step 4: Export Your Searchable Database to Your Computer (Optional)

To export your searchable database to your computer, navigate to the Formidable » Import/Export section in the WordPress admin sidebar.

Once there, scroll down to the ‘Export’ section and select ‘XML’ as your export format.

Then, choose the data you want to include in the XML file by checking the corresponding boxes. If you wish to export all the data from the created View, check the box next to that option.

Next, select the form containing the data you want to export from the ‘Select Form’ section.

Finally, click the ‘Export Selection’ button to download the file. You have successfully exported the database to your computer.

Bonus: How to Create a Backup of Your WordPress Database

After setting up a searchable database, it’s essential to create a backup.

This precaution protects your data from potential security issues and allows for easy restoration if anything goes wrong with your website.

We recommend using Duplicator, the leading WordPress backup plugin available.

It enables you to create backups and conveniently store them on popular cloud platforms such as Dropbox, Google Drive, FTP, OneDrive, and Amazon S3.

The plugin also provides features like site migration, recovery points, archive encryption for added security, server-to-server imports, and much more.

For more information, check out our tutorial on how to manually back up your WordPress database.

We hope this article has helped you understand how to create a searchable database in WordPress. You may also want to explore our beginner’s guide on easily finding and replacing text in your WordPress database or our expert recommendations for the best WordPress database plugins.

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