Why WASM is the future of WordPress Search

Traditional WordPress search relies on server-side PHP queries that create database bottlenecks. Every search request hits your server, generating SQL queries and consuming resources.

The WASM Advantage

WebAssembly changes this equation entirely. By compiling our search engine to WASM, we can:

• Run search logic directly in the browser - Zero server load for searches
• Near-native performance - WASM runs at 95%+ native speed
• Instant results - No network latency, no database queries
• Offline capability - Search works even without internet

Technical Implementation

We compile our Rust-based search engine to WASM using wasm-pack. The entire search index (optimized and compressed) loads once, then all searches happen client-side.

#[wasm_bindgen]
pub fn search(query: &str) -> JsValue {
    // Lightning-fast search logic
    let results = index.search(query);
    serde_wasm_bindgen::to_value(&results).unwrap()
}

For a typical WooCommerce store with 10,000 products, our WASM bundle is just 400KB gzipped. That’s smaller than most hero images, yet it delivers instant search across your entire catalog.

The future isn’t server-side search. It’s bringing the search engine to your users.