Search alternatives

Although working with the core search functionality in Drupal 8 can feel somewhat limited, it is not the only solution. There are alternatives to search that can be implemented to provide for more robust options. Two such alternatives are: Search API and Search API Solr Search. We will not be discussing Apache Solr as it is a little more complex to install and configure. However, the Search API will allow us to extend the default database search and is a perfect solution for our needs.

Search API

The Search API module at https://www.drupal.org/project/search_api provides a framework in order to extend core search. Multiple Search indexes can be created that then allow the use of Views to list search content. Each index can also can enhance the user interaction by creating a series of Facets that allow results to be filtered down to a granular level. Finally, each index based on the content type can be configured to let Drupal know exactly which fields should be included...