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Troubleshooting Guide

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Search Not Working

If the search widget is not appearing or returning results, work through these steps:

  1. Verify your API key / Site ID is correct in the embed code
  2. Check the browser console (F12 > Console) for JavaScript errors
  3. In the Network tab, verify the ExpertRec script is loading without errors
  4. Check if an ad blocker or browser extension is interfering — test in incognito mode
  5. Verify your domain is whitelisted in ExpertRec dashboard > Install Settings
  6. Check crawl status — if the initial crawl has not completed, the search index may be empty

Crawl Issues

Cloudflare Blocking the Crawler

If your site uses Cloudflare and the crawler is being blocked, see our dedicated guide: Solved: Crawl error with Cloudflare website.

Protected Pages Not Crawling

Configure login credentials for password-protected pages in Dashboard > Crawl > Protected Pages.

Sitemap Errors

  • Verify your sitemap URL is accessible in a browser
  • Validate the sitemap XML at xml-sitemaps.com
  • Ensure the sitemap lists all pages you want indexed

Crawl Stuck or Not Progressing

If the crawl progress bar has not moved in over 30 minutes, contact support at support@expertrec.com with your org ID to force-restart the crawl.

Search Results Quality

Results Not Relevant

  • Adjust field weights in Dashboard > Search Ranking > Search Weights — increase weight for title and key fields
  • Enable NLP in Dashboard > NLP for better natural language understanding
  • Add synonyms in Dashboard > Search Ranking > Synonyms for common term variations

Wrong Products Ranking First

  • Check Boost Fields in Dashboard > Merchandising > Boost Fields — remove any unintended boosts
  • Review Merchandising rules for pinned products
  • Enable Click-Based Ranking to let user behavior improve results over time

Missing Products in Results

  • Verify the product is included in your crawl/feed
  • Check if the product is being filtered out by a business rule
  • Trigger a manual re-crawl to pick up recently added products

Widget Display Issues

Widget Not Showing

  • Check for CSS z-index conflicts — the widget may be hidden behind other elements
  • Verify the search box CSS selector is configured correctly in Dashboard > Install Settings
  • Try adding z-index: 9999 to the ExpertRec container via Custom CSS

Styling Looks Wrong

  • Use the Custom CSS editor (Dashboard > UI Customization > Custom CSS) to override styles
  • Use browser DevTools to identify which CSS rules are conflicting
  • Check if your theme is applying global CSS resets that affect the widget

Layout Broken on Mobile

  • Check if your theme has conflicting CSS for mobile breakpoints
  • Use the mobile-specific template in Dashboard > UI Customization > Custom Templates
  • Test on actual mobile devices, not just browser emulation

Platform-Specific Issues

Shopify

  • App conflicts: Disable other search apps (SearchPie, Boost Commerce, etc.) and test
  • Theme compatibility: Some themes override the search input — use “Use Existing Search Box” setting
  • Predictive search: Disable Shopify’s native predictive search in theme settings

WordPress / WooCommerce

  • Plugin conflicts: Deactivate other search plugins (SearchWP, Relevanssi, etc.) and test
  • WooCommerce webhook failures: Check WooCommerce > Status > Webhooks for delivery errors
  • PHP errors: Check your WordPress error log at wp-content/debug.log

Magento

  • Module conflicts: Check Magento logs in var/log/ for errors
  • Cache issues: Run bin/magento cache:flush after installing the module
  • API token expiry: Regenerate the integration token in Magento Admin > System > Integrations

Performance Issues

Slow Search Response

  • Check server response time in Dashboard > Analytics > Search Performance
  • Ensure Cloudflare or a CDN is caching static assets
  • Consider upgrading your plan for dedicated search infrastructure

Autocomplete Slow

  • Reduce the number of autocomplete suggestions in Dashboard > Search Box > Suggestions
  • Enable suggestion caching if available in your plan

Getting Help

  • Email support: support@expertrec.com — include your org ID, the URL where search is installed, and any browser console errors
  • System status: Check status.expertrec.com for real-time system status and incident history
  • Response time: Standard support responds within 24 hours; Priority support within 4 hours
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