Theme search can be useless at times

That’s odd, when I search for “Responsive” at https://www.ads-software.com/themes/ in other words, https://www.ads-software.com/themes/search/responsive/ it’s the top result: https://d.pr/i/hmRL/2dAA2Rcl

Where were you searching from?

From the theme search box in wordpress

Ah, yes, that one still needs some work. They know. ??

The search results in the WordPress theme search box has identical results to the search here on www.ads-software.com. They both use the same API calls to perform the search.

The “Responsive” theme is the first result for me, in both searches. Exact name matches like this always show up at the top of the list. If you type the theme’s name, then it’s result number one, every time.

Note: Spelling counts. I notice that you misspelled it as “Respoonsive” in your post. Only one O in Responsive.

Ah, thanks for noticing that, Otto!

Here’s a link to a screenshot showing the problem. Admittedly it doesn’t show 350 unusable results, but it does show that the responsive theme is not the top result: https://pasteboard.co/1p6YDxyI.jpg

I’m aware that there’s only one “o” in “responsive” ?? (If you’re going to be pedantic, my opening post states, I searched for “responsive” – no typo)

Here’s a screenshot showing my result on my test site:

As you can see, the “Responsive” theme is first in the list.

Ok, but it’s a consistent problem for me on different sites in different browsers, regardless of what theme or plugins are active. I’ve tried it on 4 different sites now, including one with up-to-date version of wp, all plugins disabled and using the default theme, in both chrome and firefox.

What are the conditions under which it might not work?

There are no conditions where it won’t work. The API calls are the same ones in both places.

I suppose that if your site was blocked from accessing api.www.ads-software.com, then you wouldn’t get any results, but I can’t think of any case where you would get the results your screenshot shows. And I can’t reproduce your results on either my test site or any of the several live sites I have access to.

Maybe you have a plugin or your existing theme is interfering with the results somehow. Best I can think of.

I was curious, so I made my own attempt on my test site running WordPress 4.3.1 with Jetpack 3.7.2 as the only active plugin: https://d.pr/i/1lI7E/uQDbnWJF

The results are the same as above for my personal site too, running WordPress 4.3.1 with lots of plugins.

I have to agree with Otto on this, something has to be interfering either with how your installation fetches the results or displays the results. Possibly plugins, active theme functions, or even misconfigured caching.

Try deactivating all plugins. If that resolves the issue, reactivate each one individually until you find the cause.

If that does not resolve the issue, try switching to the Twenty Fifteen theme to rule-out a theme-specific issue (theme functions can interfere like plugins).

Are you using any sort of caching plugin, or do you see a “Clear/Purge Cache” button in your Dashboard or admin bar? If so, would you please try clearing the cache?

Note: You do not need to install a caching plugin at this point just to clear a cache you don’t have. If you don’t have a caching plugin or a way to clear a server-level cache, just say so. ??