Creating Your First Search Page #

This guide walks you through creating a WordPress page that displays adoptable animals from your shelter management system.

Prerequisites #

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• PetMatchPro installed and activated
• Your shelter system API credentials entered (see Connecting Your Shelter System)

Step-by-Step Setup #

1. Create a New Page #

1. In your WordPress admin, go to Pages > Add New.
2. Give your page a title, such as “Adoptable Animals” or “Available Pets”.

2. Add the Search Shortcode #

Add the following shortcode to the page content:

[pmp-search]

That’s it! This basic shortcode displays all adoptable animals using your default search template.

3. Publish the Page #

Click Publish and then View Page to see your search results.

Basic Customization #

You can customize the search display by adding parameters to the shortcode:

Show Specific Fields #

Use the details parameter to control which animal fields appear:

[pmp-search details="Name,Breed,Sex,Age"]

Filter by Species #

Use the type parameter with the species filter to show only specific animals:

[pmp-search filter="species" type="adopt"]

Choose a Search Template #

If you have a Junior or Preferred license, you can select a different template:

[pmp-search template="adopt-search-carousel"]

Requires Junior license or higher.

Enable Search Filters #

Let visitors filter results by species, breed, and other criteria:

[pmp-search filter="enable"]

Example Shortcodes #

Basic adoption search:

[pmp-search type="adopt"]

Adoption search with custom fields:

[pmp-search type="adopt" details="Name,Breed,Sex,Age,Photo"]

Dogs only:

[pmp-search type="adopt" species="Dog"]

Adding to Your Menu #

After publishing, add the page to your site navigation:

1. Go to Appearance > Menus.
2. Select your search page from the Pages list.
3. Click Add to Menu.
4. Click Save Menu.

Next Steps #

• [pmp-search] Reference — Full parameter reference
• Creating Your First Detail Page — Set up individual animal profiles
• Common Shortcode Recipes — Copy-paste examples for common setups