To troubleshoot Elevated Product Search behavior, enable debug logging to capture search and indexing events. Navigate to Elevated › Product Search › Settings › Advanced Options, toggle Enable Debug Logging to ON, then save. Reproduce the issue on the frontend and review the captured events in the Logs tab.
Navigate to Elevated › Product Search › Settings.
Scroll to the Advanced Options section and expand it.
Look for the Debug Mode panel at the bottom of the section.
Toggle Enable Debug Logging to ON.
Click Save Settings.
Visit the frontend page where the search form is placed.
Perform the action that is causing problems. This may include:
Wait a few moments after reproducing the issue so the logging system captures the event.
Return to your WordPress admin.
A Logs tab now appears in the Elevated Product Search admin area. Click it.
The log displays entries related to search queries, indexing operations, and plugin-level events. Each entry includes a timestamp and event details.
Review the log entries that correspond to the time when you reproduced the issue.
Look for the following patterns:
If the logs reveal an Elevated Product Search specific configuration issue, such as a field being disabled in Search Scope or an empty index, adjust the setting and rebuild the index.
The built-in debug logging captures events within Elevated Product Search, such as query handling and indexing operations. It does not log PHP fatal errors, theme conflicts, database failures, or server-level issues that may be preventing the search form from functioning.
If the Elevated Product Search logs do not reveal the cause, or if the site crashes and you cannot access the WordPress admin, the issue likely exists outside the plugin.
WP Debug Toolkit is a separate debugging suite that includes a standalone Error Log Viewer. It reads the WordPress debug.log directly through a browser-based interface that functions independently of the WordPress admin. This means you can inspect PHP errors, identify plugin conflicts, and even disable themes or plugins to recover from a crash without relying on wp-admin access.
For routine debugging, the Elevated Product Search logs are the fastest place to start. When the problem involves code-level errors or site crashes, a dedicated debugging tool provides the broader visibility needed to find the root cause.
The Logs tab does not appear after enabling debug logging
Refresh the page after saving the settings. The tab is generated when the setting is active. If it still does not appear, clear your browser cache and check again.
The logs are empty
Confirm you toggled Enable Debug Logging to ON and clicked Save Settings. Then reproduce the issue on the frontend. The logging system only captures events that occur while it is active.
Cannot interpret the log entries
Focus on entries marked as errors or warnings. Search query entries show the exact string the customer typed and the response status. If you see repeated indexer failures, click Force Index Rebuild in the Indexer section and monitor the logs for the next indexing attempt.
