Gravity Search is a powerful new entry search and directory framework built into Gravity Geolocation 3.5. It allows you to transform Gravity Forms entries into searchable directories, listings, maps, customer portals, and custom search experiences.
Gravity Forms is one of the most powerful tools available for collecting data in WordPress. Businesses use it to manage directories, service providers, property listings, customer records, applications, memberships, employee databases, and countless other types of information.
But once that data has been collected, a new challenge appears.
How do users search it? How do administrators filter it? How do you transform thousands of entries into a searchable directory, resource library, customer portal, or location finder?
That's exactly why we built Gravity Search.
Whether you're building a public directory, an internal administration tool, a customer portal, a resource library, or a location-aware search experience, the framework provides the tools needed to turn Gravity Forms entries into searchable content.
Why We Built Gravity Search
Over the years, we've seen Gravity Forms users build everything from business directories and property listings to customer portals, employee databases, membership sites, and internal administration tools.
While Gravity Forms excels at collecting and managing data, searching and displaying that data often required custom development, multiple plugins, or complex workarounds.
We wanted to provide a solution that felt like a natural extension of Gravity Forms itself. A solution that would allow users to build powerful search experiences, searchable directories, listings, maps, and lookup tools without learning an entirely new platform.
That's exactly what this framework was designed to do.
Introducing Gravity Search
Gravity Search is a powerful entry search and directory framework built into Gravity Geolocation 3.5.
More than a simple search feature, Gravity Search transforms Gravity Forms into a searchable application platform, allowing you to build directories, listings, resource catalogs, customer portals, administration tools, proximity-based searches, and map-integrated search experiences powered entirely by Gravity Forms entries.
Whether you're building a public business directory, a searchable employee database, a property listing platform, a service provider finder, or an internal administration dashboard, it provides the tools needed to search, filter, sort, and display Gravity Forms data in meaningful ways.
Think of Gravity Search as the missing layer between collecting data with Gravity Forms and making that data searchable, discoverable, and useful to your users.
Turn Gravity Forms Into a Search and Directory Platform
Most Gravity Forms sites follow a familiar pattern:
- Create a form.
- Collect entries.
- Manage submissions in the admin area.
That works well when you're collecting data. But what happens when your entries become valuable content that users need to browse, filter, and discover?
That's where Gravity Search changes the game.
Instead of treating entries as data that only administrators can access, it allows you to transform those entries into searchable content that can power complete front-end experiences. You can build searchable directories, maps, lookup tools, resource libraries, listings, and custom search experiences using the same Gravity Forms data you're already collecting.
What Can You Build with Gravity Search?
One of the most exciting aspects of the search framework is how flexible it is.
The same search framework can be used to power very different types of applications.
- Business Directories – Search businesses by category, keyword, location, and distance.
- Service Provider Finders – Help users find nearby professionals and service providers.
- Property Listings – Search properties by location, price, category, and custom criteria.
- Employee Directories – Search employee records and company information.
- Customer Portals – Allow users to search and manage their own entries.
- Member Directories – Create searchable membership databases.
- Resource Libraries – Build searchable collections of guides, documents, and submitted content.
- Lead Management Systems – Search and filter leads using custom business criteria.
- Location Finders – Help users discover nearby locations and services.
In fact, the possibilities extend far beyond traditional directories. If your data lives in Gravity Forms, Gravity Search can help users find it.
Built Using the Native Gravity Forms Builder
One of the core goals behind Gravity Search was keeping the experience familiar.
Many search and directory systems introduce a completely separate builder, custom interface, or proprietary workflow. Gravity Search takes a different approach. Search forms are created using the standard Gravity Forms builder that users already know, meaning there is no separate search builder to learn.
If you know how to build a Gravity Form, you already know how to build a Gravity Search form.
Search Any Gravity Forms Entries
Gravity Search uses a simple but extremely powerful architecture. First, you create a search form. Then you select a target form—the form whose entries will be searched. This separation allows a single search form to be connected to virtually any Gravity Forms dataset.
This creates a flexible "search any form" workflow where search forms and target forms remain completely independent.
For example:
- A Business Directory Search form can search a Business Listings form.
- A Property Search form can search a Property Listings form.
- An Employee Lookup form can search an Employee Records form.
- A Provider Search form can search a Service Provider form.
As a result, this architecture allows the framework to work with virtually any dataset managed through Gravity Forms.
Powerful Search and Filtering
Gravity Search supports flexible field mapping and filtering, allowing search fields to be connected to target fields without requiring identical field types. This makes it much easier to work with existing forms and datasets without restructuring your data.
Text fields, select fields, radio buttons, checkboxes, number fields, date fields, and many other field types can be mapped and configured to create powerful search experiences.
Users can perform:
- Keyword searches
- Exact matches
- Contains searches
- Choice-based filtering
- Numeric comparisons
- Date filtering
- Range-based searches
Multiple filters can be combined together using AND or OR logic, making it possible to build everything from simple search forms to advanced multi-filter directories.
More Than Just Form Fields
The framework isn't limited to standard form fields. It can also search entry metadata and administrative information such as:
- Entry IDs
- Entry status
- Date created
- Date updated
- Payment information
- Transaction IDs
- User IDs
- User roles
- Entry creators
This makes Gravity Search useful not only for public-facing directories, but also for internal administration tools and business workflows.
Fast AJAX-Powered Search Experience
Gravity Search uses a REST API-powered AJAX architecture, allowing searches to run dynamically without reloading the page.
Searches can be triggered manually or automatically when filters change, creating a modern, responsive user experience. Results can also load automatically when a page first loads, helping users immediately discover available content.
Flexible Results, Templates, and Details Pages
You have complete control over how results are displayed. Results can be rendered using structured field settings for quick setup or through fully customized templates using Gravity Forms merge tags.
Supported display options include:
- List layouts
- Grid layouts
- Table layouts
- List/Grid view toggles
- Pagination
- Load More functionality
- Sorting controls
- Per-page controls
Each result can also link to a dedicated details page where users can view complete entry information. Details pages can be built using simple structured settings or fully customized page content powered by Gravity Forms merge tags.
Maps and Proximity Search
Gravity Search works perfectly as a general-purpose search and directory framework. When combined with Gravity Geolocation, however, it becomes even more powerful, allowing users to search by location, radius, and distance while displaying results directly on an interactive map.
This makes Gravity Search ideal for:
- Store locators
- Business directories
- Property searches
- Service provider finders
- Location-aware listings
- Map-integrated search experiences
At the same time, maps and proximity search are completely optional, allowing Gravity Search to support both location-based and non-location-based workflows.
Build Layouts Your Way
One of the most powerful aspects of Gravity Search is its flexible component-based architecture. The search form, search results, and map can each be displayed independently using separate shortcodes.
This allows you to create layouts such as:
- Search form above results.
- Search form beside a map.
- Results and map displayed side-by-side.
- Map-only displays.
- Results-only displays.
- Fully custom landing pages.
This flexibility makes it easy to match virtually any design or workflow requirement.
Included with Gravity Geolocation Pro
Gravity Search is included with the Pro plan and represents one of the most significant additions introduced in Gravity Geolocation 3.5, bringing powerful entry search, directory, and listing capabilities directly to Gravity Forms.
The Agency plan includes everything in Pro, plus advanced features such as Nearest Locations, Drawing Tools, and future advanced functionality.
See our pricing page for a complete feature comparison.
See Gravity Search in Action
Ready to explore Gravity Search for yourself?
Key Highlights
- Build search forms using the native Gravity Forms builder.
- Search entries from any Gravity Forms form.
- Independent search forms and target forms.
- Flexible field mapping and filtering.
- Search entry metadata and creator information.
- REST API-powered AJAX search experience.
- List, grid, and table layouts.
- Custom templates and merge tag support.
- Dedicated details pages.
- Map-integrated and proximity-aware search.
- Flexible shortcode-based layouts.
- Suitable for directories, portals, listings, and administration tools.
Get Started with Gravity Search
Gravity Search is available now as part of the Gravity Geolocation 3.5 beta. Explore the demos, experiment with your own data, and discover how Gravity Search can transform Gravity Forms from a data collection tool into a powerful search and directory platform.
Want to try Gravity Search on your own site? Visit our pricing page to choose a plan, or download the latest beta if you're already a Gravity Geolocation customer.
As always, we welcome feedback, bug reports, feature requests, and real-world use cases as we continue refining Gravity Geolocation 3.5 and the initial public beta release of Gravity Search ahead of the official launch.