Member directory · supercharged

Ultimate Member
Advance Faceted Search

A drop-in faceted sidebar for any Ultimate Member directory. Checkboxes, dropdowns, and range sliders — results update instantly as visitors refine their search.

Download Plugin How it works
Checkboxes Dropdowns Range sliders Date ranges
🔒 yoursite.com/members/
UM Faceted Search showing member directory with Country, Gender, and First Name filters on the left, and member profile cards on the right
Compatible with Ultimate Member 2.x & 3.x
Tested up to WordPress 6.8
Requires PHP 7.4+
GPL v2 Licensed
The Problem

Default UM search leaves visitors stranded

Keyword search was never built for community discovery. Your visitors need real filters — right now they don’t have them.

No multi-criteria filtering

There’s no built-in way to combine filters. “Designers in Bangkok with 5+ years experience” is impossible without facets.

Painful full-page reloads

Every filter change triggers a full reload — slow and frustrating, especially on mobile connections.

One-size-fits-all settings

A “Find a Freelancer” directory and a “Find a Mentor” directory can’t have different filter sets out of the box.

Features

Everything you need to filter smarter

Built specifically for Ultimate Member’s data model — configure once per directory and ship.

AJAX-Powered Filtering

Member results update instantly as visitors refine their search — no page reload, no spinner, no wait.

Per-Directory Configuration

Each directory gets its own independent facet set, configured directly inside the UM directory edit screen.

Three Layout Options

Sidebar left, sidebar right, or top-bar — choose per directory. Collapses to a mobile drawer automatically.

Active Filter Chips

A chip bar above results shows every active filter. One click removes a single filter; one clears all.

Role-Based Visibility

Show or hide individual facets by user role. Gate premium filters to paid members, hide admin facets from guests.

Live Result Counts

Each filter option shows a real-time count. Counts update as filters combine so visitors always know what to expect.

Shareable URL Filter State

Active filters encode into the URL so visitors can bookmark filtered views or share links with filters pre-applied.

Smart Field Type Detection

Reads your UM form definitions to auto-assign the correct filter type — text, numeric, date, or serialized array.

Drag-and-Drop Ordering

Reorder facets in the admin by dragging rows. The sidebar renders in exactly the order you set.

Filter Types

Four ways to slice your member list

Each type maps to a different kind of Ultimate Member field. Mix and match freely.

Checkbox Filters

Best for multi-select — skills, interests, any UM select or checkbox field.

Dropdown Filters

Single-value selection from a compact dropdown. Ideal for role, country, UM radio or select fields.

Range Sliders

Min–max sliders for age, experience, hourly rate, or any UM number field.

Date Range Filters

From/to date pickers for UM date fields — registration date, birth year, membership start.

Admin Experience

Configured from inside the directory editor

No separate settings page to find. The Faceted Search panel lives right on the UM directory edit screen alongside your other settings.

  • Toggle faceted search on/off per directory
  • Visual layout picker with CSS diagram previews
  • Meta-key autocomplete from your UM fields
  • Drag rows to reorder the filter sidebar
  • Per-facet role visibility controls
  • Result count display and mobile collapse toggles
Member directory with UM Faceted Search active — Country, Gender, and First Name filters on the left sidebar, member profile cards on the right
Setup

Up and running in three steps

No shortcodes, no template edits. Everything is inside the UM admin screen.

1

Install & Activate

Upload and activate. UM Faceted Search appears immediately inside every UM directory edit screen under UM → Member Directories.

2

Configure Facets

Enable faceted search, choose a layout, then add facets — set field key, label, filter type, and role visibility for each.

3

Publish & Filter

Save the directory. The filter sidebar goes live instantly — no theme edits, no shortcodes, nothing else needed.

Requirements

What you need

WordPress 6.0+

Tested up to 6.8

Ultimate Member (active)

Any recent 2.x or 3.x

PHP 7.4+

PHP 8.x recommended

MySQL / MariaDB

Standard WP database

FAQ

Common questions

No. UM Faceted Search is a UM add-on. If Ultimate Member is not installed and active, the plugin will deactivate itself automatically on activation or on the next admin_init hook.
Yes — each directory has its own independent facet configuration. A “Find a Freelancer” directory can have skills + rate filters while a “Find a Mentor” directory has industry + availability filters. Completely separate.
Go to UM → Member Directories, then add or edit a directory. The Faceted Search panel is directly on that edit screen. Enable it, pick a layout, and start adding facets from your UM custom fields.
The plugin uses a 3-minute transient cache for facet counts so repeated interactions serve cached results. For very large directories (10,000+ members) a um_fs_facet_max_users filter lets you cap the user set used for counting.
Yes. The field type registry detects serialized arrays used by UM checkbox and multi-select fields. Each individual value within the array is counted and filterable independently.
Yes. When URL State is enabled (on by default), active filters are encoded into the page URL as query parameters. Visitors can bookmark or share links with specific filters already applied.

Make your member directory actually searchable

Give your visitors the filters they need to find the right members fast.

Download Plugin View Documentation

Scroll to Top