How to Make SharePoint Search Easy and Powerful with PnP Modern Search

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of working with SharePoint, it’s that search is the backbone of a good user experience. That’s why I’m excited to share how to make SharePoint search easy and powerful with PnP Modern Search. Think about it—if your team members can’t find what they’re looking for quickly, they’ll lose precious time and patience. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with the PnP Modern Search web part, and I have to say, it’s a game-changer.

Why PnP Modern Search?

Out-of-the-box SharePoint search is fine, but it doesn’t always hit the mark when it comes to customisation or filtering results in ways that make sense for your users. The PnP Modern Search web part lets you tailor the experience to suit your organisation’s needs. You can configure it to display exactly the content your users need, with filters and layouts that make information easy to access.

How I’m Using It

Lately, I’ve been embedding this web part into the homepages of SharePoint sites to create custom search centres. This isn’t just a fancy addition—it’s about making the entire experience feel intuitive.

Here’s an example scenario:

Scenario: A Marketing Team’s Resource Hub

Imagine you’re managing a SharePoint site for your company’s marketing team. They need quick access to campaign assets, templates, and guidelines—but they’re struggling to wade through endless libraries and folders.

Here’s what I did:

• Added the PnP Modern Search web part to the homepage of their SharePoint site.
• Configured the web part to search within their specific site collections, cutting out irrelevant results from other departments.
• Set up filters for Document Type (e.g., Templates, Reports, Images) and Campaign Name, using the metadata we already created in the Term Store.
• Designed the search results layout to display thumbnails for images, making it super easy for the team to spot the right files at a glance.

Now, with just a few clicks, the team can find what they need without wasting time.

Tips to Improve Search for Your Users

Here are some practical tips I’ve picked up while working with the PnP Modern Search web part:

• Leverage Metadata: If you’ve set up metadata fields like Document Type or Department, use them as refiners in your search experience.
• Customise Layouts: Play around with the result layouts (e.g., list view, grid view) to see what works best for your users.
• Targeted Content Sources: Ensure your web part is scoped to the right site collections or libraries to avoid cluttering search results.
• Test with Users: Before rolling out your new search centre, get feedback from a few team members to make sure it’s meeting their needs.

Final Thoughts

Search might not be the most exciting part of SharePoint, but it’s definitely one of the most important. By using tools like the PnP Modern Search web part, you can transform how your users interact with content and save them countless hours.

Let me know in the comments how you’ve used search in your SharePoint sites—or if you’re just getting started, feel free to ask questions!