Few days back I found some time to experiment with some interesting stuff on Ajax. So, I searched for some APIs, Code Snippets and thought why not start using APIs of Google AJAX Search. I had a look on Google AJAX Search recently and was just going through the Google AJAX Search APIs ( http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxsearch/) in deep and thought to build something new with the code available.

Being a big FAN of WordPress.org I thought to create a plugin with a different concept, something different from the general widgets available. So started exploring the Google AJAX Search APIs and did some few experiments on sample pages, customizing the same, going through the APIs document provided and playing with the customized options provided.

When ever I thought to write an article on some topic, first I use to search in Google for related topics for more info or whether somebody has already written some article on the same topic or not and even I use to search for the related images, videos or blogs to know more about the same.

In the process i figured that there were a few artivles which were always incomplete. Also, due to the incomplete nature of the content, I felt or needed more information than what was provided in them.
So,I thought why not give an option to my blog readers to go around the web for the same topic to know more about that particular article/topic. Sounds Cool right :)??

After giving it a long thought and in depth experimenting :) I thought to come up with this Google AJAX “Related” Topic Search and named the widget as “Google AJAX Related Search” Version 1.0. The first wordpress plugin/widget from WittySparks.com team. We are excited to release this cool, handy and useful plugin – isn’t so?

Here is the preview of the widget:

You can even have a look to the live plugin/widget in our WittySparks.com website in every article page at the sleek side bar below the “Post Info” pannel the one with the tab based interface.

Looks great and wana try it? If so here are the steps to start with:

Plugin Requirements:

1. Of course you need your own WordPress site :)
2. Google AJAX Search API Key
3. Looking for more? Sorry thats it you need :)

and here are the steps to install this Google AJAX Related Search V 1.0 plugin

Installation:

1. Download the plugin and unzip it.
2. Put the ‘Google-AJAX-Search_WS.php’ file into your wp-content/plugins/ directory.
3. Go to the Plugins page in your WordPress Administration area and click ‘Activate’ next to Google Ajax Related Search – WittySparks.
4. Go to Options > Google Ajax Search – WS to configure your settings and click ‘save’.
   • You will need an API key first. http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxsearch/signup.html
   • All other options are optional but make sure you enter the default settings.
5. You can place the widget not only in the side bars, you can have it at any place where you place the widget function <?php custom_search_ws(); ?> or use the Sidebar widget controller and drag and drop the Google AJAX Related Search :).
6. Done the above 5 steps? then check and enjoy the widget.
7. If you really like our effort you can even donate us by clicking on the Donate Paypal button placed in the side bar at http://www.wittysparks.com – Thanks in advance.

So did you found this widget to be useful? then why not show some love by spreading the word about this widget (Digg It, Sphere It, Spot It etc)

Since this is our first wordpress plugin from WittySparks.com team, why not drop few words about this widgets in our comment box and also let us know where can we improve or enhance the plugin/widget for more visibility and usability.

Hope to hear from you all :)

Download the Plugin from here:

[download#1#image]

Further Reading...

Make any web page print friendly

UserEcho – Customer feedback 2.0 – Listen and become smarter

Make stories – storify.com