Search for Bing Getting Started Guide

Search for Bing allows you to very quickly and easily add search functionality to your website. This uses the search functionality provided by Microsoft's Bing, so all you need to do is make sure that your site (or domain that you want to search) has been indexed at bing.com.

This tutorial will guide you through using Search for Bing to add the search functionality to your site.

What you need to start:

  • Search for Bing
  • Microsoft Expression Web 4
  • Free Microsoft Bing AppID (sign up here: http://www.bing.com/developers)
  • Site defined in Expression Web
    • Adding Search functionality

    Once you have obtained your Bing AppID and installed the Search for Bing add-in in Expression Web 4, you can create your search functionality. Search for Bing allows you to create a search page which will display your search results on the same page below the search field, or create a separate search and results page.

    1. From the Expression Web menu choose WebAssist > Build Page > New Bing Search Page.
       
      NOTE:When the Search for Bing interface opens for the first time you will be prompted to activate the add-in. Obtain your serial number from WebAssist's Download Center, and copy and paste the code in the first text field.
    2. Once the Search for Bing interface launches, you will be prompted to enter the following information.
      • Bing App ID: Enter the App ID you obtained from the Bing Developer Center.
      • Search Domain: Enter the URL or domain you wish to search.
        You can use subdirectories or subdomains if you like.
      • Results Per Page: Specify how many results you wish to display per page.
      • Include CSS: This will attach a basic CSS style sheet for you to modify.
      • Create separate search and results pages: If selected, Search for Bing will create a search page that contains your search form and a results page that will display the results. If not selected, the search and results will both be inserted onto the search page.
      • Search Page Name: Enter the name/path of the search page to be created.
      • Results Page Name Enter the name/path of the results page to be created.
        This option will be disabled if the option to create separate pages is not selected
         
        NOTE:If you wish to overwrite a file by specifying the same file name as a file that already exists, the original file must not be open in Expression Web.
    3. Once you have entered the details in the required fields, click Finish to create your page(s).

    Search for Bing will create the pages you specified within the site you currently have open in Expression Web. Those pages will open automatically once created.

    To integrate these pages with your existing website, you can apply your site's template as well as modify the CSS style sheet that has been created within the 'webassist' directory.

     

    What to do next?

    Once you have created your search and results pages, you will want to do some work to style the search form and the results to match your website's design. If you chose to Include CSS when creating your pages, there will be a CSS style sheet within your site for you to modify the styles of your search and results. You may want to add additional styles or place elements in different divs to achieve a different layout than the one provided.

    Last Updated: June 30, 2010
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