Jonathan Bird Web Design & Development
  1. Website Platforms
  3. Algolia/TypeSense Search
Algolia

Algolia & TypeSense - Setup & Integration

Search that helps people find the right product, service or resource quickly.

We design and operate search for product catalogues and content-heavy sites using Algolia and Typesense. The work covers source-data mapping, indexers, ranking, synonyms, filters, interface design and search analytics. Production implementations include Impact Office Supplies, Blue Ink, Culture Kings and Brisbane South PHN.

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Platform fit

Is this the right platform?

The platform should follow the requirements. These are the conditions we test before recommending Algolia.

A good fit when

Algolia or Typesense is justified when product or content discovery affects conversion, built-in search cannot express the required ranking, or the catalogue needs fast faceting at scale.

Consider another option when

Specialist search adds cost and operational work, so it is unnecessary when the platform’s built-in search already serves a small, simple catalogue well.
Case Studies

Featured projects built with Algolia

Selected production projects showing the requirements, integrations and ongoing responsibilities behind our Algolia work.

Want something like this for your organisation?

Tell us what you are trying to achieve. We will clarify the requirements and recommend a sensible next step before defining scope, timing, and cost.

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Capabilities

What we build with Algolia

Design, development, integration and support delivered by the people responsible for the technical decisions.

Index design and data pipelines

We map the source data, choose the searchable and filterable fields, and build repeatable indexers. Product, pricing, inventory or content changes can be updated without rebuilding the entire search index.

Search across large, changing catalogues

We use a dedicated search platform when the catalogue or content set is too large or dynamic for the site’s built-in search. The implementation is tested against realistic records, filters and traffic patterns.

Ranking, synonyms and merchandising

Ranking rules, synonyms, pinned results and query handling are configured around the terms people use and the results the organisation needs to prioritise. The settings remain visible and adjustable after launch.

Facets, filters and search interfaces

We build autocomplete, results pages, category filters, location search and content discovery interfaces around the index. Empty states, spelling differences and no-result searches are handled as part of the interface design.

Commerce and CMS integrations

We connect Algolia or Typesense to Laravel, Shopify, Magento, WordPress, Statamic and bespoke data sources. Synchronisation, retries and monitoring are designed around how quickly each source changes.

Search analytics and ongoing tuning

We track popular queries, no-result searches, click position and conversion where the site can measure it. Those reports identify missing content, vocabulary gaps and ranking changes that should be tested.

How the work is staffed

Search needs its own design and maintenance.

Useful search depends on content structure, indexing, relevance, interface behaviour, and ongoing measurement. Our senior team has delivered that work for Impact Office Supplies, Blue Ink, Culture Kings, and Brisbane South PHN.

Search added late

Search is configured after the rest of the build.

  • Search is configured after the main build, with limited time for relevance and interface decisions.

  • Questions usually go through an account or project manager before reaching the people tuning search.

  • Relevance, ranking and personalisation may be configured without production search data.

  • The implementation team receives an approved search scope and has to learn the content and users.

  • A support team takes over after launch and has to learn the index and relevance settings.

  • Search analytics and relevance settings are reviewed only after users report a problem.

Our team

The developers building the index also tune and maintain it.

  • Our senior developers design the index, write the indexers, tune relevance and build the search interface.

  • You speak directly with the people responsible for the search implementation and relevance settings.

  • We tune Algolia and Typesense indexes against production traffic from B2B and B2C sites.

  • The same team scopes the search work, designs the index and implements the integration.

  • The team that built the search implementation continues to tune and support it. Most of our client relationships run for five to seven years.

  • We review search analytics and retune relevance as the catalogue and search behaviour change.

Integrations

Systems we connect to Algolia

The business systems our team most often connects to a Algolia build. Browse every integration.

Integrating something else?

Tell us which systems need to exchange data and where the current process is failing. We will assess the APIs, constraints, and safest path forward.

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Straight advice

Choose the platform from the requirements.

We assess Algolia against the requirements and explain when another option would be cheaper or easier to maintain.

Start with constraints

Content, workflows, integrations, governance and ownership matter more than a feature checklist.

Avoid custom work without a reason

Configuration is preferable when it genuinely meets the requirement and remains maintainable.

Plan for operational ownership

The choice must still make sense for the team maintaining it after launch.

How our team works

The people making the platform decisions also deliver the work.

You speak directly with the developers and designers working on the project, and they continue to support it after launch.
  • Direct access to senior people
  • Design and development working closely together
  • Technical advice from the people responsible for implementation
  • Senior developers remain involved throughout delivery
  • The same team supports the site after launch
“Digital Bird has had a huge influence on our business providing many solutions besides just a fantastic reliable website. Jonathan is great to work with and has a solution to every challenge. Jonathan also has the ability to “dumb it down” and provide timely advice and assistance if something goes astray. With Jonathan we have in excess of 99% uptime on all three websites.”
Jeff Ross Director, Impact Office Supplies Impact Office Supplies Logo
· Updated July 26, 2026
Laravel Vue Algolia Typesense

Migrating from Algolia to Typesense: Laravel & Vue InstantSearch Guide

Algolia's 2025 pricing increases prompted us to migrate a B2B e-commerce platform with 15K products to Typesense resulting in ~65% cost savings with similar performance. This guide covers the complete Laravel Scout and Vue InstantSearch migration process, including schema configuration, the InstantSearch adapter setup, filter syntax differences, and a script to convert Algolia synonyms to Typesense format.

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Bring us your Algolia platform decision

Book a free strategy session with the senior people who scope and deliver the work. We will help clarify the problem, test assumptions and identify a practical next step—without turning the session into a generic sales call.

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