Search any website – fast!

Find your favorite websites faster than ever

- CRAIG GRANNELL

SEARCH ENGINES ARE often a stepping stone to a website, whereupon you have to search again for what you need. When you regularly visit a range of websites, you might want the process to be more efficient, and done in a single step.

Fortunately, such a capability can be added to Safari by way of third-party browser extensions. This tutorial uses xSearch, which can be downloaded from the App Store. Our walkthrough focuses on the iPhone version, but one universal purchase works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

First, though, you need to install and activate the extension. On iPhone and iPad, this is done in Settings > Apps > Safari > Extensions. On Mac, open Safari and go to Settings > Extensions. On iPhone or iPad, you may also need to load a website in Safari, tap the Extensions button (puzzle piece icon) in the address bar, tap Manage Extensions, then turn on xSearch. Give permissions to the extension when asked.

Make a search

Type "w iPhone" or "wiki iPhone" into Safari's address bar, then tap the right arrow key. You bypass a search engine and go straight to Wikipedia. Or try "gpt are you Skynet?" to start asking ChatGPT whether it's about to unleash a T-1000.

View engines