Have you ever visited a website without a search box and you needed to find an article or post. Ashley @ Nose Graze shares how to do search a blog without one. However, I recommend that if you own a blog or website you add a search box. Believe it or not it ranks in the top ten percent of pet peeves for visitors. I recently hosted an event and used search buttons to find folks start up posts. On some blogs I was forced to click older posts over and over, refresh after refresh..eek gads! This is a simple fix..so add a search box to your website today!
If you sitting there thinking, but Kimberly I never bother with search buttons. This is where you need to look at your blog/website not as yourself but as a visitor. Ask yourself what things can I add to make my blog more functional for those visiting.
How to Add A Search Box
Blogger
- Go to Dashboard
- Go to Sidebar
- Select Add A Gadget
- Click Search Box
- Save
You can also add an Archive under Gadgets called Blog Archive. It shows month and lists posts in a dropdown.
WordPress.com
- Go to Appearance
- Go to Widgets
- Add Search This Blog
It is customizable, and if you have upgraded you can change appearance with CSS styling.
WordPress.Org
- Go to Appearance
- Go to Widgets
- Add Search This Blog
You can use CSS styling to customize if desired.
Other optional Plugins:
Do You Have A Search Box on Your Blog?
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Christina T
Thank you so much for sharing this! I have been wanting to add search functionality to my blog for awhile 🙂
Grace MyBookSnack
Oh, I totally agree that a search box is needed. Also, use a search box widget that is functional. I was on another blog that used the Blogger search box, and it never worked. I don’t know if it was ever fixed, but I found that frustrating. When I started my own blog, I made sure my search box worked well. Great post, Kim! 🙂
Kay
It drives me crazy when a blog or website doesn’t have a search bar!
Steph
Great information. There are also places online to find out how to customize the search box to your color scheme etc. I spent a day looking it all up and fiddling during Bloggiesta.. 🙂
Jeann
Useful post Kimba, I can’t believe a lot of sites still don’t have search boxes – it makes things so much more difficult! Great tutorials as well!
ShootingStarsMag
Thanks for sharing! Easy enough to add in – I keep meaning to put one on my blog, so I’ll have to do that ASAP. I don’t use them often when visiting other blogs, but I do sometimes!
The Bibliophile Babe
Great tip!
Kathy
This is good info, Kimberly. I have a search box through Genesis but have wondered if the Google search box is better. I think location of the box is also a good thing to consider, and I’m not sure that mine is in the right spot, either.
Sophia Rose
So true, and the older the blog or website is, the more it needs a search. Very practical suggestion, thanks!
Emma
Great idea and easy instructions- thank you!
Lily B
thats an awesome tip for those that do not know, also make it easy to find. i have seen sites that it is almost impossible to find
Melissa (Books and Things)
I know! I was just at a crafting blog and I needed to find something… no search box. Really? A craft blog with tons of tutes? Ugh.
Kristin
search boxed are an absolute must. Before you add any widget on your site, you need to have a search box.
Heidi
I can’t imagine not having a search box. I use it on my blog all the time when I am looking for a particular post I wrote to reference. Another thing that is so helpful that a lot of bloggers don’ thave is an index of books they reviewed. Thanks for helping peeps out with this post.
Felicia GeekyBlogger (
I can’t mention how much I love that you pointed this out to people. When I was doing 30 days of thanks last month–I was surprised how many people didn’t have search boxes. It made finding things on their site a pain which is not good overall.
Angela
Great post. Search boxes is one of my peeves when visiting a blog. I use the search box on my own page all the time and when I visit another blog looking for a certain post and can’t find it easily I get frustrated and leave, maybe never visiting the blog again. It’s so easy to have a search box.
kindlemom1
This is definitely a must, I use my own all the time!
Candace
It really is a simple thing and SO necessary. As a tour organizer I use them daily on people’s blogs to try to find something. I can sometimes search and search for something (without the search bar) and not find it, I email them and they tell me it’s been up since whenever. Well, I scrolled through pages and pages and never found it. A search bar is IMPORTANT! So glad you did this post. 🙂
Mary Kirkland
Thanks for the info. I just added a search bar to the side bar of my blog. I really had no idea that visitors liked that.
Jan
Great post, Kimba. Can’t understand why people don’t put search boxes on their blogs. I use my own search box all the time to find a specific post on my blog.
Tracy Terry
With blogger. I had a Search Button automatically added on my Tool Bar at the top of my blog but people seem to miss it as it isn’t very obvious so I decided to add one onto my side- bar which though more obvious is less than useless. One word spelt incorrectly, a capital letter missed and you get a message saying the post was not found. I wouldn’t mind so much if alternatives were suggested but they aren’t.
Anyway, rant over. Thanks for the tutorial. I’m just wondering if any of the other plug-ins are perhaps compatible with Blogger.
Laurel-Rain Snow
Thanks for posting about this…I don’t often use the search box, but I know that it’s a good feature to have, so I do have it on my sites.
I also like finding a way to follow a blog, and sometimes those widgets are missing, too.
sherry fundin
I have one and love when others do too.
Jenny
YES!!! I love the search bar. I probably use it more on my own blog than anyone else’s to help me find old reviews to link to and what not, but it’s very handy to have:)
Debbie Haupt
You are my heroine Kim 🙂
thanks!
xo
Lola
A search bar is such an important function to have on your blog in my opinion. I’ve visited a few blogs without them and always had trouble finding what I was looking for until I read Nosegraze her post. I sometimes my search on my own blog, when I am looking for a specific post, searching is the fastest way to find a post sometimes. But I agree it’s even mroe important for visitors. Great post Kimba!
btw when I am on your blog I sometimes see a progress bar pop up on the bottom of the screen for second and then disapear again. It’s like the bar that’s normally on the right side of the screen, but then at the bottom and it’s only there for a second and then disapeares. And when I move around your blog and such it keeps popping up. Just thought I would let you know
kimbacaffeinate
Hmm, weird mine isn’t anything other than WordPress search box.
Bookworm Brandee
No Search? Yeah, that’d make my left eye twitch. 😉 Thanks for sharing Ashley’s How-To, Kimberly! I need her to write a book – I need to know how to do something right now and just can’t figure it out. :/
Haniya
I’m on blogger and also use the search box gadget!! It’s really necessary for a blog! Sharing this post!
Melanie Simmons
It is such a simple thing to add, yet people don’t have it. I just don’t understand. So helpful. I’ll admit that I don’t use it often, but it is great when it is need and painful when it isn’t there. Thanks for sharing this. I hope more people add it.
Pat
I love a search box at the top of the blog. With my current theme, I don’t have a side bar & have the search box in my footer & after post.. I may change my theme so I can have the search box at the top. I would need to write code to get it into my menu line with my current theme..
Pat
Moved my Search into the header after reading your post. I think the search box is important even just for myself to use.
Lekeisha
Yes, I have WP’s own at the top right. It’s hard to miss!
ailyn
good tips, but I am not sure if anyone wants to search my blog post. I do have one in WordPress
Maja (The Nocturnal Library)
I love that you’re doing these tutorials! It annoys me when there’s no search on blogs, too. One good thing I can say about Blogger is that it’s almost ridicilously easy to do.
blodeuedd
I do have blogger’s own, how good it works..eh
Christy LoveOfBooks
It sucks when I’m looking for certain posts on a blog and they don’t have a search option. It actually happens more often than one might think. I don’t have much patience with stuff like this, so I’ll just move on if it takes too long.