# How to Change the WooCommerce Product Search Field Size: A Beginner’s Guide
Finding the perfect product on your WooCommerce store should be a breeze for your customers. A poorly sized search bar can hinder this experience, making it frustrating and potentially leading to lost sales. This guide shows you how to easily adjust the size of your WooCommerce product search field, improving both usability and aesthetics.
Why Change the Search Field Size?
The default size of the WooCommerce search field might not always be ideal. Think about these scenarios:
- Small Screens: On mobile devices or smaller laptops, a small search box can be difficult to use, especially if users have larger fingers or are typing longer search terms.
- Visual Appeal: A disproportionately small or large search bar can clash with your website’s overall design, making it look unprofessional.
- Improved User Experience: A larger search field provides more space for users to type, leading to a more comfortable and efficient search experience.
Method 1: Using CSS (Recommended for Beginners)
This method is the easiest and requires no coding experience beyond pasting code into your theme’s CSS file. This is the recommended approach for most users.
Finding Your Theme’s `style.css` File
First, you need to locate your theme’s `style.css` file. This is usually found in your WordPress theme directory. The exact path depends on your hosting provider and WordPress installation, but it’s typically something like: `/wp-content/themes/[your-theme-name]/style.css`.
You can access this through your WordPress Dashboard (Appearance > Editor) though using a FTP client (like FileZilla) or your hosting control panel’s file manager is recommended for making changes directly to the file. Never edit files through the WordPress editor unless you are extremely comfortable with it as it is a good way to break your site.
Adding the CSS Code
Once you’ve located `style.css`, add the following CSS code to the bottom of the file. This code will target the search field’s width:
.woocommerce .widget_product_search form input[type=”search”] {
width: 300px !important;
}
This code snippet changes the width of the search field to 300 pixels. You can adjust the `300px` value to your desired width. For example:
* `width: 250px;` for a smaller field
* `width: 400px;` for a larger field
Saving and Checking
Save the `style.css` file. Then, visit your WooCommerce store’s front end to see the changes. The search field Check out this post: How To Manually Arrange Product Ids In Woocommerce should now be the size you specified.
Method 2: Using a Child Theme (Recommended for Advanced Users)
Creating a child theme is a safer and more robust approach than directly modifying your parent theme’s files. If you update your theme, your custom CSS changes will not be overwritten. However, this requires more technical understanding.
Create a Child Theme
This is slightly more advanced and will require you to create a new folder for your child theme, copying the style sheet and creating a `functions.php` file. It is beyond the scope of this article to go into full detail on creating a child theme, but many guides exist on the internet for doing so.
Adding CSS to Child Theme’s `style.css`
Once your child theme is created, add the same CSS code as in Method 1 to your child theme’s `style.css` file.
.woocommerce .widget_product_search form input[type=”search”] {
width: 300px !important;
}
Activating Child Theme
Activate the new child theme in your WordPress Dashboard (Appearance > Themes).
Method 3: Using a Plugin (For Ease of Use)
Several plugins allow you to customize the appearance of your WooCommerce store, including the search field size. This is an easy option if you are comfortable installing and using plugins. Look for plugins that offer theme customization options in the WordPress plugin directory.
Remember to always back up your website before making any code changes. If you encounter problems, reverting to a backup will save you a lot of trouble. Happy customizing!
