# How to Change the Text in WooCommerce Search: A Beginner’s Guide
WooCommerce is a powerful e-commerce platform, but sometimes its default text needs a little tweaking to better match your brand or improve user experience. This guide will show you how to change the text in your WooCommerce search bar and results, even if you’re a complete beginner.
Why Change WooCommerce Search Text?
Before diving into the “how,” let’s address the “why.” Changing the search text can significantly improve your store’s usability and branding.
- Improved User Experience: Default text like “Search” can be bland. More engaging phrasing, such as “Find Your Product,” can encourage more searches.
- Brand Consistency: Matching the search bar text to your overall branding ensures a cohesive and professional look. Imagine a luxury brand using the plain “Search” – it feels incongruous!
- Increased Conversions: A well-designed search function with clear prompts can lead to more successful product finds and, ultimately, more sales.
Method 1: Using the WooCommerce Admin Panel (Easiest Method)
This is the simplest approach, perfect for beginners and those with only minor text changes. However, it only affects the placeholder text within the search bar itself, not the labels on the results page.
1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard: Access your website’s admin area.
2. Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings: This opens the WooCommerce settings page.
3. Select the “Products” tab: Find this in the top navigation bar.
4. Locate the “Product Search” section: It’s usually near the bottom.
5. Change the “Search placeholder text”: Replace the default text (“Search products…”) with your desired text. For example, you could use “Find your perfect item” or “Discover our collection”.
6. Save changes: Click the “Save changes” button at the bottom of the page.
Now, your search bar placeholder text will be updated!
Method 2: Using a Child Theme and Code (For More Advanced Customization)
This method allows for more extensive customization, including changing text on the search results page. This is highly recommended as modifying your main theme directly can lead to issues during updates. It requires creating a child theme (if you don’t already have one), which is a best practice for any WordPress theme modifications.
Step 1: Create a Child Theme (If Necessary)
This step ensures that your customizations are safe Explore this article on How To Dropship Automated China Brands In Woocommerce from being overwritten when your parent theme updates. Numerous tutorials are available online on how to create a child theme – search for “create WordPress child theme.”
Step 2: Edit the `functions.php` file of your child theme
Add the following code to your child theme’s `functions.php` file. This code changes Check out this post: Woocommerce How To Hide Image File Names the “Search” label in the WooCommerce search results page to “Product Search Results”. You’ll need to adjust the text strings to your specific needs.
add_filter( 'woocommerce_get_page_id', 'custom_woocommerce_page_ids', 10, 2 ); function custom_woocommerce_page_ids( $page_id, $page ) { if ( $page == 'shop' ) { return 123; // Replace 123 with your shop page ID } return $page_id; }
add_filter( ‘gettext’, ‘custom_search_text’, 20, 3 );
function custom_search_text( $translated_text, $text, $domain ) {
if ( $domain == ‘woocommerce’ && $text == ‘Search’ ) {
return ‘Product Search Results’;
}
return $translated_text;
}
Remember to replace `123` with Explore this article on How To See All Customers In Woocommerce your actual shop page ID. You can find this ID by going to Pages in your WordPress Discover insights on How To Add A Text Field Attribute To Woocommerce Prodcut admin and hovering over your shop page. The ID will appear in the URL.
Step 3: Further Text Changes
You can extend this method to change other text within the search results using more `gettext` filters. For example, you could alter the “No products found” message. Refer to the WooCommerce documentation and online resources for identifying the specific text strings you want to modify.
Conclusion
Changing the text in your WooCommerce search can significantly improve your store’s functionality and brand image. Whether you opt for the simple admin panel adjustment or the more involved child theme method, selecting the appropriate approach based on your technical skills and desired level of customization is key. Remember to always back up your website before making any code changes.