Search results, the 404 page, and protected posts - Verba

Three pages on a WordPress site are neither an article nor a normal archive, and each is easy to forget until somebody lands on one. All three are configured, and none of them needs a template of its own.

#The 404 page

This is what a reader gets when the address they opened doesn't exist: a mistyped URL, a stale link from somewhere else, or a post you deleted.

It has its own Customizer section at AppearanceCustomizeVerba Theme404 Error Page, with four tabs.

Illustration

The large graphic at the top. Illustration source chooses between the default "404" text and a custom image, and a custom image gets an Illustration max width.

Copy

The Heading and the Description under it. The default heading is "Oh, the tragedy!". Replace it with something in your own voice.

Actions

The Action buttons under the copy. Each row is a label, an icon, and a destination, either a page you pick or a URL you type, with its own style and size.

Quick links

A second row of links under the buttons, with its own heading. Show quick links is on by default, and the list starts with four placeholder links that point to #, so give them real addresses. A link without a label or an address is skipped, and an empty list hides the row.

Give the page one button back to the home page, and quick links to the two or three sections most people are looking for. A 404 page with no way forward sends the reader to a different site.

#Search results

Search results render as an archive: the same page header, card layout, and pagination the category archives use, set at AppearanceCustomizeVerba ThemeArchive. The Search Results tab there sets how the search phrase appears in the title and whether a search form sits on the page.

The result count can show in two places: beside the title (Show Result Count on the Page Header tab) and next to the page links (Show Results Count on the Layout tab).

When nothing matches, the page shows the Nothing Found Text instead of the list.

Before launch, run a search that returns nothing and read what the page says. Then run one that returns many results and confirm the pagination is the mode you want, since search results are where readers meet it most often.

The header search panel, with its link groups and live results, is covered in Search.

#Password protected posts

WordPress lets you lock a post behind a password from the Status and visibility panel in the editor. Set visibility to Password protected and type a password.

A reader who doesn't have it sees the post title, the header, and a password form in place of the content, styled like the rest of the site's fields and buttons.

What is withheld along with the text:

• The comments area. A discussion about protected text gives the text away, so it stays hidden until the password is entered.
• The reading time. It describes words the reader can't see, so no figure is shown.
• The reading blocks. The summary, key points, contents list, and the rest of the article tools hold back with the content they describe.

Password protection isn't security. The password is shared, WordPress stores the post in the clear, and anyone with the password can pass it on. Use it to stage an article for a client or an editor, not to protect anything that matters.

#Common questions

Can I set a different 404 page per language?

The 404 settings are strings like any other, so a translation plugin that handles Customizer strings translates them. Which strings it picks up depends on the plugin.

Search returns pages I didn't expect

Without Pro, WordPress searches every public content type, so pages and any type a plugin adds show up. With Pro, results are limited to posts by default, and Searchable Content at VerbaTheme OptionsArchiveGeneral (in the Search Results group, shown when Archive Source is Advanced) decides which types are included.

Where is the sidebar on search results?

The Archive Sidebar covers category, tag, author, date, and search pages together. Fill it at AppearanceWidgets.

Last updated 8 Oct 2026