Search results, the 404 page, and protected posts

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 does not exist: a mistyped URL, a link from somewhere else that has since gone stale, or a post you deleted.

It has its own Customizer section at AppearanceCustomize404 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 a maximum width setting for desktop.

Copy

The heading and the paragraph under it. The default heading is "Oh, the tragedy!", and it is worth replacing with something in your own voice.

Actions

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

Quick links

An optional second row of links under the buttons, with its own heading. Switched on with Show quick links.

What to put there: 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 are rendered as an archive. The same page header, the same card layout, and the same pagination the category archives use, so anything you set for archives applies here too.

The page header knows it is a search: it has its own context, so the heading can name the search term rather than a category name. The results count, when the archive settings have it switched on, appears in the pagination zone under the list.

When nothing matches, the page shows the archive empty state instead of the list.

Two things are worth checking 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 field itself, including the command palette and suggestions as you type, is covered in the Search article.

#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 does not have it sees the post title, the header, and a password form in place of the content. Verba draws that form to match the site field and button styling rather than leaving the browser default.

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 is a fact about words the reader cannot see, so no figure is shown at all rather than one they cannot check.
• 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 is not 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 did not expect

WordPress searches every public post type, not only posts. If you have a plugin adding a post type, its entries appear in results.

Where is the sidebar on search results?

The archive sidebar covers category, tag, author, date, and search results together. It is one widget area, set in AppearanceWidgets under Archive Sidebar.

Last updated 22 Sep 2026