Search in Verba: from a simple form to a command palette

Header search opens a panel over the page instead of sending the reader straight to a results page. The free theme sets it up in the Customizer; Pro adds an advanced mode with more groups and other search providers.

#The free level

Search is on out of the box. Its settings are on the Search tab of AppearanceCustomizeVerba ThemeNavigation.

Shows the search trigger in the header.

Simple, shortened, expanded, or hybrid, from an icon on its own to a wide field-like button.

How wide the panel opens on a desktop screen.

The text inside the input and the note at the bottom of the panel.

Keeps pages out of the live results in the panel. It doesn't change the results page.

Shows matching posts while the visitor types, up to the Live Results Limit (8 by default).

Before anybody types, the panel shows groups of links: pages, categories, posts, and a custom group you compile yourself. Each group has its own switch and either fills itself automatically or lists the entries you pick. Pages, categories, and the custom group are on by default; posts is off.

Pressing Enter opens the results page, which is set up with the archives. See Search results, the 404 page, and protected posts.

Phones have their own switch: Search on Mobile on the Mobile tab.

Every keystroke that triggers a live result is a request to your server. On modest hosting that's noticeable. Try it on a phone over a mobile connection before deciding to keep it.

#The advanced level

With Pro, Search Source on the General tab of VerbaTheme OptionsNavigation chooses how search opens: Off, Only Input, Native (the panel above, and the default), or Advanced.

Advanced opens the Search tab on the same page. Its idle Groups are posts, categories, authors, tags, and a custom group, each with its own label, count, and order. Live Search can cover the post types and taxonomies you pick, with a Show All Button once the matches pass the Result Limit (5 by default).

The search palette showing a Posts group and a Categories group before anything is typed — Advanced search before the reader types.

#What powers the results

In advanced mode, Search Provider picks what answers the search:

Native WordPress: The default. A keyword match, without ranking by relevance.
Algolia: An external search service, faster and more precise on a large archive. It has its own account, terms, and pricing. See Algolia integration.
AI Blog: AI picks the results, and each search uses tokens from your AI provider. See AI Blog integration.

Algolia and AI Blog become selectable once their integration is active.

With Pro, what the results page searches is set separately, in the Search Results group at VerbaTheme OptionsArchiveGeneral: Match Against (titles only, titles and excerpts, or the full text), Searchable Content (posts only by default), and Match Categories and Tags. The group shows when Archive Source is Advanced.

Search is on but I can't see it in the header

Check the desktop and mobile switches separately. They're independent.

Search finds pages I don't want in the results

In the panel, turn on Posts-only Search. On the results page, Pro limits results to posts by default; without Pro, WordPress searches every public content type.

Do I need Algolia?

Not for a few hundred posts. It earns its place on large archives where readers search often and standard results are visibly poor.

Last updated 1 Oct 2026

Was this article helpful?

FIND THE ONE THAT FITS YOUR PROJECT

Import a demo, swap the content, adjust the layout. Modern WordPress under the hood, fast even when the site fills up.