Guide to Shopify Search Bar: Add, Customize, Troubleshoot, Remove, and More

As a leading eCommerce platform, Shopify offers its users a variety of tools and features to help them sell their products online, including a search bar. You may have heard about the advantages of the Shopify Search bar, like enhancing your site search capability and maximizing product discoverability, but you're unsure about its technicalities.

In this guide, we provide easy-to-follow steps so you can effortlessly add, customize, troubleshoot, or remove your Shopify search bar.

1. How to Add Your Shopify Search Bar

First, you need to get your Shopify search bar up and running. There are two paths you can choose: enable this function directly in your Shopify store or via a third-party app.

Enable Your Shopify Search Bar in Your Shopify Store

Please note that you can only follow this method if your Shopify theme supports it.

1. Log into your Shopify account and navigate to your admin page.
2. Click on Themes.


3. Click on Theme Editor or Customize, depending on your setup.


4. Click on Theme Settings and navigate to Add-Ons.


5. Locate the search add-on in the list and check the box to activate it.

If you can't find this in your theme settings, then your theme most likely doesn't support a search functionality. But not to worry! You can just as easily add a Shopify search bar through an app.

Add Your Shopify Search Bar via an App

1. Go to your Shopify dashboard and log in to your account.
2. Click on the Apps section on the left-side menu and visit the Shopify App Store.
3. Search for "search bar apps", and you'll see apps like Fast Simon.


4. Install the app and follow the installation instructions to add the app to your Shopify store.
5. Go to the app's settings to configure the search bar.
6. Click on Save to apply the changes.
7. Go to your website and test the search bar to ensure that it's working correctly.

2. How to Customize Your Shopify Search Bar

Now that you've added your Shopify search bar, you can start customizing it.

1. Log in to your Shopify account and click on Online Store.
2. Click on Themes.


3. Find the theme you want to edit and click on Customize.


4. Click on Search Bar.
5. Change the search bar settings and save to update.

3. How to Remove Your Shopify Search Bar

Removing your Shopify search bar will depend on how you added it, directly in your Shopify store via its theme or with a third-party app.

Remove Your Shopify Search Bar in Your Shopify Store

1. Log into your Shopify account.
2. Navigate to Themes.


3. Click on Actions and select Edit Code.


4. Navigate to the list of codes and select icon-search.liquid.


5. Delete the code in the section.

Remove Your Shopify Search Bar via an App

1. Log into your Shopify account.
2. Click on Apps to review the list of apps installed on your store.


3. Click the delete icon of the app you want to remove.


4. Click Uninstall.

How to Troubleshoot Common Shopify Search Bar Issues

Here are some common problems your Shopify search bar may encounter and their quick solutions.

Search Icon Issues

The most common issue comes with the search icon. Normally on mobile devices, the search bar won't appear until your customer clicks on the magnifying glass icon. If they have connectivity issues and the icon doesn't load, then the search bar will always be kept hidden.

Theme-Specific Issues

Popular themes like Venture or Debut come with a hidden search bar for mobile devices, and when the themes are upgraded or changed manually, search bar issues can happen.

Why Is the Shopify Search Bar Important?

Shopify's search bar gives your customers a quick and easy way to find the products they're looking for, which ultimately results in an enhanced shopping experience for them. By reducing the time it takes to find a product, your customers are 2-3 times more likely to convert. A good and functional search bar can therefore lead to:

• Improved customer experience
• Increased brand recognition, loyalty, and social proof
• Better product discovery
• Increased sales

Benefits of the Shopify Search Bar

There are several benefits associated with the Shopify search bar. Some of them are:

• Improved product catalog With search analytics, you can understand which products are in demand and push them as per your customer's previous search history, thereby giving them a personalized shopping experience.
• Improved Shopify SEO Your search pages can be a great source of SEO-optimized links that will improve your website's ranking in search results.
• Design marketing campaigns Knowing your customer's search data can help you launch relevant promotional campaigns and give you opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.
• Improve product linking Understanding your customers' search intent means you can add relevant search keywords to your search functionality, products, and collections to ensure your customers' search results are more tightly knit.

» Don't have a Shopify store? Explore your Magento Search and BigCommerce Search options instead

Start Your Search Today

In a nutshell, the Shopify search bar is one of the greatest aspects of your store's success and can be the game changer in your Shopify store's performance. Once added, you can leverage the benefits from more specialized search functionalities like federated search and predictive search. As you've seen, adding and managing your Shopify search bar is easy and fast, so start optimizing your Shopify store today.