25 February 2022
How to Disable the Search Feature in WordPress
Are you searching for a way to disable the search feature in WordPress?
Many times you may not need a search feature because you have a simple business website, you are part of a growing community of one-page websites, or your theme settings don’t allow you to remove the search feature.
We will show you how to disable the search feature entirely from your website.
Why and Who Should Disable Search Feature in WordPress?
Many WordPress websites are simply one-page company websites. There is also an increasing trend of one-page websites with vertical navigation.
These websites offer less content, making the search form a curiosity item rather than a useful function.
It also gives users the sense that there is more information that they don’t see, so the search option is available. Removing the search function would make your website seem cleaner and provide a better user experience.
Let’s look at how to remove the search feature from your WordPress site with ease.
Disable Search Feature in WordPress
There are two ways to remove the search bar from your site: plugin and manual. We’ll show you both methods and let you choose which one you prefer.
Method 1. Using a WordPress Plugin
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Disable Search plugin. For more in detail, see our guide on how to install a plugin in WordPress.
The plugin works out of the box, and there are no settings for you to configure.
Upon activation, it will remove the search form from your WordPress theme and disable the search widget. If a user tries to enter a search query URL, the plugin will return a 404 error page.
Method 2. Manually Disable Search Feature in WordPress
Disabling the search feature in WordPress manually requires you to add code to your WordPress files. So, if you don’t want to mess around with coding, we suggest you go for the first method.
All you have to do is copy the below codes and paste them into your theme’s functions.php file or a site-specific plugin.
// Disable Search function
wp_filter_query( $query, $error = true ) {
if(is_search()) {
$query->is_search = false;
$query->query_vars[s] = false;
$query->query[s] = false;
if ( $error == true ) {
$query->is_404 = true;
}
}
}
add_action( 'parse_query', 'wp_filter_query' );
function remove_search_widget() {
unregister_widget('WP_Widget_Search');
}
add_action( 'widgets_init', 'remove_search_widget' );
add_filter( 'get_search_form', create_function( '$a', "return null;" ) ); This code will redirect all search queries to a 404 page. It will also hide the search form in your WordPress theme or the widget area.
And that’s all there is. We hope this post helped you to disable the search feature in WordPress. For more WordPress-related articles, feel free to visit our blog.
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