Site search - Webflow help
Let visitors search across your site.
Site search lets you add search to your site so your visitors can find the information they’re looking for. If needed, you can exclude the content of specific elements, pages, and even entire Collections, all with a tick of a checkbox. Site search is available on all sites with CMS Site plans or above.
Site search does not index content that is only accessible with a User Account.
Site search displays results from the currently selected locale. If a site visitor searches for content on your site from a locale where that content doesn’t exist, site search returns a “No matching results” message.
Site search element
You can add the site search element from the Add panel. The search element includes:
- Search (wrapper) — contains the search form and submit button
- Search input — where visitors type their search
- Submit button — a button to submit the search (can be hidden for "Enter" key submission)
Once added, you can style and customize the search element just like any other element. You can change placeholder text and set autofocus to make the search bar focused on page load.
Search results page
Once you add site search, a Search results page appears under Pages panel > Utility pages. The structure includes a container element, a search element, and a list of results, which can be styled like a Collection list.
Sites without a CMS Site plan will show sample search results on your published site (for demo purposes). To see real search results, you need a CMS Site plan or higher.
Search results structure
Search results contain:
- Search title (link) — displayed using content from Search result title in Page settings. This acts as a link to that page. For Collection pages, title content can be pulled from any field. You can also use SEO description and Open Graph image.
- Page URL (text block) — the page slug
- Snippet (paragraph) — contextual text where the search term was found; you can customize this in Page settings. You can set snippet length and turn on highlighting in Search Result wrapper element settings.
Empty state
Your Search Results page has a “no results” state. Customize it by toggling No results “on” in Search Results wrapper element settings.
Setting result count
You can display up to 60 search results by setting Results length in the Search Results wrapper element settings.
Pagination for search results is not yet available.
Previewing search results
While styling results, you can preview different queries via the Search Result wrapper settings. Until a CMS/Business Site plan is active and site is published, only sample results appear. For live results, publish your site to create a search index.
Additional site search settings
Add more info to results via the search description field in Page settings, e.g., category display.
You can also set a search image in Page settings, which can be connected to an image element in the results.
Indexing
The index controls searchable pages/content when someone submits a site search. If you want to remove a page from search, you can do so from the index.
Webflow restricts each site to one search engine, but you can add search bars to multiple pages.
How to create an index
After adding a CMS Site plan or higher, the search index is created when you publish the site for the first time.
How to update your index
Two ways to keep your index current:
- Manual reindexing — refresh content after major updates
- Automatic reindexing — occurs at scheduled intervals after full-site publish
Manual reindexing
Do this after significant changes (available every 24h for CMS plan, every 12h for Business plan):
- Open your site in Webflow
- Click the “gear” icon to open Settings panel
- Click Search
- Click Index now under Manual indexing
Note: Indexing can take up to 24 hours for large sites. For urgent cases, contact Support for one-time priority reindex.
Automatic reindexing
- CMS Site plan: 72 hours after full-site publish
- Business Site plan: 12 hours after full-site publish
Single CMS item publishing doesn’t trigger automatic reindex; a full-site publish is required.
To check indexing schedule:
- Open your site in Webflow
- Click the “gear” icon
- Click Search
Refining your search index
By default, most pages (except components, randomized Collection lists, utility pages, and password-protected content) are indexed. Exclude anything unnecessary to refine user results.
Excluding content from site search does not affect Google/web search engine indexing.
Excluding static pages
In Page settings > Site search settings, check “Exclude this page from site search results.” Reindex to remove the page from your index.
Excluding Collection pages
Same as static pages: Page settings > Site search settings, check “Exclude this page”, Save, then reindex.
Excluding a Collection page removes all template pages, but content shown in Collection lists elsewhere may still be discoverable. Use element-level exclusion for those lists if needed.
Individual Collection items cannot be excluded from search.
Excluding elements
Exclude recurring elements (e.g., navbars, footers, forms) to prevent irrelevant results. By default, components and randomized Collection lists are excluded; you can override this at the main component.
To exclude a specific element: Element's settings > Search index settings > check “Exclude content from site search results.”
Exclusion rules on parent elements also apply to child elements.
Frequently asked questions
What happens with search if I export my code?
Site search does not work on exported sites.
How can I see what users are searching for?
Integrate your Webflow site search with Google Analytics.