How to add an extra search bar section in Dawn theme?

Store Design
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Topic summary

Goal: add a prominent search bar as a reusable homepage section in Shopify’s Dawn theme.

Proposed method:

  • Edit main-search.liquid and add a JSON schema “presets” entry so it can be added as a section via Customize.

Common issues and fixes:

  • Liquid error: “Array ‘search.results’ is not paginateable/paginatable” when using the main-search section. Cause: the search template’s pagination logic isn’t valid inside a section. Workaround: use a “Custom Liquid” section with a simplified search code that removes pagination/facets; several users confirm this works.
  • JSON save errors: usually a missing comma before the presets block.
  • Adding the wrong section: some added “Search results” instead of “</> Custom Liquid.” Pasting the simplified code into “Custom Liquid” resolved errors.

Customization tips:

  • Change heading/placeholder text via Online Store > Themes > … > Edit default theme content (translations).
  • Remove the visible “Search” title by deleting the H1 block in the code.
  • Alternatives: make the header search always visible (external tutorial) or add a faux input that triggers the header search on click.

Unresolved:

  • One report of live search/indexing mismatch after importing ~800 products (preview OK, live not). No solution posted.

Status: No canonical fix for turning main-search into a stable section; reliable approach is a Custom Liquid section or header-based tweaks. Code snippets/screenshots are central.

Summarized with AI on December 13. AI used: gpt-5.
30

I’m not good in code, but by try and error (and inspect tool!!!) i removed :

{%- if search.performed -%} {{- 'templates.search.title' | t -}} {%- else -%} {{- 'general.search.search' | t -}} {%- endif -%}

so the title “SEARCH” is not there anymore and it seems to work just as good.

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