Goal
Give users a way to search the moment your app opens. You’ll put a search bar right at the top of the home screen, choose between a simplified or full search experience, and fine-tune exactly where it sits and how it’s framed.
It’s all no-code. Every setting here lives on the App Settings screen in WordPress — you won’t touch a line of code.
Prerequisites
- A MAM Suite app with MAM Main active.
- Admin access to Mobile App Manager -> App Settings in WordPress.
- A home screen already configured for your app. If you haven’t set up a home screen yet, do that first, then come back to add search.
You’ll find all four settings below on the Home Screen tab of the App Settings page. Keep in mind they apply everywhere — change one, and it affects both your test build and production the next time you republish.
Steps
1. Open the Home Screen settings
- In the WordPress admin, go to Mobile App Manager -> App Settings.
- Select the Home Screen tab.
This is where all your home-screen options live, including the four search settings you’ll set below.
2. Embed the search field at the top
This is the master switch for an always-visible home search bar, so start here: turn on Search is embedded at top.
With it on, the app puts the search field right at the top of the home screen, instead of tucking search behind a navigation icon or a separate screen. Leave it off, and the three settings below have nothing to act on — so this one comes first.
3. Choose simple or full search
Next, decide how much search UI you want users to see, and set Use simple search UI for home search to match:
- On (simple): home search uses a simplified UI — a clean, single-field “tap to search” entry point, with no filters or advanced options cluttering the home screen.
- Off (full): home search uses the standard, fuller search experience.
Not sure which to pick? Start with simple — it’s the lighter, less cluttered choice for a home screen — and switch it off later if your users end up wanting more search controls up front.
4. Tune the vertical placement
Now dial in exactly where the field sits, using Search Top Offset (%) to move it up or down.
- It’s a percentage, not a pixel count — so the placement scales sensibly no matter what device size someone’s using.
- The bigger the number, the further down the screen the search field sits; smaller numbers pull it back up toward the top.
- Enter just the number, no
%symbol. Nudge it in small increments and preview after each change — the right offset depends on whatever else sits at the top of your home screen, like a logo or header image.
Tip: If a logo or banner overlaps the search field, nudge the offset up a few points until the two stop colliding.
5. Add a border if you need contrast
If the search field blends into whatever’s behind it, give it an edge: turn on Show White border around search.
It draws a white border around the field — most useful over photographic or dark home-screen backgrounds, where the field would otherwise be hard to make out. If your background already gives it enough contrast, leave this off.
6. Save and preview
- Save the App Settings page.
- Rebuild or refresh your app preview, then open the home screen.
- Check that the search bar sits at the top, at the right height, and reads clearly against your background.
Keep adjusting steps 4 and 5 until the placement and framing actually look right — on a real device or preview, not just in the admin.
Settings reference
| Setting (Home Screen tab) | Key | Type | What it controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search is embedded at top | home_screen_embed_search_at_top |
Yes/No | Master switch — embeds the search field at the top of the home screen. |
| Use simple search UI for home search | home_search_simple_search |
Yes/No | On = simplified search UI; off = full search UI. |
| Search Top Offset (%) | home_search_top_offset |
Text (percentage) | Vertical position of the search field, as a percent of screen height. |
| Show White border around search | homescreen_search_white_border |
Yes/No | Draws a white border around the search field for contrast. |
Related
- Home screen layout settings (logo scaling, featured and recent listings, section headers) on the same Home Screen tab.
- Listings and search configuration — for tuning what the search actually queries.
What’s next
Once it looks right, run a few real searches on a device to confirm results land where you’d expect. Want to change search behavior itself — what fields get searched, filters, sort order? That lives in your listings/search settings, not on the Home Screen tab.
