How to Search a Page for a Word

If you’re working on an assignment, you may need to do copious amounts of research. Reading through every article online just isn’t feasible. Sometimes, you might need to search a page for a specific word or phrase to be sure you’re reading the correct information.

There are many other reasons you might need to search a web page for a word. This article will review the methods you can apply to find a word on a page.

How to Search a Page for a Word Using the Search and Find Tool

The first and most basic method to search for a word on a page is through your browser’s Search and Find tool. This tool is also available in most other apps. The prompts will look slightly different on a Mac and Windows PC.

However, this method is suited to smaller websites with fewer pages to search because you can only explore one page at a time.

1. Press the Ctrl + F keys on Windows (Command + F if you use a Mac).
2. Enter the word you need to search for and all its instances should be highlighted on the page.
   

How to Search the HTML Page Source for a Word Using the Search and Find Tool

When you search an HTML page, you are only looking through the visible HTML code. The page might have expandable fields that are only viewable in the page source code. Alternatively, you may use the Search and Find tool to search the HTML page source of a site as a more comprehensive search option.

This alternative is a handy search solution that ensures you’ll thoroughly search the page, including the visible and invisible HTML fields.

1. Right-click on the page you’d like to search.
   
2. Select View Page Source.
   
3. Navigate to the source code.
4. Press the Ctrl + F keys on Windows (Command + F if you use a Mac) and input the search word.
   

How to Search a Page for a Word Using Google

This technique is best suited to search within a specific website. It is great when you have a large website and don’t have much time to navigate. This method allows you to find the matching words you’re looking for across multiple pages on a website with a single search.

1. Open Google on your PC’s web browser.
   
2. In the search bar, type Site followed by : (colon).
   
3. Enter the name of the site you’d like to search (without the space after the colon).
   
4. Enter the word or phrase you’d like to search on this site and hit Enter. Below, we search for mentions of Windows 11 on the Alphr website. You can also try putting the search phrase within double quotes to refine the search results further.
   

Alternatively, you can also find multiple words on a page in Chrome using an extension.

How to Search a Page for a Word Using the Website Search Icon

This step may sound similar to the first one, but it’s different. Modern websites are built to be as user-friendly as possible so you can easily navigate between pages and find the information you want.

As such, you’ll usually find a small search icon at the top right corner of professionally made websites (or those using popular templates and platforms for web design and hosting). It’ll either be a search bar or a magnifying glass icon. You can use this feature to quickly sift through the site’s many pages to find the word or phrase you’re looking for.

For example, imagine you’re following a popular blogger, and you recall that somewhere tucked away in one of their hundreds of blogs was a sentence with interesting and relevant information. Yet, you cannot remember which post it was written on. Similarly, it was not directly related to the title of the post. However, you recall a word or phrase in the sentence.

Just use the search icon to find that particular word or phrase. The results page will only show articles or pages containing that specific word or phrase. All you have to do now is go through each result to find the page or article you are looking for.

Search a Word Through Your Phone’s Web Browser

You can use the web browser on Android or iPhone to help you find the word or phrase you’re looking for on a web page.

1. Open your phone’s internet browser.
2. Enter the website you’d like to search.
   
3. Next to the address bar, select More (three dots). This will open a menu bar. Scroll down and select Find in Page.
   
4. Enter your word/phrase in the text bar.
   
5. There are two arrows pointing up and down next to the search bar that allow you to scroll through the feed. You can jump to each section containing the specified word.
   
6. After completing your search, tap on X to close the window.
   

For iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Safari or Chrome on your iPhone.
2. Open the website or page you want on which you want to search for a term or word.
3. Tap on the share icon from the toolbar, a square box with an arrow pointing upward.
   
4. Scroll down and tap Find in Page.
   
5. Type your word or phrase in the search bar and tap on Done.
   

FAQ

Can I search through more than one open tab at the same time?

No. You’ll only be able to do a single search per tab. If you want to search the other tabs in one single move, you’ll need to download an extension for your Chrome. You can try several extensions, but the best one by far has to be Search All Tabs. It’s available on both Apple and Google Play stores.

Is there a way to search social media for a word or phrase?

Yes. Take Twitter (or X as it’s called now) for example. Previously, if you wanted to look up a word or phrase, you’d use a hashtag to do it. Today, you simply have to use the search bar or search icon. You may even follow specific steps to do an advanced search on FaceBook.

How does the Search All Tabs extension work?

The extension allows you to search multiple tabs for a single search word or term through a preview menu.

Target Your Search to Yield Better Results

Technology has you covered when you’re pressed for time and need to search a web page to find a word quickly. You can now search through entire websites to find all the pages on that website with your chosen keyword or phrase. This search type helps you narrow the results pages only to show the pages containing your term or phrase.

How do you search websites or web pages to find what you want? Share your tips in the section below.