Quote techtom: You can try the following Make sure to backup any files before you modify anything. change the enter keywords in both places to whatever you want in the input form. In searchform.php change <input name="s" type="text" value="<?php echo esc_attr(get_search_query()); ?>" /> to this <input type="text" name="s" onclick="this.value='';" onfocus="this.select()" onblur="this.value=!this.value?'enter keywords':this.value;" value="enter keywords" />