# Populaire functies naar Discourse brengen: zoekbalk in de header, welkomstbanner en categorie-iconen / emoji **URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/bringing-popular-features-to-discourse-header-search-welcome-banner-and-category-icons-emoji/359169 **Category:** Announcements **Created:** [2 april 2025 om 22:51 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/bringing-popular-features-to-discourse-header-search-welcome-banner-and-category-icons-emoji/359169 "2025-04-02T22:51:29Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 1
### Author: ![lindsey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/lindsey/32/318210_2.png) [@lindsey](https://meta.discourse.org/u/lindsey) #### Post date: [2 april 2025 om 22:51 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/bringing-popular-features-to-discourse-header-search-welcome-banner-and-category-icons-emoji/359169/1 "2025-04-02T22:51:29Z")
We have added several new features to Discourse based on popular [theme components](https://meta.discourse.org/t/customizing-your-site-with-existing-theme-components/312297) to make it easier to customize the design of your community. In this topic, we’ll share more about these new core features, how to use them, and provide information about they compare to the theme components that inspired them. ## Header search The header search feature moves search from the magnifying glass in the top right corner to a more prominent input field in the site header. ![Header search](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/4/e/9/4e96044fa4c79c21596d86f44b2d7863958cba63.png) When more header space is needed (such as when scrolling a topic), the search will revert to the magnifying glass to save room. ### To turn on header search… 1. In the admin area, go to **Themes & components**. 2. Click the Edit button for your active theme. 3. Find the `Search experience` setting. 4. Update this setting to “Search field in site header”. 5. Click the green check to save. ![Search experience setting](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/1/3/7/13744199059fdf226dd9edcc3d849892c2998826.png) ### Header search feature vs. Advanced Header Search component Header search was inspired by the Header Search theme component, which we’ve renamed to [Advanced Header Search](https://meta.discourse.org/t/advanced-header-search/194093/) to distinguish it from the core feature. You should use the Advanced Header Search component when you need to support external searches (i.e. searches outside of your Discourse community). Otherwise, you can use the header search feature that’s now part of Discourse core. ## Welcome banner The welcome banner greets members and visitors and adds a prominent search bar to your topic lists. ![Welcome banner for anonymous / non-registered users.](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/c/c/1/cc1f4bdd106976631f56fa8af2b3b5da67783d06.png) ![Welcome banner for site members](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/f/8/b/f8b276b9e7dbe2874f659c8dbc7a0b28f52933b0.png) The welcome banner and header search features are compatible with each other so that header search will be hidden while the welcome banner is visible. ### To turn on welcome banner… 1. In the admin area, go to **Themes & components**. 2. Click the Edit button for your active theme. 3. Find the `Enable welcome banner` setting. 4. Enable this setting. 5. Click the green check to save. ![Enable welcome banner setting](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/2/2/2/222a2fce3775cf1ed3110e665f2806d7b022ce1f.png) To customize the message displayed on the banner, go to the **Site Texts** area, and search for “welcome\_banner”. You can modify text strings for registered member greeting, anonymous user greeting, and search field. ![Welcome banner site texts](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/5/5/1/551b812b250707c83383ad0d1ec539035462b009.png) ### Welcome banner vs. Advanced Search Banner component Welcome banner was inspired by the Search Banner component, which we’ve renamed to [Advanced Search Banner](https://meta.discourse.org/t/advanced-search-banner/122939) to distinguish it from the core feature. You should use the Advanced Search Banner component when you want to use custom background images for the banner, enter multiple lines of text in the banner, or change who can see the banner (i.e. logged in members, logged out users, or both). Otherwise, you can use the welcome banner feature that’s now part of Discourse core. ## Category icons and emoji You can now use icons and emoji to distinguish categories, instead of the colored square. ![Category icons](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/e/9/4/e94be57df1b1810abec68c07a625c864e3ca12f0.png) ![Category emojis](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/4/7/c/47cdcc94a7641d9a06de95a450615b067f262358.png) ### To use category icons / emoji… 1. When creating or editing a category, change the **Style** setting to `Icon` or `Emoji`. 2. Choose the icon or emoji you want to use. The color will determine the icon color (if using) and impact other areas where a color is associated with the category, such as on the `/categories` page. 3. Click **Save Category**. ![Category styles settings](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/4X/c/9/8/c984eb968a529caa43aeb6f34b3684b5d337c7a7.png) ### Category icons and emoji vs. Category Icons component Category icons and emoji were inspired by the [Category Icons](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-icons/104683) component, **which we will soon be deprecating in favor of this core feature** because it supports more customization (i.e. emojis) and offers a much simpler setup experience. For those currently using Category Icons, we recommend moving your icon customizations from Category Icons to the core category settings for longterm support and ongoing feature improvements. In our testing, the component settings override the core feature settings, but these were not designed to be used together. --- _[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/bringing-popular-features-to-discourse-header-search-welcome-banner-and-category-icons-emoji/359169)._