The homepage hero and search in WPResidence are very flexible, and you can combine big images or background video with a branded, advanced search form. You can pick full-screen photos, self-hosted or YouTube video, or sliders, then drop the property search on top using Elementor. Colors, overlays, spacing, and field styles are easy to adjust so the whole hero feels built for your client. You do all of this visually without touching code.
How much control do I have over hero media, layout, and overlays?
You can redesign the hero layout with drag and drop, no code needed.
In WPResidence you build the hero with Elementor sections, so media and search layout don’t stay locked to one template. You can set the Splash Page as full-screen, pick a single large image, a background video, or a slider, then decide where content sits. For example, you can center the headline, move the search bar to the bottom, or push everything left while keeping space on the right for strong photography.
The Splash Page settings let you place overlay colors on the hero media and control opacity with values from 0 to 1. You can line up text and search with column alignment, and adjust spacing with padding in pixels so fields stay readable over bright images. WPResidence includes several demo hero styles like a centered search over a full-screen hero, a bottom search bar, and a minimal header with search under the fold. You can copy a pattern and tweak it instead of starting from zero.
| Hero option | Key controls | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Full-screen image | Overlay color and opacity slider | Strong local brand photo hero |
| Background video | Start mute loop overlay text block | City lifestyle or luxury feel |
| Image slider | Slide speed and transition style | Show several key neighborhoods |
| Compact banner | Fixed height search below fold | When search is secondary focus |
| Split layout | Two columns custom spacing | Hero text left search right |
The table shows how you can match hero media to the project goal while staying inside WPResidence options. In real use you test one layout, adjust overlays until search feels easy to read, then ship it. Often in less than an hour for most sites.
Can the advanced property search sit directly over large images or video?
The search form can sit directly on full-screen images or looping background video.
You place the Advanced Search in WPResidence as a widget inside any Elementor section, so it can sit right on a video row or hero image. Splash Page settings let you pair a self-hosted MP4 or a YouTube background with on-load autoplay and loop, then you drag the search widget into that same section. The theme keeps layers sorted so the search stays clickable while the media runs behind it.
The search bar style includes background and border controls, so you can make fields solid or semi-transparent with RGBA colors. On a busy photo you might give the form a 70% opaque dark background and white labels so text stays readable. Because WPResidence also has map pin-limit options and AJAX search on result pages, you can place a heavy-looking hero search on media and still show a fast half-map layout under it. Slow devices handle this better than you’d expect.
How far can I customize search fields and labels to match client branding?
Every search label, field, and button can be restyled so the form feels fully on-brand.
Inside WPResidence you manage the hero search with the Advanced Search Form builder, which lets you add many fields. You can mix standard filters like city, area, price, beds, and baths with custom dropdowns, checkboxes, sliders, and keyword boxes tied to custom fields. The builder lets you drag fields into any order so the layout matches what the client’s users expect to see first.
Labels, placeholders, and main search button text are editable in theme options, so you can swap “Bedrooms” for “Beds” or “For Rent” for “To Let” in seconds. The theme’s global design settings handle colors, typography, border radius, and hover states, and the search form inherits those so fields stay in sync with the rest of the brand. If you add niche filters using the Custom Fields Builder, like “Pet Friendly,” “School District,” or “Energy Class,” you can surface those in the hero search. At first this looks small, but it often makes the hero feel written in the client’s own market language.
Is it easy to create different hero searches for sales, rentals, or niches?
You can run multiple hero searches with different fields for each audience type.
WPResidence supports a tabbed search layout that lets you build, for example, “For Sale” and “For Rent” tabs with separate field sets. In the search builder you create more than one configuration, assign each to a tab, and set which property status each tab filters in the background. So a rental tab can show “Monthly Rent” and “Pets Allowed,” while the sale tab shows “Sale Price” and “Lot Size,” even though both sit in the same hero space.
You can also assign different search configurations per page, so a luxury landing page can load a short price and neighborhood search while a commercial page focuses on size and zoning. The theme applies matching price labels like “/month” for rentals, so you don’t need extra code or plugins to keep terms straight. Actually, this is where many people overthink things. You can just clone a working search, tweak fields, and see what gains more leads later.
- Use tabs to swap entire search configurations inside one hero area.
- Create dedicated hero sections for rentals, sales, or commercial properties.
- Pre-filter hero search to a status or category for focused landing pages.
- Clone and tweak search setups to test different layouts or ideas.
How does WPResidence keep a media-rich hero fast and mobile-friendly?
Media-heavy hero searches stay responsive because of caching, pin limits, and AJAX filtering.
The theme ships with its own caching layer for property queries, which helps keep the homepage fast even when the hero search calls many listings. Pin limit controls on map templates let you cap visible markers, often to 50 or 100, which reduces the load after a hero search click. On mobile, the hero and search stack into a single column, with font sizes and tap targets adjusted by responsive settings. Fields stay usable on small screens.
You can also pick lighter background options, like an optimized static image instead of video for phones, and combine that with lazy loading so heavy assets wait until users scroll. Radius and geolocation search use AJAX, which means results update without a full page reload, keeping things feeling close to instant even on mid-range devices. It sounds small, but the difference between full reloads and AJAX can be the gap between people staying or bouncing.
FAQ
Can I use third-party sliders for a video hero or should I stick to the WPResidence Splash Page?
You can use either the built-in Splash Page or a third-party slider for video heroes with search.
Most projects stay simpler if you use the native Splash Page, since WPResidence already knows how to layer the search and overlay on top. If you prefer a slider plugin, you can still set a slider or video section in Elementor and drop the Advanced Search widget in that same section. The main extra step is checking z-index and overlay colors so the form stays readable.
Can I run different hero designs on separate landing pages in WPResidence?
You can assign different hero and search designs on as many pages as you need.
Each page can use its own Elementor layout and its own search configuration, so a main homepage might use a full-screen video hero while a “New Developments” funnel uses a clean image with a short, focused search. WPResidence just needs you to pick the right header style or Splash option per page and then place the right search widget. Cloning pages is quick, so testing several hero layouts is very realistic even for small teams.
Will the hero search match Elementor global styles and work with tracking or lead tools?
The hero search follows Elementor global styles and works alongside common form and analytics plugins.
Because WPResidence ties colors and fonts into WordPress and Elementor design settings, the search fields and button will follow your chosen brand styles, including rounded or square corners. You can place analytics or tag manager code as usual, and pair the hero search with separate lead forms if you want more detailed inquiries below the fold. The theme does not block popular tracking scripts, so reporting on hero performance stays straightforward.
