Wondering how to search for a specific word on a web page to easily find it? For most of us the answer is as simple as holding the CTRL-key on our keyboard and pressing F. That’s the method on PC, while Mac users have to do nothing more than to replace the CTRL-key with the Command button.
On mobile devices it gets a little bit more complicated as there is no shortcut for finding words on websites. No matter if you are using iOS or Android, control F won’t work as the control button doesn’t exist, but you have to use a built in browser feature.
You can read more about this feature in the following article where we tell you all about keyword searching webpages on Mac, PC and mobile devices, as well as how to search for a word in a word document.
Finding Words on a Webpage Using a PC – All Popular Browsers Listed
You may think that finding words on a website is a different process depending on the browser you are using, but the truth is that it’s all the same. How to search for a word on a webpage in chrome is done the exact same way as it is in Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera.
As mentioned in the beginning of the article, what you need to do is simply holding the control key down (Ctrl) and pressing F on your keyboard. This will open up a search field in which you can type any word or phrase. Searching for a specific phrase on a page is no different than finding a word.
Anything you search for will be highlighted on the webpage and if you get several matches you’ll be able to move between them using arrow keys that are included in the browser’s search feature.
How to Keyword Search on Google Chrome
- Hold CTRL key and press F
- You get a search bar on the top right corner of your screen
- Enter whatever word you are looking for
How to Find a Specific Word in Firefox
- Hold CTRL key and press F
- You get a bar on the bottom left of your screen
- Search for your word
Searching Webpages for Words in Internet Explorer
- Hold CTRL key and press F
- A search bar appears in the top right corner of your screen
- Type the word or phrase you want to find
How to Search Words on Websites in Safari
- Hold CTRL key and press F
- Find a search bar in the top right corner
- Enter the word you’re looking to find
Finding Words on a Page in Opera
- Hold CTRL key and press F
- At the top left corner of the browser a search bar appears
- Enter the word or phrase you’re looking to find on the page
How to Search for a Word on Mac
If you want to search for specific words on a web page using Safari on your Mac, you just hold the command key and press F. Similar to searching on a PC, this will open up a search bar in the top right corner of Safari. Type in whatever word or phrase you want to find and this will be highlighted on the web page.
It actually doesn’t matter if you’re using Safari or any other web browser like Google Chrome as keyword searching on a Mac is done the exact same way either way. Just hold the command key and press F.
Searching for Words on a Phone or Tablet
In difference to PC and Mac, there is no quick search option for finding a webpage word on smartphones and tablets. So how do you control f on Android and iOS devices? You use a built-in feature in the web browser you are using.
This is How You Search for Words on an Android Device
Per default Android devices either use Google Chrome or the Android Browser as a software for web surfing. Finding a word or a phrase on a website is just as easy in both of these.
In the Android Browser, you have to click on the menu in the bottom right corner of the screen (looks like three dots) and then click on the item that says “find on page”. In Google Chrome, you will find the exact same option by clicking the menu in the top right corner instead (also looks like three dots).
The fact of the matter is that all popular web browsers have a “find on page” feature built in so no matter which you are using on your Android device you just have to find it in the menu.
Once you have clicked on “find on page” all you have to do is to search on the word or phrase that you want to find on the website and it will be highlighted for you.
This is How You Search for Words on an iPhone or Other iOS Device
All iOS devices are using the web browser Safari as the default option that comes installed with the smartphone or tablet. Now if you want to find a word on iPad or iPhone using Safari you need to open up the options menu in the browser, which you’ll find at the bottom of the screen. It’s the item that looks like a square with an arrow in it.
Once the menu is up, all you have to do is press on the alternative that says “Find on Page” and a search bar will appear in which you can enter the word or phrase you want to search for. This will be highlighted everywhere on the webpage and if you get several hits, arrows keys in the search field can be used to browse between them.
If you have another browser installed than Safari, you can find the same feature in that browser by simply opening up the menu of it.
How to Search an Entire Website for a Word
Compared to finding a specific word on a webpage, it’s quite a different process to search an entire website for a word or phrase as this includes all of the pages on a particular domain. The easiest way to do it is following the below steps:
- Visit google.com
- In the search field type the following: “site: *domain name*” “*word or phrase*”
- Hit enter and check the search results
- Visit the relevant page
- Search for the word or phrase as you usually would
For instance, if I wanted to find “how to play Teen Patti” on www.gamblingbaba.com by searching the entire website for that phrase, I would enter the following in Google’s search field:
“site: gamblingbaba.com” “how to play teen patti”
Please note that the quotes are important to include as otherwise you may not get the results you are looking for.
How to Search for a Word in Microsoft Word
Finding a word or phrase in Microsoft Word is usually no different from finding a word on a webpage. The only thing you have to do is holding down the control key on your keyboard and pressing F. This will open up a navigation menu. Here you can easily type in whatever word or phrase you’re looking to find in your document.
There are some exceptions to the rule though. For instance, if you want to search a document for a word on Mac you need to hold the command key instead of control. Also, if Microsoft word is installed in another language than English, the key you have to press may not be F. For instance, in Swedish language Ctrl + F is the shortcut for bold text and to find a word you need to press Ctrl + B.
You don’t have to use your keyboard to search for a word in word though. An alternative method is navigating to the “Home” tab in the software, followed by clicking on the item that says “Search”, which you should find on the top right corner of the tool bar.
