Change search box background color to match site allowed?

Is it safe?

[silverbytes]

Google Search box only allow to choose from 3 colors, black, white or gray. None matches my site (I use a pale green as background, very light)
When put the box with white background was horrible, so removed the table background attribute from code -so you can see empty background or transparent, but I wonder if that can be dangerous or not allowed.

Is purely asthethic but is anything against that in adsebse tos?

[celgins]

It seems harmless enough, but I would ask Google since changing any code is against the TOS.

I have also often thought of changing the search box background color!

[netmeg]

It's changing the code, and thus not allowed. I actually emailed them and asked at one point when I wanted to blend it in to the background of a site where the grey was just a slight shade lighter than the grey provided - and they said no.

[greatstart]

If you must blend in that search box, my suggestion is to change your site color to gray. That is not too far off from pale green. I had to do that on one of my sites, just so it would match.

[silverbytes]

There is no way I change the design to match a box!
Sounds pretty ridiculous to me having to use a dumb white box that looks awfull against any desing not white-black-gray but of course we dont want google be mad about that...

[koan]

There's a transparent background option for the search boxes now which I use for my sites, look it up in adsense setup.

[Erick_L]

I asked Google to change the box background from CCCCCC to CFCFCF and they refused (canned reply). There's an option to customize the color when you remove the logo, but I find the layout ugly. I put a custom search set to search my site.

[hyperkik]

There are so many things they could do to improve search and its integration into sites. I like the presentation of Google Search on a major newspaper website where the search box, options, button and Google logo are presented on a single line, and a one-line search would be easier to integrate into a lot of sites. I am not sure why Google presents so few customization options.

[jonaspersson75]

you people are just insane. i can't believe you take the tos so literally. they just have it strict to keep out people who would otherwise abuse it.

[FourDegreez]

I also asked, and was told "no". The lack of customization options for search makes incorporating it very difficult.

[chocorol]

Why don't you try the Google custom search (Google Coop). As far as I know, it allows you to modify the look of the search box to match your site... and it allows you to display adsense ads on the results.

jonas: People here take the TOS so literally because they want to protect their income. Most people here earn some decent money (some earn thousands) and don't want to risk it by modifying a simple line of code.

[silverbytes]

There's a transparent background option for the search boxes now which I use for my sites, look it up in adsense setup.

I see none. Where?

[jomaxx]

I don't see that either. I think your basic options are to take it or leave it.

It would be a trivial matter for Google to determine algorithmically which sites have modified the code they provide, so customizing the box on your own doesn't seem like a sane choice, regardless of how minor you feel the change is.

[FourDegreez]

I don't see a transparent option, but if you select "Google Search" on button you can enter any hex code you want as the background color.

It would be a trivial matter for Google to determine algorithmically which sites have modified the code they provide, so customizing the box on your own doesn't seem like a sane choice, regardless of how minor you feel the change is.

Exactly, and who wants their site to get flagged by an automated process looking for rule-breakers? Especially if you're only defense is, "Come on, just let it slide, it wasn't a big change."

[koan]

I see none. Where?

Oops my bad, I remembered wrong. What I meant to say is if you choose the "Google Search" on button for logotype (instead of the google gif logo) option and then enter the html hexadecimal code for your background color to match perfectly your web page background color, you will have no problem blending the search box to any web pages instead of being stuck with a white / gray / black search box, which I admit, sucked a lot.

No need to play with the google code outside of adsense that way.

I also advise people not to listen to jonaspersson75 when it comes to adsense, he's a banning waiting to happen.

[ann]

I found all the colors but still can't locate the transparency one?

Ann

[jetteroheller]

Google Search box only allow to choose from 3 colors

Wrong, You can have any color, just click on text search button.

[silverbytes]

You are right. Is leaving just # an option then? Or I must pick a color (I have degradee background)