Chrome 144 just dropped a significant update for those of us obsessed with UI details: the ::search-text pseudo-element. If you’ve ever been frustrated by browser-default search highlights clashing with your brand colors or failing accessibility contrast tests, this is the fix you’ve been waiting for. I’ve spent the last 14 years wrestling with “good enough” browser defaults, and it’s about time we got programmatic control over find-in-page highlights.
Specifically, the ::search-text pseudo-element allows us to target those yellow and orange highlights that appear when a user triggers a Ctrl + F search. Furthermore, we now have ::search-text:current to specifically style the active match. It’s a massive upgrade for UX, but as with all highlight pseudo-elements, there are some technical gotchas you need to navigate before you ship it.
The Problem with Default Highlights
By default, browsers use a generic yellow background for matches. While this works on a white background, it’s a disaster on a dark-themed WordPress site or any layout with high-saturation background colors. In contrast, styling these elements manually used to be impossible. Consequently, users with visual impairments often struggled to see where their search terms actually landed on the page.
Before we dive into the fix, you need to understand that highlight pseudo-elements follow a restricted property list. You can’t just throw display: flex or filter: blur() at them. You’re mostly limited to:
colorbackground-colortext-decorationtext-shadow
The Smart Way to Style ::search-text
Instead of hardcoding a hex value that might break on different sections of your site, I recommend using Relative Color Syntax. This ensures that your highlight background always provides enough contrast against your text, regardless of the container’s color. Therefore, we can “invert” the background color dynamically.
/* Ahmad's Adaptive Highlight Mixin Concept */
:root {
--site-bg: #38003c;
}
body {
background: var(--site-bg);
}
::search-text {
/* Set text to the site background for maximum legibility */
color: var(--site-bg);
/* Dynamically calculate an inverted background with 70% opacity */
background: rgb(from var(--site-bg) calc(255 - r) calc(255 - g) calc(255 - b) / 70%);
}
::search-text:current {
/* Make the active search result pop with 100% opacity */
background: rgb(from var(--site-bg) calc(255 - r) calc(255 - g) calc(255 - b) / 100%);
}This approach isn’t just “shiny new code”—it’s a refactoring of how we handle accessibility. By using the from keyword in RGB, we subtract the channel values from 255 to create a perfect inverse. If your site has a complex design, this prevents you from having to write 50 different media queries for search colors.
Stacking Highlight Elements
One “war story” I have involves a client site where ::selection and ::target-text overlapped. It looked like a muddy brown mess. To avoid this, you should differentiate your highlight pseudos. For example, keep ::selection as your brand primary color, but use the inverted logic for the ::search-text pseudo-element.
If you’re still dealing with “nightmare” UI issues like ugly link underlines or broken layouts, modern CSS gives us the tools to fix them without the legacy hacks we used in the WP 4.x days.
Look, if this ::search-text pseudo-element stuff is eating up your dev hours, let me handle it. I’ve been wrestling with WordPress since the 4.x days.
Final Takeaway on Browser Highlights
The introduction of ::search-text in Chrome 144 is a reminder that the web is getting more granular. We can finally stop relying on “default” browser behavior and start building truly cohesive experiences. Specifically, use these pseudo-elements to reinforce your design’s brutalist or functional aesthetic. Don’t be afraid to make highlights stand out—they are meant to be seen, not to blend in.
