diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/forms.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/forms.py
index 4262cae762..9cabc970da 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/forms.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/forms.py
@@ -5,9 +5,14 @@ from django.utils.translation import ugettext as _, ugettext_lazy as __
 
 class SearchForm(forms.Form):
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        _placeholder = kwargs.pop('placeholder', None)
         placeholder_suffix = kwargs.pop('placeholder_suffix', "")
         super(SearchForm, self).__init__(*args, **kwargs)
-        self.fields['q'].widget.attrs = {'placeholder': 'Search ' + placeholder_suffix}
+        if _placeholder is not None:
+            placeholder = _placeholder
+        else:
+            placeholder = 'Search {}'.format(placeholder_suffix)
+        self.fields['q'].widget.attrs = {'placeholder': placeholder}
 
     q = forms.CharField(label=_("Search term"), widget=forms.TextInput())
 
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtaildocs/views/documents.py b/wagtail/wagtaildocs/views/documents.py
index 2372472b04..1c7ba20d06 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtaildocs/views/documents.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtaildocs/views/documents.py
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ def index(request):
     # Search
     query_string = None
     if 'q' in request.GET:
-        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder_suffix='documents')
+        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder=_("Search documents"))
         if form.is_valid():
             query_string = form.cleaned_data['q']
             if not request.user.has_perm('wagtaildocs.change_document'):
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ def index(request):
             else:
                 documents = Document.search(query_string)
     else:
-        form = SearchForm(placeholder_suffix='documents')
+        form = SearchForm(placeholder=_("Search documents"))
 
     # Pagination
     p = request.GET.get('p', 1)
@@ -136,4 +136,4 @@ def delete(request, document_id):
 
     return render(request, "wagtaildocs/documents/confirm_delete.html", {
         'document': doc,
-    })
\ No newline at end of file
+    })
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailimages/views/images.py b/wagtail/wagtailimages/views/images.py
index f12484c4e6..f87bd4e94b 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailimages/views/images.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailimages/views/images.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def index(request):
     # Search
     query_string = None
     if 'q' in request.GET:
-        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder_suffix="images")
+        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder=_("Search images"))
         if form.is_valid():
             query_string = form.cleaned_data['q']
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ def index(request):
             else:
                 images = Image.search(query_string)
     else:
-        form = SearchForm(placeholder_suffix="images")
+        form = SearchForm(placeholder=_("Search images"))
 
     # Pagination
     p = request.GET.get('p', 1)
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailredirects/views.py b/wagtail/wagtailredirects/views.py
index 2e5fd0b3a7..0205787598 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailredirects/views.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailredirects/views.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ def index(request):
     is_searching = False
 
     if 'q' in request.GET:
-        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder_suffix="redirects")
+        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder=_("Search redirects"))
         if form.is_valid():
             q = form.cleaned_data['q']
             is_searching = True
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ def index(request):
     if not is_searching:
         # Get redirects
         redirects = models.Redirect.get_for_site(site=request.site).prefetch_related('redirect_page')
-        form = SearchForm(placeholder_suffix="redirects")
+        form = SearchForm(placeholder=_("Search redirects"))
 
     if 'ordering' in request.GET:
         ordering = request.GET['ordering']
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailsearch/views/editorspicks.py b/wagtail/wagtailsearch/views/editorspicks.py
index 0973e07099..949ed4ca06 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailsearch/views/editorspicks.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailsearch/views/editorspicks.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ def index(request):
     is_searching = False
 
     if 'q' in request.GET:
-        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder_suffix="editor's picks")
+        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder=_("Search editor's picks"))
         if form.is_valid():
             q = form.cleaned_data['q']
             is_searching = True
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def index(request):
     if not is_searching:
         # Select only queries with editors picks
         queries = models.Query.objects.filter(editors_picks__isnull=False).distinct()
-        form = SearchForm(placeholder_suffix="editor's picks")
+        form = SearchForm(placeholder=_("Search editor's picks"))
 
     paginator = Paginator(queries, 20)
 
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailusers/views/users.py b/wagtail/wagtailusers/views/users.py
index cd1184c452..a05697f6a4 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailusers/views/users.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailusers/views/users.py
@@ -18,14 +18,14 @@ def index(request):
     is_searching = False
 
     if 'q' in request.GET:
-        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder_suffix="users")
+        form = SearchForm(request.GET, placeholder=_("Search users"))
         if form.is_valid():
             q = form.cleaned_data['q']
 
             is_searching = True
-            users = User.objects.filter(Q(username__icontains=q) | Q(first_name__icontains=q) | Q(last_name__icontains=q) | Q(email__icontains=q))       
+            users = User.objects.filter(Q(username__icontains=q) | Q(first_name__icontains=q) | Q(last_name__icontains=q) | Q(email__icontains=q))
     else:
-        form = SearchForm(placeholder_suffix="users")
+        form = SearchForm(placeholder=_("Search users"))
 
     if not is_searching:
         users = User.objects