diff --git a/datalad_registry/overview.py b/datalad_registry/overview.py
index 1ecfd369..f8c5915f 100644
--- a/datalad_registry/overview.py
+++ b/datalad_registry/overview.py
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def overview():  # No type hints due to mypy#7187.
     # as we would add search to individual files.
     query = request.args.get("query", None, type=str)
     search_error = None
-    if query:
+    if query is not None:
         lgr.debug("Search by '%s'", query)
         try:
             criteria = parse_query(query)
diff --git a/datalad_registry/templates/overview.html b/datalad_registry/templates/overview.html
index b28bdc42..d2287ce8 100644
--- a/datalad_registry/templates/overview.html
+++ b/datalad_registry/templates/overview.html
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
   <div class="content">
     <form action="{{ url_for('.overview') }}" method="get">
       <label for='search' class="sr-only">Search</label>
-      <input id='search' type='search' name='query'
+      <input id='search' type='search' name='query' required pattern=".*\S.*"
           {%- if search_query %} value="{{ search_query|escape }}"
           {%- endif -%}
              placeholder='Search query'
diff --git a/datalad_registry/tests/test_overview.py b/datalad_registry/tests/test_overview.py
index 70d42294..3472ec65 100644
--- a/datalad_registry/tests/test_overview.py
+++ b/datalad_registry/tests/test_overview.py
@@ -182,12 +182,19 @@ def test_search_with_valid_query(
 
     @pytest.mark.usefixtures("populate_with_dataset_urls")
     @pytest.mark.parametrize(
-        "search_query",
+        "search_query, err_msg_prefix",
         [
-            "unknown_field:example",
+            ("unknown_field:example", "Unknown field: 'unknown_field'. Known are:"),
+            ("", "Query string cannot be empty"),
+            ("  \t \n", "Query string cannot contain only whitespace"),
+            (" ", "Query string cannot contain only whitespace"),
+            ("     ", "Query string cannot contain only whitespace"),
+            ("  \t \n \t   ", "Query string cannot contain only whitespace"),
         ],
     )
-    def test_search_with_invalid_query(self, search_query: Optional[str], flask_client):
+    def test_search_with_invalid_query(
+        self, search_query: str, err_msg_prefix: str, flask_client
+    ):
         """
         Test searching with an invalid query
         """
@@ -197,9 +204,7 @@ def test_search_with_invalid_query(self, search_query: Optional[str], flask_clie
         soup = BeautifulSoup(resp.text, "html.parser")
 
         assert (error_span := soup.find("span", class_="error"))
-        assert error_span.text.startswith(
-            "ERROR: Unknown field: 'unknown_field'. Known are:"
-        )
+        assert error_span.text.startswith(f"ERROR: {err_msg_prefix}")
 
     def test_pagination(self, populate_with_dataset_urls, flask_client):
         """