The website header is basically the introduction of the site and overall digital brand. It’s imperative to ensure you make a great first impression by choosing the right header. Having an on-brand website header will welcome users and create an intuitive and informational journey through your client’s website. 

Website Headers Defined 

The website header is the main source of navigational information that guides a user through a site. You can include a navigational menu, clickable calls to action (CTA), your logo, and other important brand or navigational elements in this area. 

Keeping a simple design and including your logo, a navigational menu, CTA, and the search function is a smart way to set up this part of your client’s site. 

The right navigational menu in your header will give people visiting the site the chance to explore the various elements they may find useful or interesting. 

Some of the most common CTAs to include in this area include a newsletter registration, demo request, discount code, or sale promotion. 

Optimizing the Website Header

While the design of a website header is completely up to you or the website owner, it’s important to make sure it is well-optimized and features assets that load quickly. You will find several opportunities to design a header. For example, you can feature animation or videos, large headers, an image carousel, or something else. If video or images are part of the design for your header, make sure to add them before making it live to ensure the elements load quickly enough. 

Another best practice when designing a header is making sure you meet all responsive design and mobile-friendly requirements for the different devices that may be used to access the site. When considering this, remember that larger images may shrink if users move from their desktop to a mobile device. 

Choosing the Right Website Header Design

When designing a website header, the creative options are endless. Before making your new header live, you can test the design elements and features with A/B testing. It’s possible to create a professional and sleek header, animated, simple, colorful, interactive – and the list keeps going. While the sky is the limit when it comes to designing your header, you need to make sure certain elements are included in some way. These include:

  • Company name and/or logo
  • Call to action (CTA)
  • Tagline
  • Search bar
  • Image
  • Contact information
  • Shopping cart
  • Social media links

Other Design Elements for Your Website Header

The other design elements to consider when creating a website header are size, responsiveness, and typography. These elements can impact its effectiveness, too. 

As mentioned above, you can view the header as the “welcome” mat leading to your website. Since it is the first thing a user will see, you need to ensure it is interactive and attractive while being functional. Remember, there’s no right or wrong style for your header design; however, the tips will help you create a clean and optimized header.