A website header is the uppermost section of a website.
Below is an example of the header of this website.
A website header is the strip of content at the top of a website. At a minimum, the header should contain a logo and navigation to the most important pages. Like the footer, which is the bottommost part of your website, a website header is consistent throughout the site. While there are exceptions to every rule, it is safe to say, in general, that every page of the site should have the same header and footer.
A website’s structure should be logical. Consistency makes this possible.
Providing consistent website header and footer helps the site visitor find what they need quickly and easily. When a site is easy to navigate, users will have a more pleasant experience and are likely to spend more time on the site, exploring the various pages and familiarizing themselves with your business or organization.
What makes a good website header?
The Neilson Normal Group has collected user experience data and conducted market research that has demonstrated that websites have a maximum of 10 seconds to grab a customer’s attention. Since the header is one of the first elements a new site visitor will see, it is critical to your success that the header be easily readable.
A website header should be well-designed, with lots of white space. The font must be simple and the color high-contrast enough to make it easy to read. If the font you choose is too fancy, people will find it difficult to read. Also, contrast between background color and text is important. If the contrast is insufficient, users will have to strain to decipher words. This can make the navigation illegible and the site inaccessible.
What do first-time visitors need from a header?
First-time visitors may use your main navigation as a table of contents. They may just scroll through your main navigation links without clicking through to any pages. Each navigation link essentially tells them the title of the main pages on your website. From this information they will begin to form an idea of what your business is about before even visiting any other page.
What do returning visitors need from a website header?
A returning visitor has been to your site before and has decided that what you are offering is valuable enough for them to spend more time on your website. They don’t need your logo to be huge, because they know where they are. Rather than using the links as a table of contents, they may be more likely to click through to pages to learn more. Legibility and readability are equally important to first time and return visitors.
Fun facts about the importance of return visitors
According to a 2018 study by Barilliance, return site visitors:
- Added items to carts 65.16% more than first time visitors
- Converted 73.72% more than first time visitors
- Spent 16.15% more per transaction
How big should the logo be?
Consider the perspective of the site visitor. In most cases, they have landed on your website in search of a solution to a problem. What they want to know is, “Can you help me?” Who you are is less important than whether or not you can solve their problem. Once they’ve decided that maybe you can help, then they’ll want to know who are you and how can they can reach you. Your logo does not solve either of their initial issues.
I am a designer. I love good design. But even I can admit that the logo in the website header is far from the most important element on a website. Once the site visitor knows whose site they’re on, they don’t want to be hit over the head with a giant logo again and again.
See our related article Tips for Creating An Optimal Website Logo Design.
Now you know what a website header is.
A website header is the uppermost section of your website. Headers should be logical and consistent, well-designed with good use of white space. The font should be simple and clean, with good color contrast between type and background.
The header is important to both new and returning visitors. For those new to the site, it will be one of the first elements they see. The logo will indicate whose site they have landed on and the navigation links will indicate what other information is to be found. For return visitors, the header is also important. It will help them find information on other pages that they may find valuable.
If you’d like to improve the look and effectiveness of your site header, give us a call at (518) 392-0846 or email [email protected]. And for those interested in learning more about all our services, visit our WordPress website design and development services page.