Your header should be the lawn if your website were a house. It is the first thing that users see and determines whether or not they continue driving. It can be tempting to stuff the header with too many bells and whistles.

The following are some of the things a header can do:

• Display your brand identity including photos, slogans, and logos. The header can be used to display visual elements if the brand is visual.

• For search, subscription, or language options, there are interaction fields.

• Call-to-Action fields are buttons that say “try” or “shop”.

• Navigation links for basic purposes.

• Links to social media networks

But does this capacity suffice to fulfill every function? No. No. Headers must be simple to find and easy to understand. This is the website’s lawn. It would be difficult to access if the lawn was covered in the shrubbery, from curbside up to the door. A cluttered header indicates that navigation and content are difficult to find from their current location.

Header Design Features

Sites will have different requirements for what functions a header should perform. A CTA field and brand identification are more important than linking to social media networks if the site’s goal is to provide information about a product. Social media links would be a higher priority if the site was devoted to the work of a marketing agency in Miami.

Header design is not difficult if you keep in mind certain constants. Websites want visitors to interact with the content and explore it. The header design must facilitate site navigation.

Navigation Options

The hamburger button, which is displayed as is perhaps the most popular way to provide navigation within the header. The hamburger button (sometimes called the hotdog or pancake button due to its multi-layered appearance) has two advantages over other navigation styles.

It allows designers to easily display a full menu from the header, without having to display complicated paths like in the traditional navigation style. Instead of using a text-based hierarchy (e.g., home > gallery> cats > gifs), the user can instead use a visual hierarchy to get to the page they desire in fewer clicks.

A second benefit, which is likely why the hamburger menu has so many top left corners of its pages, is that it’s compatible with mobile viewing. Mobile users can appreciate the style of the header and its content without having to occupy much screen space with the navigation pane.

Typography

A header is only half of the battle. The text must be clearly visible without losing its readability. It can be distracting to the credibility of a site if the header’s typeface is too stylized. This could discourage people from reading further. If the typeface is too generic and unremarkable it can detract from the site’s credibility.

However, in the battle between form and function, typography will always win. It is more important to make text legible than to establish brand identity using typefaces.

In ideal situations, the typeface can achieve branding and readability simultaneously. When in doubt, you should focus on visual clarity over all other aspects of header typography.

Illustrations Photos 

A header used to be the static image that was behind a website’s navigation. Although a header can still simply be described as the static image behind a site’s navigation, imagery usage has evolved significantly over recent years. Illustrations are becoming more popular for website design. They can provide the right level of abstraction to enhance aesthetics while still being easy to read.

The header should contain photos and illustrations that are large enough to fit the largest displays, but small enough to be scaled down to the smallest.

Trending Header Styles 

Recently, two header styles have been the most popular in Miami web design agency trends: Hero and Video. Each trend has its pros and cons. The final decision on which style of the header is best for your website (if any) will depend on user research and the target demographics.

Hero

The hero header design includes a large image that often shows the entire or nearly-total view of the space above the scroll bar. Navigation elements are then overlaid on it. These headers can be loaded easily if they are a standard files and will often translate well to mobile displays. Hero headers are great for merchant websites. They highlight the most important products and encourage users to explore more.

A hero header design has a downside: The image the user chooses is their first impression. If they pick the wrong photo or use stock photos, they might not leave a positive impression. Websites rarely get the chance for a second impression. You should spend extra time selecting and testing images if you decide to include the hero header design.

Video

Web design is embracing video headers. They are usually part of a hero layout. Web designers can display video clips, which can leave a lasting impression and keep users interested longer than static images. This trend is relatively new and should not be used if the videos are less than 720p.

A higher definition means slower loading times. This is usually not a problem for a desktop computer with high-speed internet access. However, mobile users may experience problems loading videos and playing them regardless of the OS.

Mobile users can disable video headers on websites that use them, whether they are hero-styled or not. It will be appreciated by them.

Reducing Your Header Design

It can be difficult to decide which bells and whistles you want to include in your header. But it comes down to this:

“What’s the purpose of this content?”

Header attributes can be easily chosen if you have a clear idea of what your website should do and mean for users.

It’s not function versus form. It functions as a form.