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Why Header Design Matters

· napwarden

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In a world that exists on first impressions…How important is your blog designs header???

In a word…VERY.

The header of your blog is the first impression you will make on a new visitor. The design elements and functionality you choose for this space are very important. Learn all about blog headers here.

Why your header design is important

Your header is your first impression. It’s extremely important to set the tone for your blog here. If you have a serious blog…be serious, if you have a fun, creative blog…be fun and creative. Be conscious of what you want to say…and then say it. While this sounds basic, it doesn’t make it any less important.

I find that while niche bloggers know where they want to go with this…it’s typical for personal bloggers to say “I’m just a personal blogger, I have no niche or purpose.” To which I say “If you have a personal blog…then your blog is about YOU.” Think about what’s fun about you, or serious about you, or quirky about you…and use that to define your site. What you have to do is dig deep, do some soul searching to find what your blog is about…and reflect that in your header.

Where to start

Enough touchy feely…let’s get down to the nuts and bolts. Whenever I start a header, I shoot for keeping it under 250 pixels high (I actually start it at 150 pixels, and see if I can keep it there). Your header is important, but you don’t want to blow all your above the fold (the area before you scroll) real estate on it.

That being said…what happens when your header is going over the 250?

Functional Elements

The first thing I do is find a way to work another functional element into the header. That way, what you’ve lost in the bigger header, you’ve made back by integrating some other page element into it.

The most typical thing to do is to try to work your social bookmark icons, or navigation into the header. Most good premium WordPress themes have header widget areas built into the theme. This makes it very easy to drag another element up. If you are on Blogger, it’s a bit trickier, but you can code in a header widget box.

Graphics matter

Pay attention to your graphics. Whether it’s illustrations or photographs, make sure it’s of good quality, strike that…GREAT quality. This really goes site wide, but in the header…double that. If it’s a choice between a mediocre graphic or nothing…choose nothing. There are many places around the web to find great pictures and illustrations. Everyone has heard blogging is about “fake it til you make it”, it’s a whole lot easier to fake it when your graphics are top notch. Find that friend who knows Photoshop, bribe them with sushi, and make them tweak your picture so it looks it’s best.

The rest will follow

It’s hard to find yourself and your blog, and then reflect that in your header design. The good news is…once you’ve done that, the rest of the design will fall into place. It’s all about finding the elements you love and then sprinkling those elements about the page to support it. Having a great header makes a fantastic blog even better!

About napwarden

Cynthia started her one stop shop for everything from blog design to custom illustration and logo creation 3 years ago. Over 100 blog designs later, and many late night dates with her Macbook Pro, NW Designs has become her full time job. You can find her at NW Designs or NapWarden

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Jane says

    I have been searching FOREVER for inspiration for the perfect blog header. I came back here after failed attempts and the first sample caught my eye…I like how simple it is but also shows some of what looks like her own pictures…it’s given me inspiration to use this sample as a template and incorporate my own pictures so it’s my own…thanks! 😀

  3. Pam says

    Thanks for this. I have made so many headers, and each time I wonder if they have really expressed ME and/or the tone of my blog. I just made a new one, but still not sure… (Hard to develop community or branding when it keeps changing!)

  4. Brittany_VaVoomVintage says

    Thank you so much for the advice. I have been in desperate need of a new header for ages but I didn’t know where to even begin! I write a vintage blog so I googled vintage logos and got inspiration from those and made my own in PicMonkey this afternoon. I may still make some tweaks to it but it is a huge improvement!! Thank you!!

  6. Monica says

    Excellent post and so timely since my header needs a bunch of help. Since I’m use Blogger, I have some work todo!

  8. taradara says

    Thanks for such a great post! I’m so glad I paid someone to do mine … the one I made pretty much sucked, so I knew it had to scare people away. I couldn’t agree more with what you wrote!!
    xo

  9. Emily says

    Aaaargh. I know I need a header. A good one. Or one at all, really! It’s been in the too hard basket for too long. Thanks for the inspiration.

  11. Charlotte says

    Great tips! If I ever have my site redesigned (header included) I’ll definitely keep these things in mind. Thanks so much 🙂 And wishing you all a wonderful weekend 🙂

  12. lucy says

    great information and so helpful! I’m forwarding thispost to my friend who has decided to start herown thrifting blog. 🙂

  16. When Pigs Fly says

    I adore my blog header. I had Renee at Studio Bold come up with it for me. She is wonderful. I found the graphic that I thought might work along with a tag line and then she went from there.

  17. Tammy says

    Great points! I can remember when I started blogging and mine was huge. Now it is under the 250 size and am hoping to do a little change up here in the next few weeks. I like the idea of the social media icons in the header. Clears up some needed space!

  18. Diane | An Extraordinary Day says

    Recently I was blessed to find someone to help me with my header for a reasonable price. I had lots of ideas which I don’t think I expressed, but my designer somehow heard my heart by reading my ‘about’ and more and created something that’s me. The header might be a little ‘tall’, though the important things are above the ‘bar’ so to speak. I’ve just begun this journey in blogging. But, when I preview my blog, the design makes me happy. That, in itself, is worth a lot!

  19. Devon Riesenberg says

    Awesome tips, thanks SITS gals! I personally have changed my header so many times, using a lot of tips that I’ve learned right here on this site! I love your “bribe with sushi” idea ;))))

  22. Darcie says

    Thanks! I’ve just been (re)designing my site and glad now after reading this that I picked to have all the up top stuff within 250px. I’m not “done” and I think I need another element up there… this has helped a lot!

  33. patti says

    I always get comments about my header- I change it every few months, and readers tell me how much they love seeing new ones…that being said, I am at a loss for how to stretch it without ruining the rest of my format- I downloaded a template for Blogger years ago that doesn’t seem to be adjustable. (I hate Blogger’s standard templates). Maybe I just need to revamp my whole blog! Anyway, I would love to see an article on SITS about overall blog design…or maybe I just need to bite the bullet and pay to get a blog make-over:) Thanks for this post!

  38. Audrey says

    Great tips. I don’t mind a big header (says the girl with a big header) but I think it’s weird when I go to a blog and the header is all you see until you scroll down. I want to be able to see some actual content. It should be around 2/3 content in my design world. Of course, I’m also the person with a wider than average blog, which my husband keeps trying to convince me is too wide, but in this age of tablets that resize your blog and the average screen no longer being 13″ squares..I think it’s fine. 😀

  43. Jamie @ Roubinek Reality says

    I really need to learn more about how to get my social buttons in to my header. Thanks for peaking my interest!! Great article! 🙂

  44. Stephanie Snyder says

    This couldn’t have come at a better time, ladies!!! Thank you! I’m getting ready to redesign headers for both my home at TU, and aprofessorswife.com – I’m hoping to get some inspiration at BBC in Philly, but this is just GREAT! 🙂

  45. Mrs. Monologues says

    These are great tips! I should be seeing a draft of my new design for my blog next week, so I am really going to keep these tips in mind when I am reviewing them!

  49. Erin says

    Thank you for all of your advice. I’ve been trying to play around with the design of my blog. I found your tips super helpful! Now to implement them 🙂