3 Answers to Expect From a Good Header

As my blog continuously grows, though more slowly than I would have liked, I came to a decision to redesign the header. You can notice that it already has gone through a face-lift, but it is far from done yet.

The old header was only a temporary place-holder for the real stuff, but, now I’m working on a header that would serve as a real intro to my blog. Just as a cover on a book gives the reader clues and teasers as to what is inside, so is my idea to make the header the cover of my blog.

A few tips for a good header

Several things I would like to see in a good header, and hence change mine accordingly:

1. The title of the blog should be proudly placed in a visible uncluttered spot of the header.

2. Did I say uncluttered spot? A good header will have enough whitespace to allow the visitor to take in the whole of the header “in one shot”. I would attempt to make my header do just that, since I’m seeing a lot of volatile traffic from Entrecard and StumbleUpon (read more on my 2 Kinds of Bad Traffic article).

3. Besides the title, brand logo or other graphics, the header could contain sneak previews into the content of the blog. Things such as a list of the 5 most popular articles, upcoming interviews, featured reviews, etc.

4. The colors of the header should match the overall color scheme. A red and yellow vibrant color theme would not look appropriate for a pastel, soothing blog theme.

5. A very thin header wouldn’t allow for any information to be delivered to the reader. A header that is ridiculously high is not acceptable for a blog, as you have to leave space for above-the-fold items. So I believe a 200-250 pixel high header is ok, and will be big enough of a container for all your stuff.

In a nutshell…

Basically, besides the technical stuff (i.e. color scheme) your header must answer the following 3 questions:

1. What’s this blog’s name?

2. What’s this blog’s purpose?

3. What’s this blog’s content?

If you succeed to answer those within the restrains of your header, then before the next Entrecard chain-dropper leaves your blog in a cloud of dust, he will surely glance on the header. And when he does, and if he is interested in your niche (otherwise what’s the point of having him as a reader), the chances of him bookmarking or subscribing would be increased tenfold.

Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun writing.

- Alex

[tags]header design, blog, cover, teasers, whitespace, weblog[/tags]