You’ve probably seen many websites and might not know that many times a webpage is sandwiched in between a “top” part and a “bottom” part. The top (the header) and bottom (the footer) are normally repeated consistently on every single page of your website. We might not talk about them much, but these sections contain elements which are essential to your user experience.

The Header (or “The Top Part”) of Your Website

What’s in a header? The header is at the very top of your website and contains your logo and navigation. You might notice this exists on your homepage as well as each interior page and gives the user a way to navigate back and forth between pages. It’s important that the header stay consistent throughout your site. As an example, here’s what the header on the Roundpeg site looks like:

Header

Logo: Your website will normally have a logo somewhere in the header whether it’s on the left, middle or righthand side of your site. Your logo adds a recognizable element right away so that your customer knows they are in the right place. If they’re unfamiliar with your business, it adds credibility and is a touchpoint of your brand.

Main Menu or Main Navigation: The navigation of your site is a guide for how to get from page to page. This should be logical and should be ordered from broader pages to more specific. For example, “The Team” navigation item contains a drop down to more specific menu items: “Meet Your Team” and “Careers.” Your main menu should be logical, and easy to follow.

Sub Menu or “Drop Down” Menu: Sub Menus and Drop Down Menus can cause a lot of confusion when not used correctly. Even though we steer our clients away from overusing drop-downs, when they are used sparingly, they can be helpful in organizing more specific pages.

Footer or (“The Bottom Part”)

Your footer is the section at the very end of your website. This section should be recognizable and distinct from the main body of your page. The footer contains a bunch of information to “wrap up” and can contain anything from an SEO paragraph, contact information, links to social media and contact information.

footer

SEO Paragraph: We will usually include a paragraph in the footer that is keyword rich and designed specifically for a search engine indexing your site. While this paragraph isn’t specifically meant to be an exciting read for humans, it can dramatically increase the keyword density of your site. If you’re writing your own, sum up the bulk of what you’re about in 2-3 sentences.

Contact Information You should definitely include your contact information (phone number and address) here. Potential customers will typically expect to find your contact information in this area.

Social Media Links: If you’re active on social media, this is the perfect place for those links.

The Wrap Up

Though the header and footer aren’t a topic of great detail in client discussions, they are a significant amount of real estate on your website. Clean up your navigation, include a version of your logo and make sure your contact information is where people expect to find it.


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