Visitors will naturally look to the top of a webpage first. That means you need to have a well-branded header that lets your visitors know they’re in the right place. Any confusion about what you’re offering (or where you’re offering it) may cause folks to bounce from your site. In conclusion: weak header, weak website.
Here are our three steps for ensuring your website’s header engages visitors.
Step 1: Start with your logo. Don’t have a logo? You can hire a designer to make one for you, or you can find a font and color that you like and make a simple, text-based logo yourself. There are several programs you can use to do this: PowerPoint, Keynote, and Photoshop are just a few.
Step 2: Add a short description or tagline. Here are some real-world examples:
- Exceptional properties…exceptional results (My Hampton Homes)
- Finding NYC Apartments Just Got Easier! (Naked Apartments)
- The Evolution of Real Estate (Core)
- Phoenix Real Estate – Anything & Everything About It. Plus Random Musings… (The Phoenix Real Estate Guy)
Step 3: Add navigation links. Make it easy for visitors to get around your site and find what they’re looking for by including navigation links in your header. “Home,” “Search,” “Buy,” “Sell,” “About,” “Blog,” and “Contact” are some of the most popular links for real estate site headers.
Bonus Step: Add social media buttons and contact info. It’s important to keep your header uncluttered so visitors don’t become overwhelmed or confused. However, even after completing the three steps we just mentioned, there will likely be plenty of space for adding other engaging elements. For example, having your email address and/or phone number in the header makes it convenient for folks to reach out to you, as they won’t need to navigate to your contact page to find your contact info. If you have a presence on social media (which you absolutely should!), putting buttons that link to your brand/company pages is great for encouraging folks to engage with you there.
If you want to learn more about best practices for real estate website design, download our free eBook.
