Creating a header for your blog is one of the best ways to make it unique and stand out from the crowd. When you’re trying to come up with an idea for your new header, you may be drawing a blank. I’ve got a few ideas that will help kickstart those creative gears in your head.
Just Text – I’ve seen a lot of great blog headers that are simply text. Using typography to make your blog stand out is gutsy but can result in a beautiful header. Find a snazzy font – there are tons of free fonts available on the web to download – and use your favorite image editing program to create a cool graphic with your blog title.
Add some text effects to make it anything but generic. You can even make it look like it’s 3D, shiny, or glowing. Try using different colors for certain letters, add a copy of the text flipped upside down to create a mirror effect, or create text using other images. There are lots of ways to get creative with text.
Photography – Some headers are nothing but a photo. A scenic landscape, a city skyline, or a row of cute babies smiling for the camera can make a memorable image for your blog readers.
If you want to get even more creative, design multiple headers and have them rotate each time the page is refreshed. This is a great idea for people with photoblogs who like to showcase their own work. My favorite place to get images for my blog headers is StockXpert.
Minimal – If you have a busy theme or you want to direct the focus on something in particular, you may want to choose a header that doesn’t attract a lot of attention.
A simple blog title may suffice, or a small logo. This works well for blogs that already have a brand that is recognizable.
Grunge – There are lots of grunge images and textures that you can download for free. Grab a few, splice them together, and create your own unique header with them.
While you’re looking for some grunge textures, find some grunge fonts to go with it. A dark grunge background with a white grungy text over top would look great on a personal blog.
Color – Using bright, vibrant colors for your header is extremely eye-catching. It could be something really abstract (in which case many examples can be found on free stock photography and images sites) or you can use a mixture of images that add a lot of color contrast.
In one blog header I designed, I took one image of an apple, duplicated it twice, and changed the color of the second two images resulting in a row of three colorful apples. It was simple and eye-catching at the same time and the same idea could be implemented for any niche blog using different images.
If you can’t decide on one idea, why not try more than one? Some blogs are known to change their headers regularly. In some cases this could confuse your readers, but if done properly, it could end up being something that makes your blog unique. Your readers will expect the change and look forward to seeing what you come up with next.
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16 comments ↓
Cassie knows what she’s talking about. Look at the pretty header she made for my blog just launched Monday.
Thank you for your hard work on my blog, Cassie.
Jeanne
Jeanne’s last blog post..Blog Giveaway 1
Thanks so much for assisting my excellent pal, Jeanne in her new blog. It look great!!! Will be fun to see how she evolves it.
I kinda like my header some days.
best, Jannie
BOOYA
BOOYA
BOOYA
is that a great booya-base? Bouillibase? ha?
Jannie Funster’s last blog post..So how ’bout that!
Cassie,
Jannie is hysterical. It cracks me up that she popped over here with her silliness.
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Jannie,
You are too funny. I love that you’re expanding your Funster humor throughout the blogosphere.
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Jeanne
P.S. Jannie, I love your header. You always keep on eye on things and your rotating taglines are fun to watch.
Jeanne’s last blog post..Blog Giveaway 1
Aw, thanks you guys.
Jannie, “flinging bras since 1977″ is one of the coolest taglines I’ve ever seen.
Thanks for the tips. And I checked out Jeanne’s blog, great header.
Anna’s last blog post..Our bedtime routine update
This is one of the areas that I’ve had the most trouble with. I don’t fancy myself a designer so I’ve had difficulty with my header. I’m pleased with the one that I have now but I just feel like something is missing…
Either way, I think it’s come a long way since what I had there originally…
Ricardo Bueno´s last blog ..Is Commenting On Blogs An Effective Traffic Strategy?
@Ricardo – Hmmm, yeah I think I can picture a few changes that might make it pop a little more. Do you have a copy of the header you started with? I’d be interested to see it!
@Cassie: really? I have to dig through for it. I have the pdf file which is quite useless really. As soon as I find it, shall I email it over?
Would love to have some additional/creative insight…
Ricardo Bueno´s last blog ..Is Commenting On Blogs An Effective Traffic Strategy?
Definitely. Send it to cgermsheid at sasktel dot net.
Hi Cassie. I feel the header on our site is way too large and takes up too much room above the fold. I’m currently working on a new, more blogger friendly kind of place, header which will appeal to new bloggers.
For creating text images, here’s a really neat online tool to do this for you:
http://cooltext.com/
John Hoff – WpBlogHost´s last blog ..New Regulations For USA Bloggers May Be Around The Corner
Hey John! That is a cool site, I just discovered that last week actually. I do all my header designs in Fireworks so that’s a cool place to get some inspiration.
I like your current header. It fits your site well, but I’m sure it could easily be re-sized to take up less space above the fold. Let me know if you need any help.
Wow, you’re like the first person that I’ve talked to that uses Fireworks other than me. Everyone else uses Photoshop.
I like Fireworks because it’s really built for web applications (plus it integrates well with Dreamweaver) . . . not to mention it’s a hell of a lot easier to use and figure out than Photoshop.
John Hoff – WpBlogHost´s last blog ..New Regulations For USA Bloggers May Be Around The Corner
Yes I have a love affair with Fireworks. If I was a png file, I’d marry it.
Well, at least you know you could design yourself a spectacular wedding!
John Hoff – WpBlogHost´s last blog ..New Regulations For USA Bloggers May Be Around The Corner
True dat. You just gave me a really cool idea for a new design actually.
I like your booya header, simple but i think its attractive.
Thanks for the tips and also thanks john for the link on cool text.
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