Your website header is the top section of every page on your WordPress website, and it's usually the first thing your visitors will see. You should customize your site header so that it reflects your brand, and is easy to read and navigate to keep your visitors on your site.
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This article is for beginners to WordPress customization. I'm using the Kadence theme, but most themes will be similar.
Why customize your site header?
A custom header is one that contains your specific branding: your logo, your brand colors, fonts, etc. You can link to important pages like account or shopping cart pages, display social icons or your business phone number, and show call-to-action buttons for more conversions.
Need help with creating a logo? Check out Pam Allen's Canva courses.
Using the WordPress Theme Customizer
You will find the customizer in your WordPress admin area under Appearance- customize. In the customizer, you will see a left hand menu and a preview of your site. You will see changes in the preview as you change the header, but they will remain in draft until you hit “publish“.
Hover over the theme preview and you will see pencil icons. Click on one to open the header panel.
To create a custom header, hover over an empty area in the header and click the ‘+' icon to add a header block. Next, you can select any block you'd like to add to your custom header. For example, you can add a widget block, account block, search block, and more.
The header builder also lets you drag and drop the blocks and place them above or below the header. You can further customize each block that you add to the header.
For instance, selecting the Site Title & Logo block will give you options to add a site title and logo, change the logo's width, display a site tagline, and more. Besides that, you can also change the background color of the header or add a background image to appear in the header.
When you're done editing the custom header, simply click the ‘Publish' button.
Customizing your WordPress header can enhance the overall design and functionality of your website. You can add a second menu, contact information, or anything else that will help your users navigate your site.