For websites, this holds true. Your website is the gateway to your product, service, or project, and a good website header design is a great way to ensure you leave a positive first impression. 

But what if you want to go one step further? A by-product of the rise of templated website layouts is oversaturated designs — the average web surfer has already seen thousands of versions of the same headers over and over again. Beyond creating something that communicates your mission and offerings, it’s important that your website stands out. That’s why wowing your visitors with a unique, creative website header design is key to crafting a memorable and impactful website experience.

Now, let’s explore what makes for a good website header design, explore some examples, and get inspiration for your next project. 

What makes a good website header design?

First and foremost, a good website header design needs to convey the purpose of the website. There’s more to it than just featuring the name of your product or service. It needs to communicate — through the visual elements it incorporates — the overall identity of the person, product, or service.

If you’re an animator creating a website to share some of your fun, quirky character designs, for example, it would feel a little odd to have a super-serious header with a muted color palette and dull fonts. It would clash with both the work you’re advertising and (probably) your own personality. 

In short — a good website header design accurately reflects your brand and identity. After you accomplish this, everything else is fair play. There is no set parameter for how large your header should be, or even what should be on it. Whether it’s a fixed sticky header, involves parallax scrolling, or involves a call-to-action, template or original design, these are all variables that can be played with. 

Creative website header design examples

If you’re looking for inspiration for your own website, look no further. We’ve compiled a list of some interesting, creative, and downright cool website header designs from a wide variety of approaches, 

 1. Sabina met een A

Sabina Van Gils is a copywriter and editor from the Netherlands. Her personal site, “Sabina met een A” or “Sabina with an A” starts off with a simple animated header that illustrates the actions of editing, highlighting, and circling elements of her website title. 

This is a great example of how an animated header, even in its simplicity, can be used to convey the product or service being offered, as well as the personality of the human behind it all. With a quick animation, Sabina gives her site a ton of personality, and more importantly shines a light on her purpose and who she is. 

2. GSAP FLIP Column Hovers 

A great way to take your header design up a notch is to use a video — and this cloneable from Timothy Ricks is one of the most creative ways we’ve seen motion used.

With this project, users can hover their mouse pointer over each of the different sections and open up a brief accompanying video. The seamlessness of the transition and interactive elements give this website header design a sophisticated and modern feel. 

To get started on using this cloneable for your own project in Webflow, click here. 

3. Light Factory

The Light Factory website by Joseph Berry and Andrea Jelic was built to advertise their eponymous video production house. Instead of the brief glimpses of video that we saw with Timothy Ricks’ GSAP FLIP Column Hovers, Light Factory incorporates a full sizzle reel in the header of the website — a great way to catch the attention of visitors. 

Using large video can often make your website seem cluttered, or even confusing. With a clear visual hierarchy, a discreet call-to-action (CTA), and a hamburger menu that provides easy access to key areas of the website, Light Factory’s header design manages to avoid feeling overwhelming or disorganized.    

4. Stephen Bell Comedy

Stephen Bell’s site kicks off with a static image that occupies the full width of the site, featuring Stephen’s name in large bold letters with a simple and subtle animation on the header text. 

Our favorite part of Stephen’s header is how he breaks it up into two sections: an introductory image or “splash page” that serves as the first impression for visitors, and a sticky header that displays links and remains fixed at the top of the page as the visitor scrolls through the website. Stephen’s approach is a great way to  emphasize usability and function without sacrificing personality.  

5. Shuuga

When it comes to creating a website header with personality and fun, the folks at Shuuga sure know how to dazzle. This creative header design involves animation, parallax scrolling, and interactivity, with the product being put front and center for the world to see.

Their site strikes the perfect balance between well-executed header design and brand representation. Shuuga is a company that makes vegan candy, so their homepage design is deliberately fun. A similar header wouldn’t work if the website was advertising a law firm, for example. The product or service being showcased should inform the header and overall site design.

An interactive header like this is a great way to keep visitors engaged and entertained. Additionally, the custom cursor is a nice touch that brings the design to the next level. 

6. Studiopresto

The website for Studiopresto, a web design company specializing in brand identity projects, is another example of how interactive elements can be leveraged to make a strong impression and provide a seamless and engaging user experience. 

At the top of the header the design shows images of three people, each of which has its own animation that can be triggered by hovering the cursor over them. These animations are each accompanied by their own hidden popup that links to the relevant page. 

This clever use of static and animated elements and parallax scrolling give this website a highly interactive feel, all while providing a comfortable navigation experience for the user.

There’s a risk involving many interactive elements and large header size. But by keeping a clean and open design and being smart about element deployment, you can dazzle your visitors with your landing page while remaining useful as an information hub.