Email Header Design Guidelines And Inspirations

The world is transforming into a digital space with businesses, services, etc., becoming digitally operational. In this era, staying analogical will keep you behind your competitors. Whether you run a business firm or don’t, you always get tons of emails many times a day. It will be your experience with these emails that you open or delete.

This experience of deciding to open or delete an email is the game of email marketing. As the word suggests, it is a method of marketing through emails. Businesses and companies worldwide send emails to different users across the globe regarding their products and brands.

Since every company does the same, a few techniques or attributes distinguish one brand. What defining quality or factor enables a firm to stand out from its competitors? It is the robust strategy of email marketing. This strategy includes many factors, email header design or email banner design stands above all.

This article will guide you through creating stunning email banner designs for your email, making your email marketing campaign the best. We will talk about email headers or banners, their essential component, and the best practices to make your email header designs convert for you.

EMAIL HEADER - OVERVIEW​

Email Header Design

If you review and think about your email reading experience, you will recall the impact of an email header. It is a simple illustration that can make a massive difference in results. The header of an email includes the subject line, the names of the receiver and sender,

As we said, a few essential components make up an excellent email header design. Let’s dig deeper into these components.

BASIC INFORMATION OF EMAIL SENDER​

The first part of an email header is the basic information related to the email and its sender. If you email someone, the email-sending software or platform will automatically include your essential information, like your name, email address, etc.

Typically, this fundamental information makes up the first component of an email header. Be mindful that such information stays latent from your email receivers. But they can view it if they click on the tiny downward arrow below your brand name in their inbox.

One more thing to understand regarding this component of an email header design is that you can set it once and send it unchanged. In most cases, your Email Service Provider (ESP), like Gmail, does it for you.

the subject line

A subject line is the detrimental part of your email. It won’t be wrong to say that the major credit for your customer to open your email goes to your subject line. Thus, you must pay more attention to this part since it can make or break your game.

Whenever you email someone, they get it in their inbox. They see your email header design, business name, subject line, and preheader. If your brand name is widespread and your email subscriber knows about you, it can make them open the email. However, the subject line or the email title makes them read it.

Therefore, you must explore the art of writing persuasive subject lines for your emails. Another thing is that you can set it on your ESP, which will send the same subject line as every email you send. But it will be ineffective and will not convert efficiently. Thus, try to write it differently for every email you send to your audience.

A quick hack is to use AI that will generate catchy subject lines for you. Otherwise, go creative with it, and you will see its perks in the outcomes of your business. Also, don’t forget to add emojis or stickers to your subject lines, since it skyrockets its flexibility and fun.

Subject Line
The Preheader
Preheader

Like a subject line, a pre-header of your email is another highly vital component of your email banner design. It is a sentence that follows the subject line of an email. Your audience will see it in their inbox when they receive your email.

Sometimes, a well-crafted preheader will do when your subject line does not pursue a person to click on the email. Like a snippet in search engines, email preheaders summarize the entire email and provide you with the pain points of what is inside the email.

The preheader is different on different devices. For instance, you will see a preheader on your desktop computer with a dash (-) after the subject line. The preheader comes in the following line below the subject line.

Email Header Design

The email header or the email banner design is the topmost part of an email. It has several perks in terms of appearance and performance. It usually includes the business logo, name, and menu with CTAs.

Be sure to include your company’s name if it is still relatively unknown. This is especially important if your company has just entered the market. Keep in mind that your brand identity begins and ends with the company name. No matter what kind of email you send, always consider your personal branding.

In contrast, if your business has affected people, you may avoid using the name and go with the logo alone.

A further time-honored feature of email campaigns is the menu, which may guide recipients through the email campaign and eventually to the website. This menu has a purpose, as it allows you to make your email more engaging for the recipient by giving them additional options.

Adding a menu to your email is a plus, as it will portray the entire page of your website. This way, you can provide your readers with more options for your business.

Header menu

Designing The Perfect Email Header Design

Many factors play a crucial role when designing the perfect email header design or email banner design. Such factors are branding, navigation, responsive design, and simplicity. There are much more, but we have enlisted a few essential and best practices that will skyrocket your email marketing campaign with email banner design.

View in browser option
email header design
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If you are creative and want to add exciting materials and accessories to your email, you must add a Web View option in your email header. The reason is that mobile devices or desktop computers’ default email readers don’t view every element properly. So, your readers may miss essential fantastic aspects of your email.

Therefore, it is imperative to add this option to your email header design before you send it to your subscribers. Nike is the perfect example of this link, “View In The Web.” Nike adds interactive elements to their emails, making it difficult for regular ESPs to load them perfectly.

Therefore, this option is a quick win to avoid any complications for your email reader with your email.

Links To Social Media
Social links
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You must add the social media icons of your business with their links to your email header design. The purpose of doing so is to direct recipients of additional opportunities to interact with your brand. The best place to put them is in the email’s header or footer.

Putting your social media symbols in the email’s header is a great way to draw attention to them without distracting them from the message itself.

Those who check their email while on the fly may appreciate this clever workaround. This way, you can exploit this opportunity by giving them more options to connect with your brand. As a result, you can expect a hike in your sales performance.

Store Finder

A store finder is a button you can place anywhere on your email header design. If you operate franchises or have many stores across the country, the best approach is to provide your customers with facile options. A store finder is one such addition to your email header design.

For instance, Adidas adds this button to their emails that helps its users effortlessly find the store near them. If you have subscribed to their email list, you will experience it yourself. However, this addition can bring better results to your company without making your email header design crappy.

Discount Or Sale Information

email header size for discount and sales information

You will receive emails with a sense of urgency and short supply. In addition, some businesses may set a countdown timer for their sales and discount offers. The best example is Udemy, which sends emails with a header containing information about ongoing discounts on its courses.

You can do the same, as doing so is the best approach for making your audience feel like an opportunity. Since discounts and giveaways are the best techniques in marketing, embedding them in your emails will bring satisfying results.

Therefore, it is tremendously lucrative to add discount or sale information on the top of your email using a banner.

Products Incorporation
Product Incorporation email design
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If you have watched Netflix, you will receive their emails almost daily. You may find one thing typical in their emails; their films and TV shows at the top of their emails. It is their promotion or product incorporation. And the email header is the best place for such practice.

Therefore, if you offer a product or service, always add it to your email header design if it resonates with your audience. This way, you can make the best use of your email header designs to increase sales and your personal branding.

However, your product must be very well in appearance and presentation. Otherwise, it will cause you damage as it will make your email sloppy. Therefore, work on the display of your products, make them visually aesthetic, and add them to your email header design. It will do wonders for you.

A Menu Will Do Wonders
Header Menu
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For those who like to get to the chase, an email header design with navigation options is an excellent choice of layout.

Including a menu in your email’s header acts as a miniature version of your website’s navigation and directs the reader there quickly. It’s possible to have them be regular or interactive.

In addition, menus are fantastic for enhancing the interactive nature of your emails and increasing their conversion rate. It will also enhance user experience. It’s more convenient for the recipient because they can complete the transaction and get their order number without leaving their inbox.

It is a crucial strategy for your email advertising in the food and clothing industries.

An Image Speaks Louder
header design

You can trust the pictures you see in your email messages because they are the actual deal. Email header images are a great place to advertise your product because they draw the reader’s eye right away. Meanwhile, remember to consider the size of your email before you burden it with an oversized image.

Larger than 1MB picture files will slow down your email’s load time. So, it’s possible that your email’s recipient will become so annoyed that they’ll just delete it. An email’s header can include not only photos but also animated GIFs. Their impressiveness and ability to command one’s attention are both obvious.

Therefore, use your email header design to portray a jaw-dropping image that can be of your product or anything related to it. Also, don’t try irrelevant ideas that can make your readers turn down your email.

The Visuals Of Your Email Header

Note the colors you use, as they will have a significant impact on how your readers feel.

Colors like yellow and orange convey joy and hope, while blue is associated with tranquillity and so on. Besides this, the header of your email design can also feature your brand’s colors. Using color helps brand recognition among your audience. The header of your email should stand out from the page by using a color that contrasts with the page’s background.

In addition, you may use moving GIFs in email subject lines. Again, be mindful of the email size since heavier emails can make it a problem for your readers. If a person’s inbox is too slow to load, they will just delete the message.

Customization Of Text
Email Header Text design
Image Source

Texts of your email are the main triggers for your readers. Your words will influence them to take the actions that you want them to do. Be mindful that human minds like innovations and customization for consuming content.

So, try to make your text appear stunning and appealing. You can use many options to customize your email header’s texts. For instance, change the font style in your email header design and its menu. It will reflect your creative side to your readers, sticking them to scroll through your email.

In addition, consider the size of various fonts. As different fonts look better at different sizes, try to test them before adding them to your email header design.

Festival-Based Email Header Designs

email header design for festival season

When sending out email marketing messages around the holidays, attempt to include some Christmas cheer. There is no longer a need to create a new email header template for each email marketing effort. Because your viewers will find it dull and uninteresting.

Try to decorate your email headers with various elements like snowflakes, dragons, etc., depending on the nearby festival or holidays.

Also, incorporate timers into the beginning of your emails to immediately ramp up the tension. Using a countdown timer is a great way to get your readers to hasten. It encourages them to leap in response, helping you get more sales.

For instance, you can add a timer to your email banner design when running an email campaign for Christmas Sales or others. It will pique your readers’ interest and create a sense of impending loss of opportunity.

Things Not To Do While Designing Your Email Header

Email headers can change the entire marketing game for you. However, it depends on how it changes based on your techniques and practices. It can even hurt your campaign if you make some mistakes. Therefore, we have enlisted a few mistakes you must avoid to stay away from repercussions.

Complicated Email Header Designs

On the menu, you must not insert over three or four items. Go with the minimalist approach and stay away from messing things up, since it is less effective.

Not Taking Care Of Email Banner Size

When emailing, keep the header size reasonable. Typically, an email header that is 90 pixels high is excellent. However, if you include a menu to it, use a height of 200 pixels.

Unintentional Email Header Design

When working to make your header look nice, be careful not to lose sight of its original intent. Whichever approach you take to creating your header, it ought to convey your brand’s voice and convey your message without ambiguity.

Summing Up

Email banner design is the most important part of an email.There are a few things you need to remember while building the perfect email header design or email banner design.

In the email header or email banner design, include your company logo and any other identifying brand elements (such as colors or images)

You may make it easier for people to find what they need on your site by providing navigation links in the header.

Put a button or link in your header that prompts readers to do something after they’ve read your message.

Make sure the header you’re designing works well on desktop computers and mobile devices of all sizes.

Use clear, high-contrast language and provide alternative text for images to make your header design accessible to all users, including those with impairments.

The most important thing is to make sure that your email’s header is well-organized, simple to use, and clearly conveys the message you want to convey.