One of my biggest challenges is finding great free website headers for my websites.

Creating my own headers takes hours and frankly, I don’t have the time for that.

Besides, they never look very professional either.

I’ve paid designers to create website headers for me, but at $40-$100 per header, that’s not my favorite option.  Instead I use free Xheaders that I can easily add to any website…

Paul Smithson, the creator of Xsitepro site building software, created these amazing free website headers that you are free to us on your  web sites and blogs.  You can add text in the foreground or background, change colors and text fonts. It’s super easy to use.

XHeader is completely free and comes with 500 professionally designed header graphic templates for a number of categories.

You could even load a blank header and completely create your own designs or load from a template library and customize them to the size you need.

I’ve been using these headers for over a year now and love them.  Here’s one of the headers I use on my beauty skin care site.

If 500 Website Headers isn’t Enough, you can get 5000 More

Since the 500 free website headers were such a hit, Paul also created a professional XheaderPro package that now has 5000 headers across 46 categories that include things like:

action/adventure
seasons
shopping
photography
news & information
sports
fantasy & magic
healthy eating
…and tons more

The Xheaderpro package isn’t free, however it sells for special launch price of $37.

With 5000 professional website headers you can be fairly certain that no matter what your topic, you’ll find a site header graphic that fits your needs.  There are many generic type header graphics too that could be used for any niche topic.

The XHeaderPro professional headers package work out to be less than 1 penny per header graphic.  Just buying one professionally created header graphic cost me more than the whole Xheaderpro package combined.  

Try the 500 free website headers first.  There are a limited number of header topics to choose from but you’ll be able to see just how easy the software is to use for creating and customizing the headers.

If you require more design choices the Xheaderpro professional package certainly won’t break the bank and you’ll have tons of additional header graphics that you can work with.

I won’t ever have to buy another header graphic again, sweet

Good website design can be defined as giving your visitors a logical way to navigate through your site so they can easily find the objects or information they are looking for without being distracted and confusing them.

That's a tall order and unfortunately, few websites fit the mold, however if you want to design a website that gets traffic, sales and better ranking, pay special attention to these few but powerful website design best practices. 

They'll not only benefit your human visitors but if done correctly, they will help your search engine ranking as well. 
 
1. Use Clear & Quick Navigation
Typically a site's navigation will be either down the left or right hand side of your website. Whatever side you choose is not important, it's really more about keeping your navigation consistent on every page of your site.

Also keep in mind that most of your visitors won't initially land on your home page, so to help them pick up your navigation wherever they are, have your subjects and categories organized logically.  Including a link back to your home page on every page of your site will also help visitors should they get lost.

I recommend using breadcrumb trails. This is a row of links, usually displayed at the top of your page that show your visitors what page they are on and where they just came from. If the breadcrumb trail has text links with relevant keywords in the anchor text, that's a significant SEO benefit. My site builder of choice, Xsitepro has this feature and I use it on all of my sites. 

2.  Use a Clean Page Format
Give your page a clean, easy to read format by using lots of white space and resisting the temptation to fill every nook and cranny.  Actually the more white space the better.

Start by placing your site's title at the top of your page using your best keyword phrase. Next, expand on your main title with a subtitle, again using your best keywords. Leave adequate space between each section.

Don't cram a lot of pictures and ads. If you have an ad, keep it off to the side or subtly intersperse it between your text. You don't want to confuse or distract your visitor. 

Keep your paragraphs small, 2-3 sentences each and get to the point quickly.

3.  Interlink Your Related Pages
Link your category and sub-category pages.  For example if you have a 'cameras' category with sub categories that include 'digital cameras', 'video cameras', 'waterproof cameras', include text links that cross-link each of these pages. This not only helps your readers, it helps the search engines navigate logically through your site.

4. Keep Links in Blue
This is certainly not a hard and fast rule but most of us expect a link to be underlined and in blue so it makes sense to stick with what's consistent and recognizable for people.  Chances are links in another color or links not underlined will be recognized as links however why take the chance on possibly missing out on clicks? 

5. Use Clear Titles for Buttons & links
Title your links appropriately and don't be misleading with your link names. For example, if you have a link to sports equipment don't label it 'Great Outdoors', call it 'Sports
Equipment'. If you have a link to 'cameras' don't label the link 'Hotshots', label it 'Cameras'.

You don't want to waste your viewer’s time by having them figure things out. Be clear about where the link is taking them. 

6. Include a Search Box
Just in case a visitor can't find what they are looking for you could save them from hitting the back button by having a search box that they can use to quickly find what they need. 
Place the search box on each page of your site, it will save them time and frustration and it will help you serve them better.

7. Minimize Animation & Flashing Banners
Don't be tempted to grab attention with flashy objects or wild animation, it distracts your visitor but it also takes away from your content as well as slow down your page load time.

You're much better off grabbing attention with a catchy headline or text phrase, but also animation and flashing banners scream ads for many people so they will most likely just ignore them or find them annoying.

8. Focus on the 'YOU', not the 'ME'.
Make it obviously clear to your readers that you are there for them. What can you do for your reader? What benefits can you offer? How can you make their business more profitable or their life better or easier? Request feedback on what they need or want to know.

9. Include an 'About Me' Page.
Your site visitors want to know about who’s behind curtain, so to speak, so having an 'about me' page gives them a personal glimpse into who you are and what you are about. 

A well written about me page will create trust and let your visitors know that you are genuine and serious about your business.  Check here for more tips on writing an about me page.

10. Ensure Your Pages Load Fast
I remember reading that you can lose about 1/3 of your visitors if your page takes 8 seconds or longer to load.  If viewers have to wait for a page to load they'll use the back button.

If you're not sure how fast your pages load here's a link that will tell you:
http://www.1-hit.com/all-in-one/tool.loading-time-checker.htm

11. Use a Site Map
A site map will give visitors a "guide" on viewing your site and also eliminate confusion, especially with larger sites. It's a road map for your visitors to follow while they are on your site. Sitemaps can also increase rankings and placement within the Search Engines.

12. Include a 'Terms of Use' Link
With the legal requirements placed on internet business owners today I like to include a 'terms of use' link that includes privacy information, disclaimers, disclosures and any other legal information required of your website. This keeps all the legal information contained on one page for easy access. 

If you're creating a website for the first time or even for the tenth time, it's always good to review what makes a good website design.

So for example, how you design your site, your colors, graphics, positioning and navigation is up to you however the following tips will help you stay within the parameters of optimal website design and functionality while also fulfilling the expectations of your viewers.

- Use Optimal Website Design

The best website design practices means using a professional header graphic, clear right or left navigation and a footer. 

Choose a color scheme that blends well with the overall look of your site. For example http://colorschemedesigner.com/ will help you choose and coordinate colors that are complimentary and easy on the eye and avoid flashy, contrasting colors and graphics. 

If you create your own website header be sure it's professional looking and is relevant to what your site is about.  Your header is the first thing that your visitors see so you'll want to make it as appropriate and inviting as possible. In fact you may want to outsource having a good header created for you, if you have a smaller budget here are 500 free website headers you can use.  

Keep your body text on a white background, it’s much easier to read. Keep advertisements to a minimum and don’t force audio or video on your viewers.  Keep your navigation in plain view either on the left or right of your pages and keep it consistent throughout your website.

Your Opt-in or Subscribe Box

Keep your opt-in box to the top right or left of your page, above the fold. Research has found that businesses get the most sign-ups if their sign-up forms are at the top, above the fold of the page. Anything you put at the bottom right of your website will be noticed the least. Interesting, but true. Save that space for things you're not worried about anyone seeing.

- Include an About Page

Always include an about page on your site. Don't be afraid to tell your story and let people know who you are and how you arrived where you are.

When you write your about page, let your visitors know that you are available, encourage questions, email and phone calls. Include your name, address and phone number. Place a photo on your site giving your viewers a real glimpse of who you are, it adds a whole dimension of familiarity which is an important part of doing business online and it builds trust.  These are things that clearly indicate to your visitors that you are genuine and it helps them to get to know and trust you better.

- Create Meta Tags

This is the first place I look when people tell me they aren't getting visitors. I often see sites that have no title or description tag or the tags don't follow the suggested guidelines for proper setup.

Here's an example of how the tags might look for a site that sells hummingbird feeders:

<title>Hummingbird Feeders: Shop For Hummingbird Feeders Online</title>
<meta name="description" CONTENT="Hummingbird feeders.
Shop For hummingbird feeders online">
<meta name="keywords" CONTENT="hummingbird feeders,
hummingbird feeder, bird feeder, bird feeders">

Each page needs to have it's own set of tags. I recommend focusing on one keyword per page, two at the very most. Too many keywords can confuse what your page is about.

Always make sure that your keywords are scattered throughout your text,  however never sacrifice good content for nonsense. Your text should be easy
to understand, flow logically and should not sound redundant.

- Include a Privacy Page

Viewers want reassurance that you have a policy that follows privacy guidelines. They want to know that you will not sell or give away their information. In these days of rampant spam, your privacy policy needs to be prominently displayed. Many viewers and business partners won’t do business with you unless you have it.

- Keep your links in blue.

Viewers expect links to be in blue so I like to stick by that standard. There’s certainly no law that says a link needs to be blue but people spend a lot of time on the internet and it’s good practice to keep your navigation consistent and recognizable. If you do use another color, keep it consistent throughout your site.

- Keep navigation consistent
The navigation on your index page should be repeated throughout your site’s pages. Also keep the colors consistent. Don’t force your viewers to relearn each page of your site. Keep your navigation bars and links the same for each page.

-  Use Understandable Buttons and links

Don’t use cute or misleading names for your links, title them appropriately. For example, if you have a link to sports equipment don’t label the link ‘Great Outdoors’, call it ‘Sports Equipment’ and make sure your page is titled the same. For instance, a page about sports equipment would look like this: 'www.yoursite.com/sports-equipment.html'. Also make sure all text links on your site referring to that page say 'sports equipment. Keep things consistent and relevant.

- Optimize Your Site's Links

Optimal website design includes both good internal page linking as well as getting one way backlinks to your site.

For your most popular and profitable pages make sure they are linked to from at least 3 other pages on your site, remembering to use a text link that includes your best keywords.  

Next, work on getting as many high value backlinks to your site by writing and submitting articles, guest blogging and commenting on related blogs and websites.