First impression is the last impression. This might not apply all the time but most of the time it does hold true. Your visitors are affected by what they see first on your website. So it helps to make it creative to increase their interest.

Hero section refers to the area of a web page visible without scrolling.

As it is the first thing that a visitor sees on visiting any website, it becomes imperative that this section is designed creatively to instantly hook the viewer.

The hero section should entice the user to scroll further and to stay on the website.

It should also be clear so that the visitor knows what the website is all about.

But in this article we shall focus on the aesthetics of the hero section for now.

There are different ways in which you can design your hero section to evoke interest in your visitors. Here are some of those ways:

Minimal

Minimalism is always a great choice for any design composition. And for the hero section this works flawlessly. It results in a clean layout with no clutter. Just a single line of text about the company or about yourself serves the purpose with this technique.

Only thing to remember here is that your design shouldnt become so minimal that users fail to understand the meaning behind it. The hero section is not a place to be clever. So keep it minimal but clear.

Illustrations

This trend is hot right now. Using illustrations in your hero section can pull the attention of your visitors instantly. It shows your creativity to the user. It shows that your brand has that hint of playfulness also. Pictures do connect deeper than text so this technique is great for stirring the emotions of your visitors. There are a number of types of illustrations you can use here like, isometric, product illustrations, abstract patterns, etc. The illustration should convey the purpose of your product or service clearly and the user should be able to connect it directly to your product or service.

Video

Another popular form of the hero section is where a video is placed at the top. A simple headline with a background video can do wonders as with video you have the freedom to explain the product in detail. If images connect more with people than the text then moving images i.e. video connects more deeply. A short, succinct video depicting the usage of your product or service can be added. The disadvantage would be load times. On slow connections this could really affect the loading of the website. So employ different techniques to load the video optimally on the web page. Maybe lower its quality a bit and add a layer blur to hide the low quality.

Large type

Another popular trend is to place a type with large font size at the top in the hero section. Large types make an instant impact on the visitor and the meaning is instantly clear to him.

This also shows the visitor that the brand is bold and not afraid to break the stereotypes.

Bright colored

Humans are attracted to color. So using a bright one in your hero section will certainly move eyeballs in your direction. Users will be intrigued by the color and the emotion behind that color can be directly stirred in the users as well.

Thing to keep in mind here is that not to go overboard and choose a color which looks jarring to the eyes of the user. The color should be bright and pleasing to the eyes, not distracting.

Parallax

This is a technique in which different elements move at varying speeds to give the illusion of depth. The background element moves at a different speed than the foreground element. The parallax effect is based on the fact that our eyes perceive objects closer to us larger in size and moving slowly.

Some performance issues need to be considered while employing this effect. Don’t overdo it. And maybe turn if off on mobile devices.

3D elements

You can add 3D elements in the hero section to give it more depth. Product renderings in 3D can be used here. If your product is hardware related then this is the recommended way to let your users know about different parts of your product.

3D renders can be made in softwares like blender, Maya or 3D max etc. For some simple 3D stuff photoshop can also be used.

Interactive animation

Just like video animation of different graphic elements can be a cool way to peak the interest of visitors. Different elements of a product or a graphic can be animated and can be filled with interactive effects. Like when users move their mouse over a particular element it can be made to perform a certain action.

This will let users assume a sense of control. Their browsing experience would be enhanced and converted into fun as they interact with various elements on screen. Use this effect moderately as overuse can be distracting.

Summary

So here are the ways we learnt to design a creative hero section for our website:

1. Minimal
2. Illustrations
3. Video
4. Large type
5. Bright colored
6. Parallax
7. 3D elements
8. Interactive animation

Hero section is the most important piece of real estate on the website’s homepage. Do take some time to design it creatively. It will definitely help users stay longer on your website and reduce bounce rates.

Thank you for reading. I hope I was able to provide some value in this article.

What creative ways do you use in your designs to create hero sections? Do let me know in the comments :)