Edit the header

The header is the top part of a website that typically shows the site title, a logo, and a navigation menu. In this guide, you will learn how to access and edit your WordPress site’s header.

In this video, you will learn how to set up and customize your site’s header. It covers preparing your navigation menu, adding and reordering menu items, and updating your logo and site title. You’ll also see how to add extra blocks and use header patterns to quickly change the design.

This guide requires a theme that supports the Site Editor. Check for Appearance → Editor in your site’s dashboard. If you see Customize instead, you’re using a classic theme. Consider switching to a block theme.

To customize your header, you will edit the Header template part. Template parts are pieces of a layout that can be reused across multiple areas of your site. Therefore, once you edit this template part, the changes will apply to all pages of your site where this header is shown.

Follow these steps to edit your site’s header:

1. Visit your site’s dashboard.
2. Navigate to Appearance → Editor.
3. Click the homepage preview to start editing.
4. Open List View and select the Header template part.

5. From here, you can:
   • Edit the header content directly.
   • Click “Edit original” or “Edit pattern” (whichever your theme shows) in the block settings sidebar to open the full header for editing.
   • Choose a header pattern from the Design options in the block settings sidebar.

Pick a premade header block pattern to quickly insert a professionally designed header layout.

First, access your Header template part, then follow these steps:

1. In the block settings sidebar, browse the Design options.
2. Click a design to apply it to your header.
3. Optionally, Edit the header content in the header pattern you selected.

In the guides below, you will learn how to edit the layout of the content in your header, add new content, and use specific headers for specific pages or templates.

Use the guides below to learn how to customize your site’s header:

• Arrange content in your site’s header
• Style your site’s header
• Add content to your site’s header
• Upload a header image
• Create different headers and footers for different pages

A large image with text across the top of a page is a banner, also called a hero. A banner is page content, not part of your header. To add one, see add a banner to your site.

If you cannot edit part of your header, one of the following is usually the cause.

• You see only a few options when you select the header. You are editing the header in place. Click “Edit original” or “Edit pattern” in the block settings sidebar to open the full header for editing.
• A block shows a lock icon and cannot be moved or deleted. The block is locked. Select the block, click the three dots (⋮) in the block toolbar, and click Lock to change its lock settings.
• There is no Header template part in the editor. Add one by clicking the + block inserter and searching for “header”.
• You see Customize instead of Editor under Appearance. Your site uses a classic theme. Classic themes do not have a Header template part — edit your header in the Customizer instead.