Add an announcement bar

An announcement bar is simply a piece of content that is featured prominently, usually fixed to the top of your site.

For left-to-right languages like English, users typically scan the page with an “F” style reading pattern (down and right), so a message at the top of your screen is likely to be the first thing they read.

As well as a clear, succinct message, consider where users will be taken when they click your announcement bar. You could link them to a new piece of content, gated with an email subscription box to capture their info, or to a timely landing page or offer.

Drive users towards new feature pages, webinars or other gated content by grabbing their attention with a visually impactful element at the top of the page. Announcement bars are great as you can usually add them without changing your whole page layout.

Allow users to dismiss, and remember this with a cookie, so that users don’t have to close it every time.

Test it thoroughly across different pages and devices. For example, if your announcement bar leads users to a webinar page, you might want to hide it when users reach that page.

Avoid having your announcement bar turned on all the time. Repeat visitors will get used to seeing it, so even if you change the message, it won’t have as much impact. Instead, use it in short, sharp bursts as required, then disable it.