How to Design the Perfect Ecommerce Email Header That Will Generate More Clicks

Guess what? Email remains one of the most valuable digital marketing channels for online stores of all sizes.If you want to build a successful email marketing program, you'll need:

1. An engaged & growing email list
2. Create beautiful email designs
3. Craft powerful subject lines that get emails opened
4. Create valuable email content that gets people to click
5. Plan your email campaigns around major retail holidays and the buyer journey

Designing the perfect email requires some planning as well as a creative mindset.  It's also knowing what customers want during each stage of their buying cycle.An email is usually structured into 3 parts:

1. The Header
2. The Main Content (offer)
3. The Footer

The main content may include many offers.

Why Is An Email Header Important

The header in your email occupies prime real estate. It's the first thing someone sees when they open your email message. It's even more important than ever since real estate is limited on a smartphone screen.There are 3 reasons why you need an email header:

1. Branding
2. Communicating your offer
3. Simplifying the shopping experience

How to Design An Email Header

A well structured email header should include these 5 elements:

1. LogoA logo helps with branding and establishing trust.

2. MenuA menu helps remind subscribers what you sell and quick provide quick links to browse your online store

3. Preview LineA preview line helps support your subject line. It highlights some details on what to expect in the email.

4. PromoA promo or the offer is a great way to highlight a specific offer that will entice customers to take action. It can also be used to communicate an initiative on your website such as an event or site wide offer (free shipping over $x).

5. User LinksUser links are aimed at helping subscribers either access specific areas of the site such as their account or help improve email viewability.

Should you include all of those elements in your design? It really depends on your goals. My advice is to test everything to see what works best (find elements that grab attention and increase clicks).  

13 Ways to Design the Perfect Email Header

To help you create or improve the design of your email header, I've gathered a bunch of examples from actual email campaigns sent by eCommerce businesses of all sizes.This should help you figure out what to test by combining different email header elements.Note: If you want to enlarge screenshots, simply click the images.

1. Email header with LOGO only

Finally, the only thing missing from this design is the preview line.