How to Add a Sticky Header to Your WordPress Website

As a website owner, you want your visitors to have a great user experience. One way to achieve this is by having a sticky header that stays fixed at the top of the page even when the user scrolls down, making navigation easier. If you have a WordPress website, adding a sticky header is not difficult, and there are two ways to do it.

Method 1: Using a Plugin

WordPress has various plugins that can help add a sticky header to your website. One of these is called “Sticky Menu (or Anything!) on Scroll.” Follow these steps:

Step 1 – Installing the Plugin

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on Plugins > Add New
2. Type “Sticky Menu (or Anything!) on Scroll” in the search bar and press enter
3. Click on the “Install Now” button next to the plugin and wait for the installation to complete
4. Once the installation is complete, click on the “Activate” button

Step 2 – Configuring the Plugin

1. Go to the WordPress dashboard and click on Appearance > Customize
2. Click on the “Sticky Menu” option
3. Enable the sticky menu by sliding the toggle button to the right
4. Choose the header you want to make sticky
5. Click on “Publish” to save the changes

Step 3 – Customizing the Sticky Header

1. Click on “Additional CSS” on the Appearance > Customize screen
2. Add your custom CSS code to style the header as per your needs and preview the changes
3. Once done, click on the “Publish” button to save the changes

Method 2: Using Custom Code

If you don’t want to use a plugin, you can implement a sticky header in WordPress using custom code. Here’s how:

Step 1 – Creating a Child Theme

1. If you are not already using a child theme, create one by going to Appearance > Themes, choosing a theme you like, and creating a child theme from it
2. You can now customize your child theme without losing your changes when you update the parent theme

Step 2 – Adding the Sticky Header Code

1. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Theme Editor, select your child theme, and click on functions.php to open it
2. Add the following code at the top of the file: add_action(‘wp_head’, ‘custom_sticky_header’)
3. Create a new file called sticky-header.php and add the custom_sticky_header function code to it (see the full code in the article)

Step 3 – Adding Custom CSS

1. From your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance > Customize and click on the “Additional CSS” option
2. Add the CSS code to style the sticky header (see the full code in the article)

Final Thoughts

Adding a sticky header to your WordPress website can improve user experience, and you can choose either the plugin or custom code method to achieve it. Ensure you customize the header to fit your website design and brand. With these steps, you can achieve a sticky header with ease.