To effectively hide your header on mobile devices in Elementor, you'll utilize the built-in responsive controls within the Elementor editor, specifically targeting the main header section. This approach ensures your desktop header is invisible on smaller screens, allowing for a cleaner mobile user experience or a dedicated mobile header design.
Step-by-Step Guide: Hiding Your Elementor Header on Mobile
The most direct method to hide your existing header from displaying on mobile and tablet devices involves using Elementor's responsive visibility controls. Follow these steps within the Elementor editor:
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Access Your Header Template:
- From your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Templates > Theme Builder (if you're using Elementor Pro) or access the page where your global header is embedded.
- Open your existing header template with the Elementor Page Editor.
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Select the Main Header Section:
- Once inside the Elementor editor, locate and click on the main section that contains all your header content (e.g., your logo, navigation menu, search bar, buttons). This is typically the outermost container holding all elements of your header.
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Go to the Advanced Tab:
- With the main header section selected, look at the Elementor editing sidebar on the left.
- Click on the Advanced tab.
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Configure Responsive Options:
- Within the Advanced tab, find the Responsive section (it might also be labeled "Responsive Visibility").
- You will see checkboxes for different device types.
- To hide your header on mobile devices, check the "Hide On Tablet" and "Hide On Mobile" options. This action will prevent the selected header section from being rendered on these specific screen sizes.
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Update and Preview:
- After checking the appropriate boxes, click the green Update button at the bottom of the Elementor sidebar to save your changes.
- It's crucial to preview your website on a mobile device or use Elementor's responsive mode preview to confirm that the header is no longer visible as intended.
Understanding Elementor's Default Responsive Breakpoints
Elementor's responsive settings are based on predefined breakpoints, which you can customize in your site settings.
| Device Type | Default Breakpoint | Typical Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop | Above 1025px | Full site display |
| Tablet | 768px - 1024px | Medium screen adjustment |
| Mobile | Below 767px | Small screen optimization |
These default breakpoints can be adjusted within Elementor's Site Settings to match your specific design needs.
Why Hide Your Desktop Header on Mobile Devices?
Optimizing for mobile is paramount for a positive user experience. Hiding your desktop header can offer significant advantages:
- Enhanced User Experience: Desktop headers, often rich with many elements, can appear cluttered and overwhelming on small mobile screens. Hiding them allows for a cleaner, more focused layout, improving readability and navigation.
- Improved Load Times: While often a minor factor, reducing the number of elements to render on mobile devices can contribute to slightly faster page loading, which is critical for mobile users.
- Design Flexibility: It empowers you to create an entirely different, highly optimized mobile header, or implement alternative, mobile-friendly navigation solutions like an off-canvas menu or a simple hamburger icon that only appears on mobile.
- Better Above-the-Fold Content: On mobile, screen real estate is precious. Hiding a large header ensures more of your primary content is visible immediately, reducing the need for excessive scrolling.
Best Practices for Mobile Header Design
When you choose to hide your main header on mobile, consider these essential best practices to maintain excellent usability:
- Always Provide Clear Navigation: If the desktop header is hidden, ensure there's a distinct, easily accessible alternative navigation for mobile users. This could be a dedicated mobile header, a sticky menu with a clear hamburger icon, or a well-designed off-canvas menu.
- Thorough Testing: Always test your website on actual mobile devices across different operating systems (iOS, Android) and using Elementor's responsive preview modes. This ensures consistent functionality and appearance.
- Consider a Mobile-Specific Header: For ultimate control and a superior mobile experience, design a separate header template specifically for mobile using Elementor Pro's Theme Builder. You would set the display conditions to show your desktop header only on desktop and your mobile header only on mobile.
- Streamline Mobile Navigation: Focus on including only the most crucial links in your mobile navigation to avoid overwhelming users and to make it easy to find essential pages.
Advanced Considerations
While Elementor's built-in responsive options are robust and sufficient for most use cases, more complex scenarios might involve custom CSS for granular control over element visibility based on specific breakpoints. However, for hiding entire sections like a header, Elementor's native "Responsive" settings within the Advanced tab are generally the most efficient and recommended approach.
By effectively using Elementor's responsive visibility controls, you can tailor your website's header presentation to provide an optimal and user-friendly experience across all devices.
