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There are different schools of thought on navigation headers both for mobile application and websites. None of them are inherently wrong.

Some people have it only on the main page, most people have it on every page as an easy link to go back to the home alongside the navigation bar. It usually consists of simply the logo of the company/website, but not necessarely. Usually on a website there is enough space to add navigation links next to it so you do not waste the space.

Mobile Navigation

On mobile it’s a different story. The space is limited and navigation is not done through menus, but through tabs (usually).

The now dreaded hamburger menu had tried to introduce the concept of navigation menu on mobile, but it is simply a tool that should not be used as your main tool for navigation.

There are cases where it is the only tool available (thinking about financial apps with lot of options), but even there you can have tabs with the most used options so you can access them quickly and a different navigation tool (could be an hamburger menu) to navigate through the rest.

Since there is no web like navigation bar there is a different take on where and if to show the logo.

Every Page

One possible choice is having the same header on every page.

This way you lose the ability of showing the title of every page making the purpose of the page less obvious and clear. This becomes even more evident for new users that might not know at a glance what each section of the app does yet. As an upside thought you can show a consistent header everywhere and “keep the brand”.

It is something to avoid in most apps.

Home Screen

A second choice is having it only in the home screen.

This is the standard if you do want a header in the navigation bar. Everywhere else you have the title of the page you’re in.

Launch Screen

Another less commmon method is having the header at launch and just have the titles for the rest of the pages. This will show your logo less, but it is more appropriate if the logo is not the right fit for any screen in particular.

What To Use

Between all of them surely having it on the main screen of the app (the first one that opens after launch) is the most common strategy among mobile applications. As always the best choice depends on you app. As a minimum it needs to be in the launch screen. It should also be in the first screen unless you have a very good reason not to.

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Valentino Urbano


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Valentino Urbano

iOS Developer, Swift, Writer, Husband

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