Creating a Hero Section

A "hero section" is the large banner visually prominently displayed at the top of a webpage, usually immediately below the navigation bar. Creating one relies on striking CSS typography and substantial padding.

Because it's the first thing users see on a landing page, a hero section needs to instantly communicate what the site is about. It usually consists of a large headline, a brief explanatory subtitle, and one or two "Call to Action" (CTA) buttons.

Establishing the HTML Structure

To create a hero section, we often use the semantic header tag (though a generic div or section also works). Inside, we place our h1 headline, a paragraph for the subtext, and our buttons:

Styling the Hero Background and Text

Hero sections command attention through size and contrast. We achieve the height by applying massive padding. We achieve the contrast by applying a dark background (like a solid color, an image, or a gradient) and making the color of the text white:

Full Working Example

Below is a complete implementation of a hero section, including nicely styled "pill-shaped" buttons. If you resize your browser, you will notice a media query decreases the padding and font sizes on mobile devices so the text doesn't overflow the screen:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Hero Section Example</title>
<style>
  body {
    font-family: sans-serif;
    margin: 0;
  }
  
  /* The Hero Container */
  .hero {
    /* Set a dark, captivating background color or image */
    background: linear-gradient(135deg, #667eea 0%, #764ba2 100%);
    
    /* Ensure the text inside is visible */
    color: white; 
    
    /* Center the text */
    text-align: center;
    
    /* Use padding to make the section tall and dramatic */
    padding: 100px 20px;
    
    /* Flexbox makes perfect centering easy if desired, but padding usually works well */
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: column;
    align-items: center;
    justify-content: center;
    /* min-height: 80vh;  Uncomment this to make it fill the screen height! */
  }

/* The Main Headline */
  .hero h1 {
    font-size: 3em; /* Very large text */
    margin-bottom: 20px;
    margin-top: 0;
  }

/* The Sub-headline */
  .hero p {
    font-size: 1.2em; /* Slightly larger than normal text */
    max-width: 600px; /* Keep lines from getting too long */
    margin-bottom: 40px;
    line-height: 1.6;
    color: #e0e0e0;
  }

/* The Hero Call-to-Action Buttons */
  .hero-buttons {
    display: flex;
    gap: 15px;
    flex-wrap: wrap;
    justify-content: center;
  }

.btn {
    padding: 12px 30px;
    font-size: 1.1em;
    font-weight: bold;
    text-decoration: none;
    border-radius: 50px; /* Pill-shaped buttons are popular in hero sections */
    transition: all 0.3s;
  }

.btn-primary {
    background-color: white;
    color: #764ba2;
  }

.btn-primary:hover {
    background-color: #f8f9fa;
    transform: translateY(-2px);
  }

.btn-secondary {
    background-color: transparent;
    color: white;
    border: 2px solid white;
  }

.btn-secondary:hover {
    background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
  }

@media (max-width: 600px) {
    .hero h1 { font-size: 2em; }
    .hero { padding: 60px 20px; }
  }
</style>
</head>
<body>

<header class="hero">
  <h1>Launch Your Next Big Idea</h1>
  <p>Our platform provides all the tools you need to build, scale, and manage your online business beautifully and efficiently.</p>
  
  <div class="hero-buttons">
    <a href="#" class="btn btn-primary">Get Started Free</a>
    <a href="#" class="btn btn-secondary">Learn More</a>
  </div>
</header>

</body>
</html>

View Output Full Screen Preview

Tip: Full Screen Height Hero

If you want your hero section to take up exactly 100% of the user's screen height before they start scrolling, you can apply min-height: 100vh; (viewport heights) to the .hero CSS class!