Headers That Move: The Missing Piece in Your Google Forms
A header in Google Forms is a wide rectangular image that appears at the top of each section of a form. While optional, adding a header can set the tone and communicate important information effectively.
Headers can feature text, images, or design elements that enhance your form's visual appeal and align with its purpose. Whether you're creating a survey, quiz, or feedback form, a well-designed header grabs attention, reinforces the theme, and guides respondents.
To add a header, click the Customize Theme button in the toolbar while editing your form. Although you can upload an image of any size, the recommended dimensions are 1600 x 400 pixels. After upload, you will need to set the image to have a 4:1 aspect ratio.
Unlike Google Classroom headers, Google Forms does not dim or crop your image for viewers, ensuring it displays at full brightness and original proportions.
I design my headers using Google Slides or Canva, saving the final design as a PNG or JPG for upload.
Adding Titles and Themes
The form's title is always displayed below the header, so including the title in the header itself is optional. However, embedding the title in the header lets you customize its color and style.
Teachers often use headers to include elements such as Bitmoji, logos, photos, instructions, lesson numbers, dates, encouragement, school mascots, due dates, humor, or themes.
Animated Headers
A header image can also be an animated GIF, adding a dynamic touch with moving, blinking, or changing imagery.
To create animated headers in Google Slides, duplicate a slide, make a small change, and repeat. When played in succession, the slides create an animation. Once complete, download the slides as a PDF and convert them into a GIF using the EZgif PDF to GIF tool.
In Canva, you can design an animated page and save it directly as a GIF.
Keep in mind that large GIFs can significantly increase download times. To optimize your GIF, keep its file size under 2MB. EZgif’s optimizer tool is a great way to reduce file size while maintaining quality.
Customizing Your Theme
Google Forms automatically pulls colors from your uploaded header image to customize the form’s theme. You can then select one of these colors to set as the background color for a cohesive and polished look.
Conclusion
Adding a header to your Google Form is an easy way to make it stand out and communicate your message. Whether static or animated, a thoughtfully designed header enhances your form's visual impact and usability. Tools like Google Slides or Canva can help you create headers that reflect your style and purpose.
Creating animated headers is part of my Funky Forms presentation, which can be a in-person or virtual conference presentation or a hands-on workshop. Contact me for details.
