Fixed Page Headings

This is a design technique that has become popular to a fault around 2018. Using a fixed heading panel is a way web developers have targeted audiences using mobile devices and hold them in the vertical orientation when visiting a web site. Fixed headers will not scroll down the page and continue along with the user. Rather the background image and contents inside the header appear to stay fixed as the user scrolls. This makes the entire header behave as its own independent “panel” offset by the rest of the layout.

Top #7 on 10 Things a Website Should Never, Ever Do (in web design) by Kyle Schaeffer states the following:

7. Never use fixed position without a fallback

A "fixed" element in the browser window is one that stays on the screen, even as you scroll down the page. It’s a simple CSS technique, but it’s been amazingly popular in recent months. One thing I’ve noticed in all these fixed designs is the failure to provide a fallback for users who are on smaller screens. The truth of the matter is that the web isn’t just for desktops any more. Internet connectivity is coming in all sorts of shapes and sizes: desktops, laptops, mobiles, tablets, e-readers, gaming consoles, and even refrigerators (yes, even refrigerators). The future promises only more diversity in internet-connected devices, and that means you can’t assume users will have a large viewing area on which to see your website.

Although Schaeffer argues that it is the small screen devices a developer using a fixed position header is neglecting, it is ironically the mobile device users that are being targeted. The fixed header isn't an issue on a "tall" screen, like a mobile phone held in the vertical position. Unfortunately, for the wide screen PC user, the fixed header is an ugly obsticle interfering with the site visitors access to information. Now the visitor has to do more scrolling while trying to peep though a wide but short slit that is the only part of the page that scrolls.