What Is A Website Footer And Why Is It Important?

Rather than being an afterthought, your website footer is your last chance to communicate with your customers before they either continue to make a purchase or decide to exit the page.

Here is our guide on what is a website footer and why is it important to tell you more.

Website Footers: An Overview

To somewhat paraphrase Limp Bizkit, keep scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. Once you reach the end of your webpage, you’ll land on a section known as your website footer. Depending on how your website was designed, it will either display a helpful section of information or a blank uninteresting space. As the closing statement of your website, ideally, your website footer should be the former not the latter. If you find the concept of designing a website footer daunting, then you should consider hiring a freelance web designer.

So why are website footers important? Imagine turning over the last page of an amazing book, only for there to be no ending. Not even a finished sentence, let alone a conclusion! If you don’t have a website footer - and one that’s well designed - that’s exactly the same experience you are giving to your website visitors too. It’s an abrupt end that could have been so much more.

What Should A Website Footer Contain?

A footer will act as both a recap of what can be found on the main page, and give your users further information. After all, it’s not always possible to include everything in your header, so the footer gives your web design some much-needed breathing room. For example, the likes of social media links, privacy policies, about us sections and your contact information.

Think of your footer as leading your customers to the next step. If they haven’t found everything they need on the main section of your website, what else could they be searching for? Your footer is the ideal place to put anything that answers this question. You can also include your company logo once again, as well as an email subscription form too.

Create a Hierarchy footer

Just like the remainder of the website, a footer should be hierarchical in nature. This is often a two-fold design and the footer should fall at the very bottom of the webpage wireframe. The footer should also contain a hierarchy of elements within its “container.” The important elements (often contact information, call to action or site map) should be the foremost prominent. Standard information, like the copyright notice, is usually the littlest in scale. Often you will see a newsletter sign up form - this is good practice to drive people to sign up to your newsletter.

Key Points To Focus On

A website footer is an extension of your main website, so should retain the same personality and brand identity. The text is usually made of important headings which are clickable links to other pages. Such pages might not have a place in your main menu, so placing them in the footer will make your site less cluttered and easier to navigate.

If you have a company motto or any other important information you want to emphasise, then your footer is a great place for this. But, keep in mind footers act as a closing statement, so should look to re-cap and wrap things up, rather than contain important information which belongs up top. It’s also a great idea to put your copyright information at the end too, which will need to be updated regularly.

To Sum Up

Website footers are usually the last piece of your website that your visitors will interact with. Whether they are on the hunt for specific information such as your contact details, or interested in your privacy policy, make sure your website footer gets the same amount of attention as the rest of your site.

If in doubt, it’s always worth finding a web designer, who will ensure your website footer is reaching its potential. From eCommerce to non-profit organisations, everyone needs a website footer that completes their website message effectively.