If you go to the very bottom of almost any website, you will find the footer. This relatively small section of your site can have a significant impact on your conversion rates by providing links, contact information, brand information, and more to your visitors. Find out more about the importance of the website footer, and check out some of our favourite examples of website footers to get you started.
What is a website footer?
Important site information is often included in a “footer” section of content, which can be found at the bottom of a web page. Logo, copyright notice, sitemap or links to important pages, social media icons, and links to policies, such as privacy and terms of service, that affect all website visitors are typical elements of a website’s footer. The nature of this material is subject to change based on the nature of your site’s primary function and the nature of your business. The design of your website’s footer is crucial because it increases the site’s discoverability, even if it isn’t the most noticeable part of your page.
Why does good website footer design matter?
Your brand identity is the visual expression of your brand’s mission and values, and it includes everything you put out there, even the footer of your website. Your brand’s logo, colours, fonts, and even clever copy can be used effectively here to drive home your company’s values while also getting the message across.
Along with the rest of your site, well-designed elements help convey the right message and subtly persuade site visitors to take the actions you want them to. UX design and UI design, often referred to as UX/UI design, are two of those design principles. While UI design focuses on the visual presentation of your footer’s content, UX design ensures that it is straightforward and simple to use. The goal of good UX/UI design is to “nudge” your audience in the direction of the pages you want them to view, while also providing them with the most relevant information immediately.
5 examples of good footer design
1. Chron
The footer of major news site Chron is simple but effective, which speaks volumes about the quality of the site. Information is clearly organised into three columns labelled “About,” “Contact,” and “Connect,” giving the visitor a quick snapshot of the resources available. The footer is aesthetically pleasing, as it adheres to the site’s overall colour scheme, provides a quick navigational link back to the homepage, and features share and like buttons.
2. Fandom
The footer of Fandom’s most popular properties includes links to information about movies, video games, and television shows for all types of fans. There are a number of ways for visitors to participate, and it also serves as a central hub for the community. The footer on Fandom is well-designed and consistent with the rest of the site, strengthening the site’s brand recognition and overall aesthetic.
3. Heap
A System for Digital Insights The footer of the Heap website contains a wealth of useful information that is both easily accessible and informative for the site’s visitors. It’s great that there’s a CTA in the footer encouraging visitors to try out the digital insights platform by submitting a demo request. As a result, you may receive some promising leads for your company.
4. New York Times
The New York Times’ footer comes close to containing all the news that is fit to print, but it is not quite complete. Visitors can quickly navigate to the sports, fashion, real estate, or international news section they’re interested in by clicking on relevant links in the newspaper’s footer. Important details that don’t fit neatly into these categories, such as the publication’s high rating in the Wirecutter’s annual product review, are listed in a separate column. The “fun” parts of the website can be located in the footer, and subscribers can easily find information about how to gain access to even more articles by signing up for a subscription.
5. Amazon
There are always millions of people browsing the world’s largest online retailer, and they all might be looking for something different. As a service to these customers, Amazon provides a comprehensive directory of links in the footer of their website, including details about the company, its finances, and, of course, direct access to customer support.
5 reasons why footers are important
According to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group in 2018, over half of all readers spend most of their time on the top of a page. Given that some readers will make it to the bottom of your page, you shouldn’t treat the footer as an afterthought. In this article, we will discuss the five main functions of a website’s footer.
1. Footers serve as another call to action.
Your website’s footer is often the final opportunity to encourage visitors to take some sort of action. Your site’s footer is a great place to include a final call to action that encourages visitors to respond to or engage with your site in some way, whether that’s by signing up for a newsletter, downloading additional materials, or contacting you directly with any questions or comments.
2. It makes it easier to navigate your website.
If people are consistently scrolling to the bottom of the page, it could be because they want more details. While your site’s header will direct visitors to its most vital pages, the footer can do the same by providing a logically organised list of those pages and other options for navigating the site.
3. It helps highlight important achievements.
If you have any awards or memberships in professional organisations to boast about, you can display them proudly in a footer. In this way, site visitors can see that your company is worthy of the awards it has received. This will allow you to show off your impressive accomplishments and will give your site a more professional air in the eyes of your visitors. It demonstrates that you are an authority in your field and can be relied upon to supply your site visitors with relevant and useful information.
4. A footer is home for easily accessible “legalese.”
Did you know you could be legally obligated to keep your visitors’ personal information safe? Items such as a privacy policy explain to site visitors what data is gathered from them, if any, even if they browse the site anonymously. Particular policies, such as legal disclaimers, accessibility details, and other specialised documentation, may be mandated by law in some sectors or recommended as best practise in others. If you want to make sure your policies are easily accessible without giving them prime real estate on your site, placing the links in the footer is a great compromise.
5. It can bolster search engine optimization efforts.
It is crucial that your site can be read easily by search engines. Your website’s footer may help it rank higher in search results, despite the seemingly infinite number of factors that affect how well your website does overall on the internet. As a result, search engine spiders will have an easier time navigating your site. Having a footer with links to the site’s main sections is also a great way to assist visitors and encourage them to stick around.
Make your footer work for you
The footer of your website may not be the first thing that users see, but it serves an important purpose for SEO, brand recognition, and the website’s reputation. When you give site visitors more options for interacting with content, you increase the site’s overall appeal and ease of use. With the drag-and-drop features of the Namecheap Site Maker, you can quickly design a footer that prompts site visitors to take action and follow your desired call to action, whether that be to sign up for email updates, speak with a sales representative, or check out your site’s blog. The best part is that you don’t need any prior experience or training in web design to create a fully functional website using our tools.
