The footer is one of the most overlooked parts of a website. It sits quietly at the bottom of every page, and many businesses treat it as an afterthought, filling it with a copyright line and little else.
But the footer is valuable space. It appears on every page of your site, and many visitors scroll straight down to it when they’re looking for something specific. A well-planned footer can help people find what they need, encourage them to get in touch and build trust in your business.
So, what should you include? Here are some ideas to help you make the most of your website footer.
Access
A lot of website users have got into the habit of automatically looking to the footer when trying to find a piece of information. Because of this, it makes sense to include a mini-sitemap here, with links to your most popular pages. Alongside this, the footer is also a good place for a link to your full website sitemap. Although it’s an important page, you wouldn’t usually give it the same amount of space and visibility as one of your core website pages.
Call-to-Action
Why not use the footer space for a call-to-action too? For those who visit your website and read all the way to the bottom of a page, a call-to-action can be the next thing they see. This can take the form of an eye-catching button or even a sign-up form. This way, once visitors have satisfied their curiosity, they’re naturally guided towards interacting with your website further.
Contact
If you imagine the footer as giving visitors a snapshot of your website and all that it contains, you’ll want your contact information here. Including your email address, physical address and at least one contact phone number is a good idea. This also means visitors don’t have to make a single tap or click on your website; they can simply scroll down and see how to contact you. If you’re a local business, adding your opening hours is helpful too. Make sure your business name, address and phone number match exactly what’s shown on your Google Business Profile, as consistent details help with local SEO.
External Associations
If you have any links with or accreditations from external companies, adding their logos to your footer gives your website a very professional and trustworthy feel. It shows that you’re an established enough business to warrant external and independent assessments, and that you’re happy to share them. Having logos and images in your footer also helps break up blocks of text.
Social Media
Following on from the logos mentioned in the last point, social media icons linked to your business accounts sit nicely in the footer. Again, these offer a break from a purely text-based footer, and it’s a natural place for them to live. Visitors who want to follow your business or see more of your work can find your profiles easily, which helps you grow your audience on those platforms.
Legal Information
The footer is the standard place for your website’s legal pages, such as your privacy policy, cookie policy and terms and conditions. Under GDPR, visitors need to be able to find out how you collect and use their data, so these links are essential for any business website. It’s also a good spot for your copyright notice and your registered company details, if applicable.
Make the Most of Your Footer
Your footer might sit at the bottom of the page, but it shouldn’t be at the bottom of your priority list. With helpful links, a clear call-to-action, your contact details, trust signals, social media links and your legal information, your footer can work hard for your business on every single page.
If you’d like help designing a website that’s well thought out from top to bottom, get in touch with Whelan Web Design. We build websites for businesses across Waterford and the South East that look great and are easy for customers to use.
