For a long time, a website footer was only meant for placing the copyright and a couple of links to pages with legals – a spot that doesn’t require much creativity to invest in it, ignored by designers and owners. Lately, however, the footer design started to get proper attention.
A website footer perfectly suits for placing the important information users should see before they leave. They might skip something in the middle while scrolling down without reading, but they stop for a while longer at the bottom of the page. So now, a footer can occupy half of the screen or even more, featuring maps, promos, gift cards, order tracking, and a lot more.
Weblium team has developed hundreds of templates for websites of different profiles, letting customers easily create website from scratch for free even without a developer or designer in a team. Today, they decided to share some footer ideas to make brainstorming easier for you.
#1. Minimalism
Sometimes simplicity is the best solution. A lot of information doesn’t make a footer informative by default: things you show there should have a certain value. Focus on a few elements – no more than three – and keep it minimalistic. One of the options is a standard combination copyright + logo + social networks icons.
#2. Sitemap
Here you deal with the opposite aesthetics: a footer will feature many categories and occupy much space, but it also has a different purpose. Even if readers don’t find what they need, search engines will be able to do that. This large footer allows Google to index website pages better and positively affect PageRank positions.
#3. Assistance
The next solution encourages users to stay on your website longer or help those who are lost. A combination of useful links to popular and interesting pages will guide users through the site, whether they planned it or not. You can provide a simple list or arrange them as tabs.
#4. Feedback
Designers prefer to place a feedback form in the upper/lower right corner or the middle. If you put only a link to the form, open it on a new page, not a popup window. It is better to avoid posting email addresses there – they attract spammers.
#5. Subscription
If you have a newsletter, suggest users to subscribe. This option is especially recommended for webshops. It will help to retain and attract customers. Tell what users are going to receive in those emails, mention how many people have already subscribed, be friendly and welcoming.
#6. Social icons
Facebook and Instagram have become an essential part of sales funnel so you should make sure that people who open your website can easily find links to social networks. Usually, these are the most loyal clients – why else will they be eager to follow you?
#7. Call to action
From “Click to find out more” to “Hire us!” – this is a simple but effective way to increase page conversion. This message should be clear, free of puzzling details, and relevant to the target audience.
#8. Contacts
Users expect to see this section in a footer – that’s quite a traditional solution. Write an address, an email with a ‘mailto’ tag to make it clickable (you’ll probably need to find a way to deal with spammers), a phone number with a ‘callto’ tag for a one-click call, a contact form, a popup chat, or another way to reach you.
#9. Maps
A map always makes a business look more credible. Needless to say, it is very convenient for users who plan to visit your office. This solution is very effective for perception, especially if you find a nice template.
#10. Personalization
Branded images, animations, videos, photos of team members – these are only some ideas for personalization of your business, acquiring a distinctive style and voice. This type of footer design helps to become recognizable and is more efficient for memorizing a message you place there.
Sometimes designers decide to abandon a classic “header – content – footer” template and don’t use a footer at all. Well, this may be a good idea for landing and promo pages. Experiments are welcome! And if you need a piece of advice regarding a bold idea or a ready footer solution, feel free to contact Weblium and launch a perfect website with using the newest technologies.
