Website footers are a brilliant way to display important information and direct your readers intentionally around your site – however, they’re often an overlooked feature, leading to major missed opportunities.
The truth is that a website footer is a powerful tool for generating leads, keeping visitors on your site and sending them in the direction that you want them to go. So yes, it very much matters!
Why does your website footer matter? Your website footer is a great place to store technical or legal information, add credibility, drive newsletter sign ups, map out your site and boost your SEO. It’s intention is to help your visitors.
But, what makes a good website footer and what does it actually need to include? Read on to find out.
Let’s start by explaining what a website footer is.
Most web pages have a similar anatomy. You can expect a header – which will be at the top of the site pages – with a logo and navigation menu. Below this, you’ll find the body of a website: this is where the main content is stored. Finally, at the very bottom, is your website footer.
While a website doesn’t technically need a footer to function, it’s an important part of your website structure.
Yes, yes and yes again!
You may have heard that readers rarely scroll past the fold of a website, but research has suggested that this isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, a study by Chartbeat – which looked at 25 million website visits – found that visitors scroll down THOUSANDS of pixels. So, that footer at the bottom of your page? It isn’t too far for them to discover.
Another study by Smart Insights showed a 16% increase in revenue per customer when they tested a more easily navigable footer. Other brands have reported a 50% improvement in conversions when they optimised their website footer with clear goals in mind.
The numbers speak for themselves – website footers can seriously improve your business… It’s time to give them the attention they deserve!
Now you know that your website NEEDS a footer – what should you put in it?
There are many things that can be included in a website footer, including:
Your website footer could well be the last thing that a visitor sees before leaving your website – it’s important that you make it count.
Below is an example of a footer that the Littlebigbox team has been working on for a new website project.
We love this website footer because it’s been used to its full advantage.
We chose to feature:
It was also a priority for us to make sure that although the footer held a lot of information, it didn’t look clustered. To achieve this, we designed the footer with plenty of space and in clear blocks, drawing the eye gradually from the contact information (the most important part for this business!) right through to the payment options.
Next offers another example of an intelligent website footer. This footer works really well, as it has a long list of useful links to various sections of the website; this is important, as they have a huge website with many areas to navigate. This runs the risk of overwhelming the reader, but Next has structured the list in an easy to absorb way.
They have also included quick links along the top of the footer with icons, adding more of a focus for customers and quick access.
Finally, they have included their social icons, widening their reach and clearly showing how customers can connect with them in different spaces.
Just because your website footer exists at the bottom of your page, it shouldn’t be at the bottom of your agenda!
Spend some time looking at your footer to decide whether it:
Need a helping hand? Get in touch with the Littlebigbox team for a chat.
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