WHAT YOU SHOULD INCLUDE IN YOUR WEBSITE FOOTER & WHY
Too many people overlook the importance of a website footer. A footer is important, and given you include the right information on it, it can save you from otherwise missed opportunities.
Unfortunately, many people almost completely ignore their footer because they figure since it’s at the bottom of the page, it doesn’t matter as much. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
First of all, your footer is always visible, no matter what page a visitor lands on. Not only does this mean the information in your footer has a higher chance of getting seen, but also search engines prioritize that section of your site because they see it over and over again. This allows your footer to enhance your ranking on Google and other search engines.
Additionally, if you use the footer with a specific goal in mind, you could see a much higher conversion rate for your business. According to SmartInsights, one brand tested two different footers and the one with more info resulted in a 23.77% uplift in sales conversion and a 15.99% uplift in revenue per visitor!
Perhaps you’re not sure what should go on there and what the point of it is. So let me break it down for you.
WHAT YOU SHOULD INCLUDE IN YOUR WEBSITE FOOTER & WHY
Before you start updating your footer with all kinds of new information, think about your website goals first. While you don’t want to leave your footer blank, you also don’t want to overload it with unnecessary links that make it look too busy and convoluted. It’s a matter of finding that nice balance.
Having said that, these things should definitely be included in your footer:
1. A SECOND NAVIGATION
Second navigation can include links to pages you have no room for at the top of your page. Or maybe links you simply don’t want to show at the top.
I personally like to keep my top navigation clean and simple to navigate. I want to only show pages that I want my visitors to look at first. So for example, I moved my “Contact Me” page link to my footer as that’s something that’s important to see everywhere but doesn’t need to take up space in the main menu.
Additionally, you can include all of your links in the footer again, so that they’re seen in both the top navigation and the footer navigation. This is especially useful if you have really long pages that require a lot of scrolling down. That way when a visitor gets to the bottom of your page, they can see all of the options again easily in your footer without having to scroll back up.
2. LEGAL INFORMATION
Aside from the above links mentioned, you must include things like Privacy Notice, Policies, and Terms & Conditions. If you want your business to be legal that is.
I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t tell you how to construct those pages, but there are some online policy generators you can use to get started.
Here are a couple for you to explore:
And don’t forget to include the copyright line. Here’s how mine reads:
© 2019 Marta Raptis - All rights reserved
Okay, so the above two categories are a must, no matter what type of business you’re running. But there are other things you could include depending on your website goals. And those can be any of the following:
YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
YOUR NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP BOX
YOUR INSTAGRAM FEED
A SEARCH BAR
BUSINESS LOCATION & STORE HOURS (if you’re a shop)
LOGIN AREA (if you offer memberships)
AWARDS, CERTIFICATES OR BADGES
ANY OTHER CALL TO ACTION
So now you have some idea of what to include in your footer for the best website conversion and performance.
One final note; make sure your footer is clean and easy to read. Choose fonts and background colours wisely and don’t make it too busy because that will result in the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.