The purpose of the footer
First question: what is the purpose of the footer? The footer is there to help structure the information on your site. Since we cannot scroll a webpage endlessly, a footer tells that it is the end of it. Also, if we are going to have a footer, why not take the opportunity to add relevant information for your visitors to it? In addition to improving the overall customer experience, it helps your credibility.
As is the case with your website’s header, your footer is a small part of your site. It should not be bigger than a quarter of the screen maximum. Moreover, you should use the colors and font you used in the other sections of your website for a balanced result.
What to include in your footer?
What elements should you put in your website footer? First, it is important to mention that the end of your site should respect the other sections’ design. For example, if the overall style is simple, you should not overcharge the footer. On the contrary, if your site has much information and elements, you should try to create a more complete footer.
Start with this question: what are my visitors looking for when they are on my website? What elements should be included on all my pages? Here are some suggestions of features you should consider adding to your footer.
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Address and phone number
It is vital if you have a physical address. Although we can find this information on the contact page, your visitor will like to find your address and phone number at the end of all your site pages.
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A small contact form or email collector
If you want to encourage your visitors to contact you, it must be easy to do it. Why not add a contact form or an email collector at the end of your site? Of course, it needs not to be too big to respect the dimensions of a footer. You can simply add your email address too.
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A small map
If your customers need to go somewhere, it could be relevant to add a small map to your footer. It could be interesting if you already mentioned your address. To add a map, go on the editor, click on the ADD tab and choose the MAP feature.
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Call-to-action buttons
There are many reasons why it is useful to add call-to-action buttons to your website footer. First, it allows you to bring your visitors to specific places while decreasing your site’s bounce rate. You can add a CONTACT US button that leads directly to your contact page, for example!
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Opening hours
Are you open during a specific period? Add it to your footer! It is essential information that will be useful to the customers that want to visit you.
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Social media
If you are on social media, it is important to mention it on your website. You can add a social media icon, like Facebook’s logo, on your homepage, header, contact page, but also on your footer. Note that it is something very popular in website footers.
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Your logo
It is not because your logo is already on the site header that you cannot use it elsewhere, especially if you wish to develop a strong brand image. You can add your logo to the footer too! If needed, use another version of your logo to respect the footer’s characteristics and the restricted space.
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Rewards and partners
If you are a member of an organization, a professional order, or have won rewards, you should take the time to mention it in your footer. Since the footer is on all your webpages, it increases the chances of your visitors seeing these elements. It can also help your credibility a lot! For example, if you own a hotel, simply add a mention of your TripAdvisor page!
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Legal Notices
Whether you have an online store or not, you often need to include legal notices and general terms on your website (privacy policy, refund or return policy). If you live in a European country, you need to follow the GDPR legislation. To read more, look at our article WebSelf and GDPR: Everything you need to know.
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Links to other pages
If you have a website with many pages or content, you can add links to your footer to help its browsing. We find this on business sites, for example. To do it on your WebSelf site, add text to the footer and click on the chain icon. Then, choose where you wish to send your visitors. The more it is easy to browse your website, the better the user experience will be.
Create the footer of your WebSelf website
In the WebSelf editor, all our templates come with a footer that you can customize. If you wish to modify this section of your site, click on it. It is possible to add various elements like the ones we just talked about; you only need to drag and drop them where you want them to be. You also have the option to have a fixed footer, a footer that will always appear on the screen, or to create a different footer for a specific page.
In conclusion, it is not complicated to create the footer of your website. Start by asking yourself what information you should add to it, then try different combinations. If needed, take a look at our clients’ sites that you can find on our Examples page. Happy creating!