9
2009
Footer Design with a Purpose
An article by Amanda
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Today I studied the footer of my website for over 30 minutes, pondering the infinite design possibilities. (The result of 2 cups of coffee, a knack for being a design stickler, and the strong desire to make my website extremely user friendly.)
The footer of a website is a key section, although the most ignored in terms of design. Web Designers tend to spend a majority of their effort on the header and content areas of the site, with the goal of making a great impact. But this leaves visitors helpless with dull footers, lucky if they hold more than a few non-important hyperlinks.
Think of a website in terms of a speech. In the beginning of the speech (your header) you hook your audience with something interesting and make them want to listen to what you have to say. However, it is actually the end of your speech (bottom of the page/footer) that will decide whether or not you are memorable. End with a bang!
After a visitor has read through the page, they will look for the next place to go. And let’s face it, if they end up that far down on the page they are interested in viewing more of your website. In fact, they are your best visitors! The kind of visitor you want to shower with delectable design and a wealth of navigation resources. The footer at the end of the text content should help point them in the right direction.
Popular footer elements are:
- Social media icons and badges
- Advertisements
- List of related pages or posts
- Blog RSS subscription options
- Newsletter or Member sign up
- Contact form
- About the Author text box
- Links to main pages of the website
- Legal Links (Privacy Policy & Terms of Conditions)
- Back to Top Button or Link
The most important elements of a footer depends on the website’s goals and target audience.
- For businesses or websites that aim to sell a product or service, the most important footer element should be a strong call to action toward that goal. For example, an eCommerce site may list related products or products other visitors purchased at the end of the page.
- For sites which rely on revenue from advertisements, not only should there be an advertisement but also links that point the user toward additional pages of content that may interest them (which will lead to additional impressions and the possibility of more click throughs). A list of related articles would be great for this type of site.
- For blogs and social sites, the most important elements usually have viral intent or cause the user to return and read future posts.
Many websites should try to incorporate several elements, often times because they have several goals (i.e. an eCommerce website that also sells advertisements).
Below are examples of footers with several of these elements in place.
Purely infatuated with this one..
Beautiful design complete with contact form and links.
Flyin Web
HEBAtec
The Footer and SEO
The footer can also serve as a place to interlink pages with optimized text links that are unable to be placed in other global text-based navigation. This can give an added value to the site’s overall optimization.
This method should be used with caution as footer links do not have as much weight as links that appear higher on the page. In addition, it is not helpful to the user to have a footer that is cluttered with text links. And obviously, hidden text links are forbidden.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the footer should no longer be ignored or just serve to frame links to code validation or legal pages. I challenge you to build a creative footer that has purpose, a call to action, and gives your visitors something to chew on. Make your website memorable!
What’s next?
Look for the upcoming post on the steps I am taking to redesign my website footer.
Post your favorites footers in the comments!
About the Author: Amanda Stock
Amanda is an expert in creating and managing fantastic online presences for small business. She specializes in result driven online marketing and has a passion for: web design, usability, photography, entrepreneurship, fitness, motherhood, family, and so much more.
A few other great things I have seen in footers are daily photos, colophon, follow me on twitter. It really does depend on what your visitors want to see. Whatever makes it easier for them.
Thanks for including mine! (Brown Advertising)
. Nice collection of footer designs. The Branded07.com footer (and the rest of the site) is simply amazing. Wow.
A few other great things I have seen in footers are daily photos, colophon, follow me on twitter. It really does depend on what your visitors want to see. Whatever makes it easier for them.
This is an amazing post. You have inspired me to redesign my website. Thank you!