For many websites, the design of the footer is often an afterthought, as it is common for both designers and their clients to be focused on other aspects of the website, namely the website’s headers, home page, content pages, etc. However, the website footer is just as important – if not more so – than some of these other components because the footer is generally the last point of contact that a user has with a page; as such, the footer is the last chance that a company or business has to provide a call-to-action to users visiting the website. As a result, it’s critical that website footers are designed with specific purpose and that they:
- Prompt users to take a specific course of action (whether that be reading additional content, signing up for a newsletter or contacting the business directly)
- Make important information – like a business’ contact information, hours of operation, location, etc. – prominent and easy to find
- Do not contain unnecessary links or information that will obscure the most important elements contained in the footer (as a cluttered footer will become “white noise” to users, rendering it ineffective)
- Provide “Follow Us” buttons that will allow users to immediately access the company’s Facebook page, Google+ page and/or other social networking pages (as users commonly access these pages to get a more comprehensive idea of what a company is about and what it has to offer).
