We have often seen websites with things like “Powered by WordPress” or “Copyright (C) 2016” or “Mobile Friendly Website” or “Mobile Responsive” mentioned at the bottom of the page. But what should an ideal website footer contain? There have been numerous debates on various forums on what the ideal website footer should be. But there is obviously no ready made answer and it all boils down to what your website is about and what content goes on it. This article deals with some of the points you may want to add in your website footer.
Contact Details
Adding a contact number or email address is one of the most common uses for a website footer. Some websites also sneak in a contact form or call button in the footer to attract customers or potential clients to contact them. Some websites have a live chat section or even a phone number which is used for actual local calls. Footers are an ideal place to indicate how you would like to be contacted, as they have developed a known location due to passage of time.
Social Media
Almost all websites include social media buttons tucked away either in one of the top corners or at the bottom of the page. The advantage of putting it into a footer or sidebar is that it can easily be replicated and stays on each page at the same place, so that the user doesn’t need to go hunting for it. While most people put only buttons from Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and a couple of others, there is also growing popularity for some newer names. With the advent of plugins for social media buttons, it is even easier to integrate a whole set of buttons in a couple of clicks.
Website Search
Another important use for the footer is the Website Search box. When someone goes through the first page or any page of your website and after they scroll down they do not find what they are looking for, they would definitely find value in having an internal website search box which can guide them to the exact location of a certain keyword or product on your website.
Legal Stuff
The footer is also a good place to put up the less important stuff, i.e. the legal stuff like privacy policy, terms and conditions, terms of services, refund policies, exchange policies, shipping conditions and more. Although the legal agreements and disclosures are necessary, you would definitely not want it to come in the way of a buyers choice and thereby put them in doubt before they make a purchase at your website.
Disclaimer or Warning
Some websites also stuff a warning or disclaimer related to the contents or services offered on the websites. Some financial companies also put up warnings about fraudulent impersonation of their services and also set out the risks or statutory disclosures related to their services. Insurance companies in many countries are supposed to make certain disclosures about their services and coverage, similarly, even finance companies put up long statements and important information, which they require the user to know, before using the website or their services.
Copyright Information
Another common piece of information, one of the most common at that, is the Copyright information. Although content created by you is automatically owned by you, certain laws require that you clearly mention that all the rights in your work are reserved, so that a person cannot claim ignorance of your information.
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