Is Your Website Footer Optimized for Success?

As conversion strategists, we see footers as an opportunity to maximize the amount of time prospects spend on your site, increasing the likelihood that you can sell them something.

Are you using footers to your advantage? Or have you not put much thought into this part of your Miami web design?

Optimizing your website footer is essential. Today, we’ll show you how to do just that.

What Is a Website Footer?

A website footer is located at the bottom part of a website. It contains informational and navigational content that improves a website’s overall usefulness.

Why Is It Important to Optimize Your Website Footer?

A study conducted by ChartBeat revealed that 66 percent of user engagement happens “below the fold”.

Turns out, people go to the bottom part of your website. There are three main reasons for that:  

• They’re looking for a job.
• They’re looking for trust signals like awards and certifications.
• It’s their last attempt to find what they’re looking for when they get lost on your site.

There are a lot of missed opportunities when you don't optimize your website footer. If a user is lost, the content on your footer can redirect them back to your product page and stop them from leaving your site.  

Aside from this, you can also use your footer to do the following:

• Capture leads – By placing a call-to-action (CTA) in your footer, you can urge visitors to take action by signing up for your newsletter or starting a free trial.  
• Build trust – By displaying awards, recognitions, and other forms of social proof, you can use your footer to continue building trust.
• Provide additional valuable information – If there is stuff you weren't able to include above the fold (e.g., resources, branding info), you can place it in your footer instead.  

Should You Optimize Your Existing Website Footer?

You should optimize your existing Miami web design’s footer if:

There are no user activities in that area. To identify what’s going on in your footer, you can use heatmaps and user session recordings. It will provide you with information about how users go about your site and what they do in your footer.  

If there isn't any user activity in this section, it’s likely that your visitors aren't making it to this part of your website or there isn't much to be found that provides value to users.  

It contains the same information as your header. Contrary to popular belief, your footer and header should not contain the same information. So, how do you differentiate the two sections?  

Think of your footer as a place where people go when they’re having difficulty navigating your site. With this in mind, you want to include a sitemap to try and get them back on track and headed to other important parts of your site.  

Other details you should put in your footer are:

• Privacy policy link
• Logo
• Copyright notice

• Contact information
• Social media icons
• Newsletter sign up

Nine Website Footer Best Practices to Follow

How should you design your footer so that it elevates the user experience? Here are the top nine best practices to follow:

1. Include Your Brand Imagery or Logo

When designing your footer, make sure to include your brand imagery or logo. This is a great way to reinforce your brand’s identity and build recognition.  

2. Use it as an Extension of Your Site Navigation

If a user made it down to your footer, the chances are high that they didn't find what they were looking for above.  

To offer some more options and lure visitors to explore your site more, use your footer as an extension of your site navigation.  

To get an idea of what you should be putting on your footer that’s not on your main navigation, do the following:

• Check your site search queries in report analytics. See what your web visitors are looking for but not finding.  
• Py attention to the most common user flow or "top path" on your site. This will help you discover where your visitors want to go.  
• Assess which internal pages need a search ranking boost. Placing them on your footer will help drive more traffic to these pages and boost their SEO.  

3. Use a Contact Form Instead of an Email Link

It’s a Miami web design standard to put a “contact” link in the bottom right or center of a website’s footer.  

However, the most common mistake that web designers do is linking it to an email link instead of a contact form.  

Why does this matter? Your contact information should link to a form instead of an email for the following reasons:

• Email addresses are spam magnets.
• You can use form submissions as a metric for achieving a specific goal.  
• Forms take visitors to thank you pages, which give you the opportunity to provide more details about your product offerings.
• Forms trigger auto-response emails, which offer more engagement opportunities.  

• Forms allow you to collect data you can use to build your database.  
• You can connect forms to marketing automation, which you can use to stay connected with customers and prospects, develop a relationship, and get them to buy or purchase again.  

4. Include Your Address or a Pinned Location in Google Maps

Visitors expect to find your address at the bottom of your site. Make sure you let them know where your store or office is and allow them to locate you quickly by attaching your pinned location or linking to Google Maps!

5. Add a Site Search Tool

Site search tools aren’t commonly located in website footers. But we think adding one to your site is a great safety net to help lost visitors find what they’re looking for.  

A quick search tool for your products or service, for example, can be extremely helpful in bringing users back into your product pages.  

Since it’s not very common in footers, make sure that you label them clearly so people can tell what it’s for.

6. Don't Forget About the Copyright Notice, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service

Every Miami website design needs to have these elements in the footer. Aside from the fact that it’s a legal requirement, they also add credibility to your site.

7. Provide Other Forms of Support

Aside from navigation and site search tools, you should also provide other forms of support in your footer.  

Footers are a customer’s go-to place when they have questions before or after making a purchase. So, adding links to your FAQ page or help center is a great way to help people get the support they want.  

This delights users and boosts their overall experience with your brand.  

8. Include Security Logos and Display Awards that Establish Trust

What better way to tell your visitors that you’re an established and credible business than by featuring your certifications, professional partnerships, and awards?

Make sure you feature logos and awards that would instill trust and confidence in your web visitors, especially if you’re a company that stores highly sensitive client information.  

This is also a major plus if you’re in a highly competitive industry. Trust signals and social proof give you an edge over your competitors.  

If you don’t have any awards yet, you can also use customer testimonials to earn the trust of prospects.

9. Insert a Call-to-Action

Placing a clear call-to-action at the bottom of your website is an effective tactic for catching people who make it to your footer and encouraging them to convert.  

Don’t Ignore Your Website Footer

Are the contents of your website footer an afterthought?  

Footers are easily one of the most neglected components of Miami web design. Make sure you optimize your footers to give your visitors an elevated user experience.  

At Digital Resource, our team of web designers and conversion strategists will work together to create a high-converting web design for your business. Contact us today to start getting more leads and sales to grow your business!

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