22 min read — Published 3 months ago

28 Best Practices For Your Website Footer & 13 Best Examples

Design an impactful website footer with Magic UI's landing page template! See inspiring examples and build footers that convert.

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Have you ever struggled with creating an effective website footer? Landing page examples often showcase the significance of a well-designed footer, yet many designers find themselves at a loss when implementing best practices. This blog highlights website footer design, offering valuable insights and landing page examples to help you enhance your designs. Whether you’re a seasoned designer seeking new ideas or a beginner navigating the complexities of website design, this article will surely provide actionable tips to elevate your work.

Introducing Magic UI’s startup landing page template, a powerful tool to help you learn more about website footer design best practices and examples. Whether you’re looking to create a sleek and professional footer or optimize your existing design, this solution is a valuable resource for designers of all levels. Start transforming your pages with compelling footers that leave a lasting impression.

Website FooterWebsite Footer

A website footer is a strip of content at the very bottom of a webpage and often repeated on every page. It's considered an essential part of a website. On the other hand, a website's header is the section that appears at the top of the webpage.

While your homepage design often gives visitors a first impression of your site, your footer will likely be the last thing people see. With the right content and design, it can craft a positive and lasting impression, and importantly, it plays a crucial role in achieving your website’s main objectives.

Boost Conversions & User Engagement with Effective Footers

A website footer is used to share sitemaps for navigational and search engine web crawling purposes. Depending on your website type or online presence, website footers can help users navigate your website easily while streamlining the process of getting in touch with the right department. Well-optimized website footers have been proven to increase conversions by over 23% and revenue per visitor by 16%.

Website FooterWebsite Footer

A “fat footer” includes most of the website’s sitemap and usually categorizes links by a common theme or need. This is a good option if you have many pages that users could be interested in. Companies usually include links for:

  • Company pages

  • Product pages

  • Solutions

  • Resources 

It’s neat and easy to scan, which is what you want in a website footer. The footer also includes links to the company’s terms, privacy pages, and social profiles.

A narrow footer contains the basic information your website visitors need and has a smaller footprint than fat footers. The main benefit of a narrow footer is that you can choose its focus because you don’t have to include all your website links.

You may not need a footer if your website is particularly artsy or has a one-page website. You should always include

  • Copyright information 

  • Terms of use. 

While ignoring the footer may conserve your website’s aesthetic, having a footer is best for most brands and companies. That said, even if you don’t have a footer, you could always maximize your copyright area by including social and email links.

Businesses that sell a specific line of products (like SaaS companies) would benefit from a Product footer. Users' first links are for the products and their features. Company links and other pages are usually listed last in this type of footer, or sometimes not at all. This example is particularly effective, especially if it lists features first, which users usually look for when searching for a product.

A legalese footer contains pertinent legal information that website visitors should know when scrolling through your website. Apple’s footer is an emblematic example, with its paragraphs upon paragraphs of legal footnotes. You can always create a legalese footer, even if it’s a simple line, such as “All views are my own.” This type of footer can be mixed with other types, such as narrow or fat footers.

CTA footers are a popular type of footer that includes a contact form, an email form, or a prompt to call your team. This type of footer is highly effective for converting traffic showing exit intent, which could be better and less annoying than an exit intent pop-up. It’s also a great way to re-engage users when they get to the bottom of the page, removing a barrier to conversion.

Site index footers include all of the links on your website — a great option if your site is small. There’s no reason not to include all your links unless you have a particularly large URL library. This type of footer is great for improving the user experience and ensuring visitors find what they’re looking for if they can’t find it using your top navigation menu.

Design Efficiency and Captivating User Interfaces with MagicUI

MagicUI is a free and open-source UI library that we designed specifically for design engineers. It offers over 20 animated components built with: 

  • React

  • TypeScript

  • Tailwind CSS

  • Framer Motion

With MagicUI, we provide a range of visually appealing and interactive elements that can be easily integrated into web applications, allowing us to create stunning user interfaces with minimal effort. 

MagicUI's Powerhouse Features

MagicUI components are highly customizable, enabling adaptation to match our desired branding and design requirements. With our focus on animation and a design-centric approach, MagicUI aims to bridge the gap between design and development, empowering us to craft captivating digital experiences. 

With MagicUI Pro, you can save thousands of hours creating a beautiful landing page and converting visitors into customers with our website templates. 

Use our startup landing page template today! 

Website FooterWebsite Footer

Websites need a footer, regardless of their size and scope. Not including a footer is technically possible if you're building, developing, and launching a website. Yet, it's like creating a meal without a spice or a tapestry without a vibrant pattern. 

It's a subtle aspect vital for creating a wholesome, engaging experience for the audience. The footer essentially adds the final touch, providing a well-rounded, complete experience for the visitors and enhancing your website's visual appeal. 

Essential Information at Your Fingertips

The website footer serves as a vital navigational element for visitors, offering quick access to important information that may not be found anywhere else on the site. It is arguably an essential element that provides additional utility to the site as it gives access to:

Think of the footer as a safety net that catches dropped links and helps visitors easily navigate your website's complexities. 

Visual Harmony and Professional Polish

The footer also offers a more comprehensive visual balance to the page, creating a sense of closure for the site, much like the back cover of a book. It serves as a testament to the attention to detail and professionalism of the website. A well-designed footer can make the difference between a mediocre website and a professional one. 

Beyond Aesthetics

Having a website footer is vital for aesthetics and professionalism. It also enhances the overall user experience, making your audience more engaged and interested in your content. The footer can be a hidden gem, providing necessary information, promoting links to other important pages on your site, and enhancing the overall website experience. Next time you visit a website, don't forget to look at the footer to see what hidden treasures you might find.

What Are The Benefits Of Adding One?

Website FooterWebsite Footer

Additional Space for Contact Information

Including contact information in the footer section of a website is crucial for building trust among new visitors and prospective customers. It provides an added layer of transparency and accessibility for users looking to contact your business. 

Simplified Navigation

A website footer can serve as a secondary navigation tool for users, offering quick access to important pages or resources on the site. This is beneficial for visitors who prefer to scroll to the bottom of a page to find relevant information or links.

Showcase Testimonials

Integrating user reviews and testimonials into the footer section can be a powerful marketing tool. Positive feedback from past customers can influence potential buyers and boost credibility. Testimonials serve as social proof, indicating that others have had a positive experience with your products or services.

Increase Your Social Media Presence

Including social media icons in the footer is an effective way to grow and expand your online presence. Users who are already engaged with your content might be interested in exploring your social media profiles as well. By providing easy access to these platforms, you make it simple for visitors to connect with your brand across various channels.

Website FooterWebsite Footer

If your footer had just one element, this might be it. The year and the copyright symbol. It’s a weak but easy protection against website plagiarism. A tiny bit of code will keep the year updated automatically.

2. Sitemap

This is the most common link found in footer, which links to the HTML version of the sitemap. These links are rarely clicked by visitors, but like the XML sitemap, they may help search engines find things.

3. Privacy Policy

This is the second most common element in footer design. It typically links to a page explaining what information the website collects, how it’s stored and how it might be used. For most websites, it’s about tracking (analytics and remarketing), form submissions and email signups.

4. Terms of Use

The “terms of use” are a bit different from privacy. They explain what the visitor agrees to by visiting the website. Like a disclaimer, they state that by using the site, the visitor agrees to certain things. For websites in highly regulated industries, you may want to put the text right in the footer. If legal text is critical, adding it to your footer will make sure that you have maximum coverage. You’ve got the fine print on every page.

5. Contact

Visitors expect to find contact information in the top right of the header. It’s a web design standard. It’s also standard to find a “contact” link in the bottom right (or center) of the footer. This should be a link to the contact page with a contact form, not an email link. There are lots of reasons to use a contact form rather than an email link.

6.  Your mission. Your values

Logos are good. But why not tell visitors why you’re in business? The footer is an excellent place to plant your flag and tell ‘em what you stand for.

7. Phone Numbers

Like the address, a phone number with a local area code is evidence to Google that you’re a local business. And like the map button, a phone number should automatically transform into a clickable button when viewed on a mobile device.

8. Navigation

Here’s where your footer can rescue falling visitors. If they’ve made it down this far, they must not have found what they were looking for. Time to offer some more options. The last few years have seen a usability trend called the fat footer.

Footers now often contain the same links you’d find in a “mega-menu” dropdown in the header navigation. But this doesn’t necessarily save a visitor from falling down your page. Remember, these are visitors who didn’t find what they were looking for above.

9. Social Icons

The footer is the best place to add icons that direct visitors to social networks. According to Orbit Media, 72% of websites include social media icons in the footer.

10. Testimonials

It’s never a bad time to let your happy customers say a few words. Including testimonials in footers is a good way to add social proof throughout the site. The best testimonials support the specific marketing claims of the page they’re on, so they’re not added generically to the footer on every page.

11. Email Signup

The website footer has become a very common place to let visitors subscribe. True, email sign ups are more likely to occur on a page where the visitor got value, such as a helpful blog post, it’s still not a bad idea to let visitors subscribe from the footer.

12. Login

Not all visitors are prospects. Some visitors may be employees, partners, affiliate or resellers. If there’s a login area for these people, the footer is the best place for it. These people come back often and know where to find things. No need to use valuable marketing real estate in the header for them. A little login link in the footer is fine.

13. Press

Another type of non-prospect is the press. Realistically, only a fraction of your visitors are journalists and editors. So don’t waste precious space in your main navigation with a press link. If someone from the media does happen to visit, they’ll scroll down and find it.

14. Site Search Tool

If they didn’t find it in the header, in the content area or in any of the footer links, a site search tool is the ultimate safety net. Search tools are not as common in website footers as email signup forms, so if you use one, make sure it is clearly labeled.

15. Images

If you really want to dress up your footer, add an image to it. Here’s a chance to add personality to the site.

Why not go for the full pedicure? Rather than one image, add an entire gallery. This can be particulary useful to photography websites.

17. Branding

Images are another chance to reinforce the brand. This is a good place to use an alternate version of your mark or use your logo in a different way.

18. Upcoming Events

If you run a lot of events, the footer is a good place to promote them, since anything in the footer is likely to be seen. But don’t add this unless you always have an upcoming event, or you’ll have a hole in your safety net.

19. Keywords for Search Engine Optimization

Text in the footer is text on every page. So it’s an excellent place to indicate your relevance to Google. If you do include your mission, your value statement or an “about us” blurb, use this as an opportunity to include your primary keyphrase.

20. Awards and Certifications

These little logos instill confidence in visitors. They are a form of social proof and a powerful way to leverage the “Halo Effect.” If you’ve ever won an award, adding the logo for that award to your footer is a quick way to add credibility to every page of your site.

21. Latest Articles

If you’re active in content marketing, you can give your site a “pulse” but having your latest content pushed directly in your footer.

22. Call-to-Action

Every marketing page should have a call to action. So adding one to your footer is a way to make sure it appears everywhere. You should never leave visitors wondering how to take that desired action.

Website FooterWebsite Footer

1. Include the essentials

Visitors will expect to see a few basic bits of information in your website footer. And as it’s repeated on every page of your website, these details will always be within reach for your site visitors, and you’ll only have to deal with it once. Stick to design conventions and include your privacy policy and terms of use. This will also help you appear professional and trustworthy.
 
It is common to add a navigation menu and contact details, such as your:

  • Business email

  • Phone number

  • Address

  • Social media channels

You can also create a short online form to get in touch.

2. Provide clear navigation

Even if your site visitors have reached the bottom of your page, it doesn’t mean that it’s time for them to leave. On the contrary - whether they’re feeling lost, disinterested, or hungry for more, you can encourage them to keep browsing by adding a clear website navigation menu in your footer. 

  • List the various sections of your site and link to them, providing visitors with an overall understanding of the content you offer. 

  • Adding a search bar will help any frustrated visitors quickly find the info they’re looking for.

3. Don’t forget your contact info

It’s simple but effective: Make sure your contact info is part of your footer. While having a separate link for multiple locations is a good idea, it’s worth including your primary phone number and email address within the footer to make it as easy as possible for users to reach out.

4. Make room for fine print

Don’t ignore the fine print. This can include links to your:

  • Privacy policy

  • Service terms

  • Security practices

  • Copyright notification

While these links are infrequently used, including the fine print in footers is an easy way to showcase regulatory compliance.

5. Bring in your branding

Optimize your footer by making sure that it’s consistently branded. This means including your:

While your footer may not be the most exciting part of your site, it still represents your brand.

6. Express your personality

Every piece of content on your website is a chance to reflect your unique personality and brand identity. The same goes for your footer. It should be cohesive with the rest of your web design to offer a smooth browsing experience.
 
Stick to your brand colors and voice. This is also a great spot to add a touch of quirky microcopy that will grab your visitors’ attention. Whether you’re inviting them to sign up for your blog or check out your social channels, try to reflect your tone and personality in your choice of words.

Design Efficiency and Stunning UIs

MagicUI is a free and open-source UI library that we designed specifically for design engineers. It offers a collection of over 20 animated components built with React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and Framer Motion. We provide a range of visually appealing and interactive elements that can be easily integrated into web applications, allowing us to create stunning user interfaces with minimal effort. 

MagicUI components are highly customizable, enabling seamless adaptation to match our desired branding and design requirements. With our focus on animation and a design-centric approach, MagicUI aims to bridge the gap between design and development, empowering us to craft captivating digital experiences. Along with our free component library, with MagicUI Pro, you can save thousands of hours creating a beautiful landing page and converting your visitors into customers with our website templates. 

Use our React component library for free today at https://magicui.design/docs.

13 Examples Of Website Footers For Inspiration

Website FooterWebsite Footer

1. American Chess Magazine

This footer example belongs to American Chess Magazine. They have included their branding, CTA, footer links to all essential pages of their website, and contact information with a physical address. It is one of the adaptable footer design examples for an eCommerce site that you can apply to your own website.

2. Airtable

Airtable has designed a white background footer with all the essential links in the navigation. They have included app store buttons for the users to download. Also, social presence and legal terms such as:

  • Security

  • API

  • XML sitemap

  • Terms

  • Copyright notice

3. Zapier

Zapier allows users to integrate with various other web applications. 

  • They have used an intelligent search option: alphabetic title search. 

  • Considerable navigation for the users to reach Zapier's other web pages and applications. 

  • They have included social share buttons and branding. 

  • They have included copyright notices and legal and privacy information.

4. Notion

The notion is a single place with various facilities, including:

  • Writing

  • Managing projects

  • Lead management, ect.

They have designed their footer broadly but clearly. 

  • The left side of their footer is designed with Brand logo, social icons, and language preferences for the visitors. 

  • All of their services and other information are navigated. 

  • Essential part at the bottom of the footer is the legal data and privacy policy.

5. Lorelei Londres

Lorelei Londres is a luxury hotel in Italy that strives to provide hospitality and charm. Its footer succeeds in both aspects. 

  • Anticipating any question from a site visitor or guest, there’s contact information on the left

  • Navigation links in the center

  • Newsletter opt-in form to the right

  • On the right, there’s also the privacy policy link and the submit form directly in the footer.

6. Drunk Elephant

Drunk Elephant is a beauty brand that offers biocompatible skincare products. Their footer contains the information you expect:

7. Sendinblue

Sendinblue has branded its logo in the footer and a summary of "why sendinblue" with an internal link to improve brand awareness. 

  • They have included navigation and social connections. 

  • At the very bottom of the web footer, there are copyright notices, cookie settings, anti-spam, privacy, user agreements, legal protection, and responsible disclosure included.

8. Cross Culture Connects

Cross Culture connects has a dark blue footer with clear messages for the site visitors, such as:

  • Navigations

  • Newsletter subscription option

  • Branded social presence

  • Contact, Branding

  • Anti-copyright sign

The most important part of this footer is that it includes a back-to-top button, which allows users to easily access the site.

9. ConvertKit

This broad footer belongs to ConvertKit. It is designed with a:

  • Brand logo

  • Signup button

  • Navigations

  • Copyright icon

  • Privacy policy

  • Terms of services

  • GDPR

  • Back-to-top control

10. ActiveCampaign

Its footer features a minimalistic, simple, and aesthetic design with plenty of white space. The ActiveCampaign website has a fat footer with the following:

  • Vast navigation

  • Language choice

  • App store buttons

  • BBB (Better Business Bureau) rating

  • Legal center

  • Privacy policy

  • Search box

11. Medium

Medium is an online publishing platform that creates and optimizes gated blogs. You can also create and optimize a blog post with Dorik membership features. Medium has a unique website footer design with unlimited scrolling. The basic information of footers is on the right side of their footer. Includes various blog and other typical footer elements.

12. Willowbrook Farm

This website footer example includes all the information a site visitor would expect to see. An organized menu leads to all the website’s pages, a tempting offer to subscribe, and a way to get in touch. The subscribe button stands out thanks to the color contrast, making it all the more inviting. The website footer design aligns with the rest of the farm’s small business website, making for a harmonious overall look.

13. Letsone

This chic website footer by letsone perfectly captures the essence of their brand while providing visitors with all the information they may require. 

  • They've created a cohesive look by using the same recognizable background as in their header. 

  • They’ve also included their logo in the footer, strengthening their branding efforts. 

  • All elements are arranged in a highly organized manner, with lists and headers. 

  • The hierarchy is very clear, with the CTA, written in large font, placed at the top of the footer. 

  • To make sure that visitors don’t miss the live chat option, they’ve made it stand out with a bright, contrasting shade of pink.

Check Out Our React Component Library for Design Engineers

MagicUI is a free and open-source UI library that we designed specifically for design engineers. It offers a collection of over 20 animated components built with React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and Framer Motion. We provide a range of visually appealing and interactive elements that can be easily integrated into web applications, allowing us to create stunning user interfaces with minimal effort. 

MagicUI components are highly customizable, enabling seamless adaptation to match our desired branding and design requirements. With our focus on animation and a design-centric approach, MagicUI aims to bridge the gap between design and development, empowering us to craft captivating digital experiences. Along with our free component library, with MagicUI Pro, you can save thousands of hours creating a beautiful landing page and converting your visitors into customers with our website templates. 

Use our React component library for free today at https://magicui.design/docs.

Dillion Verma


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