When you were a kid, did your games of tag include a designated spot that was the “home base”? You would run around in circles, fleeing friends and foes, and when you just couldn’t catch your breath anymore, you’d make a mad dash for that spot where you would be safe. A spot where you could catch your breath, regroup, and find that energy that you need to go again.
The footer of your website is your visitors’ home base.
When a visitor needs can’t find what they are looking for, they’ll often scroll down to the footer. When they just need quick contact info, like your phone number or address, they’ll scroll to the footer. When they’re done perusing the page, they end up at the footer. With this in mind, the footer should include navigation and contact information as well as some kind of “what now?” or concluding information.
Navigation
If a user can’t find a link to the page they are looking for on your website, they will usually look in the footer. This is why we always include at least the top-level navigation links in the footer. On our Essential Attorneys’ websites, these top-level pages will often lead to the sub-pages, which is why it isn’t always necessary to include links to every single page in the footer. We also always include links to the disclaimer page and privacy policy in the footer. These pages aren’t often sought out, but those few who are looking for them expect to find the links in the footer.
Contact Information
The footer is also where people will look for quick contact information. For that reason, we always include your office address, phone number, and email address. This is also a good place to include a short contact form that gathers a minimal amount of information. Whether visitors are just looking to get in touch quickly, or someone is on their way to your office for an appointment and needs to look up directions, it’s always a good idea to keep this info easily accessible.
“What now?”
The footer is one of the only parts of the website that remains exactly the same on every page of your website, which makes it a great place to wrap things up for your visitors. After they’ve read about your practice areas or learned more about your firm, what do you want them to do? Get in touch with you! This is why it’s great to have a contact form and other contact information in the footer, as well as a link to your Contact page. Other ideas would be to include a call to action button just above the footer or a button that takes them back to the top of the page where your call to action resides. This can also be a good place for you social media icons so that visitors can interact with your firm beyond the website.
Provide your website viewers with a safe place by incorporating these essential ingredients into your footer!
Next Week
While we’ve reached the end of the webpage, we aren’t quite finished with this series. Join us for one more post next week in which we’ll talk about all the custom sections that make your website unique to your firm! To catch up on the rest of the Dissecting Your Website series, check out the following links. Part 1: The Header; Part 2: The Navigation; Part 3: The Hero; Part 4: The Call to Action; Part 5: The Welcome Message; and Part 6: Social Media.