The WordPress footer is devised to arrange additional information on the site. There are no rules for what information should be posted there. Thus, there can be basic or extra data about the company, contacts, a map, links to prices, a list of services, navigation menu of the site, links to news feeds, a subscription form, etc. As you can see, there are many ways of using the footer.
Meanwhile, site owners sometimes don't pay attention to this element, thinking that it does not carry any real value, believing that since it is at the very bottom, it's not interesting to users. But this isn't so. A properly devised footer with a well-thought-out design, competent structure, and the necessary content will attract the attention of the user, detain him or her on the site, and coordinate further actions. That is why the effectiveness of a well-designed WordPress footer is undeniable. Here, we'll talk about how to edit a WordPress footer, what it should contain, and the main issues related to the topic.
Importance of WordPress Footer
The footer is the bottom of the page where useful but not paramount information is exposed. This can be any data that may be of interest to the target audience, as well as any message that should be on the site but is not important enough to be put on the main menu in order to maintain its compactness and consistency.
A well-optimized footer will facilitate site navigating and help achieve business goals, as it is an additional source of valuable data for the user if he or she did not find it elsewhere on the page. The footer can include any bit of knowledge that may be of interest to the user: from contact details to links to pages with additional services of the company. These elements bring a number of business benefits.
One has only to work over the design of the WordPress footer, and it will become the main emphasis on useful information. Employing the element, you can tell your client in more detail about the company and its activities, offer them a chance to subscribe to your newsletter, or provide news to partners using the active link to the relevant pages. The footer simplifies navigation for the user if he or she needs to go to any section on the site. To do this, it is enough to choose the necessary link at the bottom of the site, without scrolling the entire page up. Therefore, it is silly to think that the bottom of the site is useless. It will surely find its user, attract attention, and keep them on the site.
WordPress footers will tell the user that the bottom of the site is not the end. It will help to keep the consumer interested, pushing him or her to further action: fill out the feedback form, go to the community page in social networks, write down contact details, or register. This all affects the overall conversion of the site. Thanks to the correct design of the footer section, a visitor can easily become a client. The main thing is to figure out what is interesting for the target audience and what to place on this part of the page.
All useful data that doesn't fit the menu or its specificity can be put in the footer. Disclose legal information to the public, attract sponsors and partners, or provide useful links for company employees. Such information will not be overlooked by visitors.
If the user has scrolled down from the header and approaches the footer, then he or she has not yet found what is interesting and meaningful to him or her. So, everything is in your hands. Placing navigating links will make it easier for your potential client to find the message he or she needs and extend the time he or she uses the site. The WordPress footer holds the attention of the visitor to the site, which gives the user another chance to find the valuable information they seek. For this to work well, you just need to properly draw up the bottom of the site. How to do this - we will tell you later.
WordPress Footer Menu
The content and design of this element are closely related. The plan of the whole block depends on what will be placed in this section. Contents depend on the activities of the company and the characteristics of the target audience. We will list most of the popular components that can be placed at the bottom of the page. You just have to choose the most suitable in your particular case, based on your business.
WordPress Copyright Footer
An easy way to protect your content from theft is to claim copyright. This implies that for the theft of any content or idea design, the one who did it can be held accountable. Of course, attempts to steal your content can still be made. Each year, copyright information needs to be updated. This can be done in two ways: manually or automatically using a script in the code.
WordPress Footer Sitemap
This is a list of pages on your site that will help the search engine to index pages. Also, the map may appear in the form of URLs that the search engine did not previously detect when scanning the site. This tool will help your visitors in navigation.
Privacy Policy
Often the footer has a notice about the privacy policy. It indicates how information is collected, stored, and how it can be used. For some sites, posting information about the privacy policy is mandatory, based on local laws.
A link to the terms of use page is required if the site contains content prohibited for minors; for example, if it sells alcohol or tobacco. By going to these terms and conditions, the consumer will have to familiarize themselves with the rules and confirm that he or she is an adult. This removes liability from the site owner in case the user is under 18 years old.
Contact Form
Do not miss the opportunity to retain the client by inviting him or her to fill out a contact form. It will help to convert the user into a client and encourage visitors to make the final decision to purchase if previously the user was not sure about this. Moreover, the feedback form may contain various calls to action. For example, the call “Still have questions? Feel free to contact us” works very well–especially when the user could not find the answer to his or her issue. Posting the feedback form in the footer is a big plus to the conversion of the site.
Company Contacts
As a rule, a whole section is devoted to the contacts of the company, a link to which is placed on the menu. But, in order to simplify the user’s management of the site and not force him or her to page up when he or she is close to the end, there is also a need to place contacts in the footer. Moreover, contacts should be placed here so that the search engine better understands the contacts of the company.
WordPress Footer with Useful Links to the Site
Navigation links to the site’s pages will help the visitor find what interests him or her if it hasn't already been found in the main menu. Also, duplicates to the pages “Delivery,” “Payment,” “About the company,” etc. can serve as such links.
Social Networking Icons in WordPress Footer
The bottom of the site is a great place to put social network icons. By tradition, they are placed in this part of the page in order to keep the user's attention on the site, preventing them from leaving it faster. Therefore, if one is interested in communities on social networks, he or she will find them easily at the end of the page.
Newsletter Subscription Form
This is not always a basic requirement from users of the site. But it can act as an additional tool for customer retention by constantly updating them with relevant information. In such cases, you can place the form in the footer, which will surely capture all users interested in your news.
How to Edit the Footer in WordPress
If you want to customize a WordPress footer, you have several options for accomplishing this.
Edit Footer WordPress Code
Obviously, you'll have to have some programming knowledge and skills. You'll be able to perform coding revisions in the file “Theme Footer,” which is located among the themes listed on the right side when you open your editor through the WP dashboard. Notably, you are advised to create a backup of all files; thus, in case something goes wrong, you'll be able to return to the correct version. Also, it would be better to realize the WordPress footer coding in a child theme.
WordPress Footer CSS
Another WordPress change footer option is through customizing CSS in your theme. Here, you'll also need some basic programming skills. You'll be able to perform this through your WP dashboard. Going to "Appearance" and then "Customize," you'll need to find the section with Additional CSS and make the necessary adjustments there.
Edit WordPress Footer Widget
This is the area set apart from the other content, which can be done with the color or another visual divider. Widgets here are the content boxes in a footer widget area. Notably, this part shouldn't be too large. You may want to find out more about widgets from our post.
Editing this item doesn't need any coding skills. The next alternative for changing a footer in WordPress is through employing the widgets menu, which can be found by going to "Appearance" and "Widgets" on the same dashboard.
In the panel, you'll see the available widgets.
Their list will be located on the left side, and the footer section can be found on the right side. Now, for making amendments, all that is required is pulling and putting the widget to Footer 1 and Footer 2.
WordPress Footer Edit with Elementor
In this part, we'll review how to make the alterations with the simple and functional WP editor, Elementor. You won’t need any coding skills as all the actions are intuitive and are performed like other editions with Elementor.
Step 1. Go to the WP Admin panel and find Elementor, then go to "My Templates."
Step 2. Pick "Add New" and find the type of template as "Footer." Name it and pick "Create Template."
Step 3. You'll see a screen with the available footer templates. You can pick one of them and click the "Insert" button.
Step 4. To amend the style of the footer, you'll have to change all the details like you usually do in Elementor. This is very intuitive, such as changing the WordPress footer text in the Icon list, add necessary links, or remove an undesirable element by pressing 'x'. The style tab will allow you to make modifications in the way the footer will be viewed.
You'll also want to customize the Newsletter subscription box, where you should put your data in the settings.
An essential part is to add social sharing icons. You should simply choose the Social icons and add your links under each one for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Step 5. If you need more widgets, you can add some extra ones from the presented list by dragging and dropping the widget to the footer in the editor.
Step 6. After finalizing the changes, click "Publish."
At the same point, you'll be asked to define such WordPress footer edit options as the place where it will be displayed.
After that, click on "Publish" again.
If you want some more information about how to edit footers and headers with Elementor, refer to the article on our blog.
Conclusion
You see that this is unsightly from the first glance of a website and has many functional roles. It also requires a thorough design and planning. Consider all the opportunities given by the instrument and don't disregard constructing a great WordPress footer for your blog.
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